Sorry to bring up yet another cast iron thread, but I just have
a few quick, hopefully simple to answer cast iron questions. I
got a Lodge 6" skillet for my birthday back in september and
finally got around to seasoning it this weekend (veg. oil, 350F @ 1Hr).
Used it this morning to make scrambled eggs w/olive oil and it worked
well, only a bit of sticking. My main questions are regarding cleaning.
Everywhere I read, I'm told to use a "stiff brush". Does steel wool
count? Or can I just use a generic scouring pad that's set aside
specifically for the cast iron (no soap). I didn't really have anything
this morning so just used a spatula to scrape stuff off, but that
only worked a little. Also, do I really need to put a coat of oil on
the pan everytime after I use it?

Like I said, quick and simple.

Tnx!
~Deepak

--
Deepak Saxena -

(Deepak Saxena) wrote in
:

> My main questions are
> regarding cleaning. Everywhere I read, I'm told to use a "stiff
> brush". Does steel wool count? Or can I just use a generic
> scouring pad that's set aside specifically for the cast iron (no
> soap). I didn't really have anything this morning so just used a
> spatula to scrape stuff off, but that only worked a little.

That's up to you. I use either coarse salt or a dry metal scouring
pad, depending, and sometimes add a drop of oil to soften the
material stuck on. Mind you, I'm not dealing with a cast iron pan,
rather a carbon steel one, but the principle is the same. I have
used a dry scouring pad to clean cast iron in the past. Wipe clean
with a paper towel.

> Also,
> do I really need to put a coat of oil on the pan everytime after I
> use it?

I would, with a new pan. But that's me. Others will disagree
bitterly and call me a fussbudget :-) Just spread half a teaspoon on
the interior of the pan only. It can't hurt.

--
"I'm the master of low expectations."

GWB, aboard Air Force One, 04Jun2003

(Deepak Saxena) wrote in
:

> Sorry to bring up yet another cast iron thread, but I just have
> a few quick, hopefully simple to answer cast iron questions. I
> got a Lodge 6" skillet for my birthday back in september and
> finally got around to seasoning it this weekend (veg. oil, 350F @ 1Hr).
> Used it this morning to make scrambled eggs w/olive oil and it worked
> well, only a bit of sticking. My main questions are regarding cleaning.
> Everywhere I read, I'm told to use a "stiff brush". Does steel wool
> count? Or can I just use a generic scouring pad that's set aside
> specifically for the cast iron (no soap). I didn't really have anything
> this morning so just used a spatula to scrape stuff off, but that
> only worked a little. Also, do I really need to put a coat of oil on
> the pan everytime after I use it?
>
> Like I said, quick and simple.
>
> Tnx!
> ~Deepak
>

Yes re-oil after every use for at least a week. You need a thickish layer
to help the no stickproperties. You can use salt as a scrubbing agent if
you need to. With a paper towel and some salt scrub/scour the skillet prior
to rinsing in water. That should remove any stuck on bits.

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food
and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.

On 01/06/2004 8:41 AM, in article
, "Michel Boucher"
> opined:

> Others will disagree
> bitterly and call me a fussbudget :-) Just spread half a teaspoon on
> the interior of the pan only. It can't hurt.

Consider yourself lucky if all you get called is a fussbudget.

Did you thank President Bush for your welfare check this week?

--
================================================== ==========================
"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism...The one
absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin...would be to permit
it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities." Theodore Roosevelt.
(Speech, New York, 1915)
================================================== ==========================

When I have purchased a cast iron skillet and/or need to redo the seasoning:

Each time I use it and for sometime thereafter, when I have washed it
(using a stiff plastic vegetable brush if necessary) and drying it, I put a
little olive oil (or whatever oil you wish to use) on it and spread it
around with a paper towel. Then I put it it in the oven for about a
half-hour at 325-350. If you do this for a while, then you won't have to
worry much about it sticking as much; therefore you won't have to worry
about the cleaning of it.

I don't like to use steel wool/pads on my cast iron.

Hope this helps.
P.S. If you use the above advice, about the only thing that is guaranteed
to take your nice seasoning off is tomatoes -- and then they really taste
yukky. This is one reason that I don't cook a stew using tomatoes in cast
iron.

Dee




"Deepak Saxena" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry to bring up yet another cast iron thread, but I just have
> a few quick, hopefully simple to answer cast iron questions. I
> got a Lodge 6" skillet for my birthday back in september and
> finally got around to seasoning it this weekend (veg. oil, 350F @ 1Hr).
> Used it this morning to make scrambled eggs w/olive oil and it worked
> well, only a bit of sticking. My main questions are regarding cleaning.
> Everywhere I read, I'm told to use a "stiff brush". Does steel wool
> count? Or can I just use a generic scouring pad that's set aside
> specifically for the cast iron (no soap). I didn't really have anything
> this morning so just used a spatula to scrape stuff off, but that
> only worked a little. Also, do I really need to put a coat of oil on
> the pan everytime after I use it?
>
> Like I said, quick and simple.
>
> Tnx!
> ~Deepak
>
> --
> Deepak Saxena -