School me on cast iron!

[Special T]

And or warp so won't sit flat. Put in ove cold on clean cycle and let cool slowly.

[Kingofthemountain83]

Hearing Griswold and heat cleaning make me cringe. I'm not a metallurgist so I don't know how it happens but I have seen enough nice old pans with heat damage to know it's a thing. It's a real shame to wreck old pieces.

For my own curiosity, what does heat damage in an old pan look like?

I got one that I left one the burner to dry out real quick on high for an hour or more... Had that pink tinge when it cooled... It bowed the bottom up... I wire wheeled it down... Then hit it with some steel wool... Had to reseason it... Still works fine... Eggs slide over to the side...

[huntingfool7]

I have a ton of cast iron.  Some really nice higher end stuff and some good old stuff. 

By far and away my favorite is the Stargazer pan.  I use it nearly every day.  Cook with lard and bacon fat to fry eggs.  Add hot water from the keurag when done and wipe out with a paper towl, it's ready for tomorrow.

Oh and that handle is cool enough that I can fry that pan full of eggs and sausage and still handle it without a glove.  I like the Stargazer so much I bought a second one.

[Okanagan]

I agree with Stein, cast iron is cast iron. It is all in the finish and the seasoning. I have at least 8 of different sizes and manufacturers. If polished and seasoned correctly fried eggs slide right out. I have also never had an issue cooking on glass tops including using a pressure cooker.

Ditto to several who have mentioned smoothing cast iron with a sander.  It makes pebble surfaced cast iron into virtually non-stick.  Also ditto that grape oil is the best for seasoning.  Grape oil gets hotter without burning.  I like it for seasoning but prefer to cook with olive oil or bear lard.

[Pathfinder101]

Since the OP came on and brought up the difference between $20 cast iron and $200 cast iron, the "quick answer" is that you will have to season cheaper cast iron for years to get the same thing as a $200 pan.  If you don't mind that, then there is nothing wrong with a Lodge.  Cook things with lots of oil/grease and if you can, just wipe them down after you use them.  If you have to use water, try not to use anything else.  If you can do that with a cheap Lodge pan for a few years (and NEVER get them NEAR a dishwasher!), it'll be just fine.    

There is probably a more technical answer, but I have 4 pans (Lodge and the like) that I've been treating right for years and they are great.  Early in my marriage my wife put one in the dishwasher.  It is mostly rehabbed, but I can still tell which one it was...

[Okanagan]

Flash rust on sanded cast iron.

For those who have sanded cast iron skillets or Dutch ovens smooth, how do you handle the flash rust when you clean the sanded dust and particles from the finished surface?  I washed my first one in cold water and soap before oiling and seasoning.  When water touched the bare clean cast iron, rust flashed across it within a fraction of a second. With warm water it is even quicker.  I rubbed off the rust as quickly as possible with an oily rag but didn't like having it rust at all.

I now sand with a minimal coat of grape oil and wipe/flush the finished surface with several washes of clean oil.  That way the clean bare cast iron surface never is exposed to air or water and so does not flash rust.  I’m not convinced that an oil wash gets all of the grit particles out of the cast iron pores, but I haven't noticed any.

Anyone got a better method of sanding smooth and cleaning while avoiding nearly instant rust when the bare metal loses its seasoning coat and is exposed to oxygen?

Just to be clear, sanding cast iron smooth is a one time process for each utensil, not some repeated cleaning event.

 

[Bullkllr]

Flash rust on sanded cast iron.

Anyone got a better method of sanding smooth and cleaning while avoiding nearly instant rust when the bare metal loses its seasoning coat and is exposed to oxygen?

There are some cast iron gurus who recommend 'chemical etching' before that first seasoning. Basically a vinegar solution boil/simmer. The goal is to force a black/oxide coating onto the piece to allow better and faster seasoning. You wouldn't have to worry about further flash rust as you are literally forcing an oxide coating onto the iron.

I'm no expert, so I recommend doing your own research.

I tried it once recently on an heirloom pan I was struggling to season. It seemed like the pan was so smooth seasoning was not adhering  . So I took it down to bare metal and tried the chemical etch with vinegar. I can't say the results were as dramatic as I hoped, but the pan did seem to pick up seasoning better than before.

[jamesfromseattle]

I just came on to this thread to admit that I'm mean to my cast iron. I regularly scrape stuff off with a metal spatula. I use soap when it's really dirty. I cook tomato sauce. I've cooked on top of charcoal and over an open fire, and I regularly use it on an induction stove. The bottom of my favorite pan looks like a scene from ghostbusters, but the cooking surface looks great and I fry eggs every morning without issue.

The only things you absolutely can't do are dunk it in water when it's hot or add too much liquid once it's ripping hot. I learned that the hard way when I first tried cast iron, but I've used the same cheap lodge pans for 15+ years and I assume they'll last forever.

I appreciate that some folks keep their antiques looking beautiful, but I love cast iron because I can beat it up.

[slavenoid]

Flash rust happens on bare iron regardless of sanding. Washing in cold water helps. Drying it as quick as possible is important. I swing the pan around using the air movement to help dry then oil instantly while still cold. Compressed air would probably look less silly than what I do.

[CP]

The $22 Lodge works just fine.  My only complaint is that the stubby handle is awkward and it gets hot. 

[mikey549]

A lot of the info on seasoning cast iron mentions that in severe cases that it may take several attempts to get it back to a good working order. If you can wipe it out with a paper towel that is as good as it gets. If I have to wash one I use hot water and soap then wipe it dry. It will then be set on the stovetop on warm. Once the pan warms up and is completely dry I will wipe down lightly with some oil of choice. That seems to work well for me. Enamel coated cast iron for tomato based foods is the way to save yourself a lot of time and effort cleaning the bare iron pans!