Seasoning Cast Iron Skillets

How to season a cast iron skilletis a relatively simple process; it simply requires baking on several layers of oil. This is a process that only continues with time as you use a cast iron skillet more and more. This makes a cast iron skillet or other pan naturally stick-resistant, which means cooking with less butter and oils (a win-win). The oil when heated fills in the cracks in the pan, smoothing it out, which makes it harder for food to stick (none of those pesky little microscopic pits in the metal for the food to cling to). The oil also keeps water from getting into those same cracks and rusting your pan. This is how to season a cast iron skillet.You can buy preseasoned cast iron skillets if how to season a cast iron skillet seems like too much trouble for you (and heating the oil in the pan by itself like this for the hour required will make the kitchen smell like burning oil, surprise, surprise). You can also buy a used cast iron skillet and season it even if it hadn’t be seasoned before (and doesn’t look very good). This can provide you with a quality cast iron skillet (or skillets) but at a lower price.  If you are concerned about implementing the steps of how to season a cast iron skillet this may give you an easy way to try without ruining a brand new skillet.

There are a couple rules of thumb after you have learned how to season a cast iron skillet when caring for a cast iron skillet. Don’t put very cold water in a very hot pan. This can really damage a cast iron skillet. Make sure that you wash your pan with water to keep any excess oil from sitting in the pan and going bad; but don’t soak the pan or put it through a dishwasher. Some people do not believe in using soap to clean a cast iron skillet (much like a pizza stone) but professionals and health experts agree that rancid oil in the food is worse.  Then you will have to follow the steps of how to season a cast iron skillet all over.

Many professionals and amateur cooks and chefs consider cast iron skillets and pans to be the best for a lot of recipes. You will find that certain recipes actually call for the use of a dutch-oven. This is because a cast iron skillet is heavier than the flimsy pans often found in kitchens and therefore provides much more even heating of foods and the ability to cook without hot spots.Cooking with a cast iron skillet may require more patience not just using the steps how to season a cast iron skillet but also because the pan will take a little longer to heat up, but the results are well worth the wait. Some care is required when dealing with an electric range, as the range itself may have hot spots which can over time do damage to a cast iron skillet. Also, it is worth noting that food should not be stored in a cast iron skillet and given a chance to seep into the pores of your beautifully seasoned pan. Not only is it bad for the pan, but it will give your food a weird metallic taste as well. Now that you know how to season a cast iron skillet as well as how to care for and the basic principles of cooking with it, bon appetite!