How To Season Cast Iron Cookware In 10 Easy Steps
let's get that shine on!
“Congratulations on owning a cast iron cookware — especially if it is your first!”
There are so many benefits to cooking with cast iron. You'll see as you cook with it. For the most part, it is a safe surface for cooking, supported by a long history of usage dated back to ancient China thousands of years ago. You can rest assured from now on that no undesirable harmful chemicals are seeping precariously through your cookware into your delicious meals. Cast iron doesn't buckle under high heat, as most other cookware does. In fact, the higher the temperature, the better, as cast iron has excellent thermal conductivity and conducts heat evenly, so food gets cooked evenly and efficiently. You will not find food scorched in some areas and undercooked in others. Besides that, it holds heat in well. Chances of your food getting cold before you get to it are slimmer now that you are cooking with cast iron—something especially useful during the rainy season or in cold weather. You don't need much oil to cook with cast iron too. It absorbs the grease and fat from the food you cook and makes it naturally non-stick.
Cast iron cookware is incredibly versatile as well. You can sauté, fry, roast, and even bake with it. It can literally go from the stove into the oven and on to the table. Though it is heavy, it is also a quality that contributes to making it very durable. You can cook outdoors with it as it can withstand some rough handling. Some folks hand down their cast iron cookware to generations after them like an heirloom. That means you can create and pass on some precious family memories with it.
The bottom line is: If we take care of it well, our cast iron cookware will stick by our side (in a 'non-stick' way of course!), and go that extra mile churning out tasty food for us in our entire lifetime. Basically, we take care of it by seasoning it before use and re-seasoning it after use. It's easy. Let me show you how.
WHAT DOES SEASONING ON CAST IRON MEAN?
Seasoning or oil baked into the cast iron gives the cast iron cookware a smooth, shiny finish and makes it naturally non-stick. Cast iron is susceptible to rust when there's moisture on it. Seasoning protects the iron from rusting and separates food from the metal surface. Seasoning is a process you want to go through for both new and old neglected cast iron cookware.
HOW TO SEASON YOUR CAST IRON COOKWARE IN 10
STEPS
Follow the steps below to season both bare or pre-seasoned new cast iron cookware, as well as for that neglected but trusted 'old rusty' handed down to you (from say, your great grand aunt?), which you'd like to resurrect and give a new lease of life…
01
Begin by preheating the oven to 200 °C / 400 °F.
02
Prepare steel wool or scouring pad with mild dish soap.
03
Whether the cast iron is new or has a bunch of rust and gunk on it, scrub it down to its base layer. Cast iron cookware is made of one piece. So, scrub the whole thing to prepare it for seasoning. Scrub all over, including the sides, backside, and handle to prepare the entire piece for seasoning.
04
When it's done, give it a good rinse under hot running water.
05
Water will make cast iron rust. The next step is to heat it on the stove to get it as dry as possible. Turn on medium-high heat to dry it out.
06
Once the cast iron is smoking, it means it is moisture-free. Turn off the heat and let’s begin the seasoning process with a thin layer of oil. The surface of the cast iron is porous, and the oil will fill up the pores and make a beautiful shiny 'non-stick' surface. Add about a tablespoon of cooking oil on the cookware and take a clean kitchen towel to wipe the oil all over the whole cookware. You can use spray oil too. Be careful. The cast iron is hot. Don't burn yourself.
07
Now that there's a thin layer of oil all over the cast iron, take another piece of clean kitchen towel and wipe off any excess oil. Because if there's excess oil, it will come out of the oven brown and sticky, and we will not achieve the non-stick result we’re looking for.
08
Place the cast iron, face-down, in the preheated oven on the highest temperature (at least 200 °C / 400 °F). We want to take the oil past its smoking point so that the oil starts to breakdown and bond with the cast iron.
09
Turn off the oven after an hour, and let the cast iron cool off inside the oven before putting it away. If it's brown and sticky, your oven may not be hot enough or there’s too much oil on it. Turn up the heat and let it bake again for another hour. The final result we're looking for is a hard, shiny layer that makes the cast iron cookware non-stick. Depending on the original condition of the cast iron, it may take a few rounds of oiling and baking for it to be seasoned thoroughly.
10
If you’ve achieved that, your cast iron is ready.
Let’s cook up a storm! (See my next post.)
DON’T HAVE AN OVEN?
Turn the stove back on medium-high again after you applied oil on it and heat your cast iron cookware until you see it smoke. Once the cast iron is smoking, turn off the stove. Leave it on the stove to cool off before storing it.
more benefits of cast iron cookware which you might like to know…
Cast iron is very strong and durable and can last a few lifetimes.
Cast iron has excellent thermal conductivity. It heats evenly, handles high heat very well, and can hold heat in for a longer time.
Cast iron cookware is incredibly versatile, which makes it multifunctional and a great help in the kitchen.
Cast iron cookware cost lesser than enameled cast iron and high-quality stainless steel ones.
A well-seasoned cast iron cookware is easier to clean than a stainless steel one.
There have been reports saying that cooking with cast iron can add iron naturally to your meals.
So this is how I season my cast iron cookware. Hope it’s of some help to you. Let me know how it goes when you season your cast iron. Enjoy the process. That’s Abundant Living too. :)
pin it!
“SHARING IS CARING. SUPPORT FUTURE CONTENT BY SHARING THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS USING THE SOCIAL LINKS BELOW.”