My cast iron is on the way!

I have ordered a Lodge 10.5" grill pan and a Lodge 12" round griddle pan. I also ordered some 'hot handle' mitts for them too. I am very excited and feeling like quite the cooking nerd ;)

The next order in a few weeks will be a pair of De Buyer carbon steel frying pans (small and medium), and then I'll settle on a stainless steel saute pan. whee!

iron

I'm pretty sure it was started by wildeyed when her hubby put her pan through the dishwasher :scared:

:grr:..next stop..trash can

at the antique mall. They were the old Wagner ones from Sidney, Ohio. Of course, I live near there and they are easier to find. Well seasoned too.

..... but as Mr. Miagi said to Grasshopper ...... patience.

All four of those pans are destined to become members of your family. And like family members, they will bring much joy, but not without some heartbreak and frustration along the way.

AZDem's right. They need to be seasoned, and the instructions are here in this forum in several threads. Its been an oft-discussed topic.

The time it takes to season is directly proportional to the size of the grain in the metal being seasoned. The DeBuyer steel pans will season much faster than the cast iron. Until the pans are seasoned, expect them to stick and use more oil than you might think to use otherwise. The oil will limit the initial tendency to stick and also help with the ongoing seasoning.

While both materials (steel and cast iron) are seasoned using similar mthods, the steel is not quite as heat tolerant as the cast iron. The cast iron can take as much heat as anything you own can hand it. The steel, if subjected to very high heat for a significant amount of time could well warp. No need to be gentle with it, just don't put it on a flame, with the pan empty, for more than a minute or three to get it hot (like for searing).

Enjoy!

but don't expect them to be particularly nonstick when you get them. That is going to take time.

The first thing to do when you unpack them is to wash that "preseasoning" off with hot soapy water. Then dry the items completely, oil them with any cooking oil, inside and out, and stick them into a slow over, 250 will do the trick. Then just leave them there for a couple of hours.

That will start the glazing that makes the pans nonstick over time. You'll be able to use them after this, but they won't really turn into the superior cookware we all love for some time.

Never use soap and water cleaning them. You can run some water over them to get rid of the worst, dry them, and then use kosher salt and a paper towel to scrub out anything that's stuck on. Then re-oil. Plastic scrubbers or a tawashi (pot scrubber available at Asian markets and some health food stores) can also be used. Just don't use SOAP. Remember, cast iron loves oil and soap eats oil up.

This is true for rolled steel pans like woks and crepe pans too, both the seasoning process and the care.

Some of the seasoning threads mention using Crisco or lard, others mention liquid oils.

Is the preference for oils with high smoke points, like grapeseed or extra light olive oil? If solid ones work better there's a farmstand near me that sells jars of palm kernel oil.

Thanks for taking me under your wing everyone, I'm finding the C&B group to be one of the friendlier corners of DU!

3 reasons

to wipe on my cast iron after every use (after it's hot from being dried by cooking on a burner)
to make pie crust
to make DH's favoritest in the world Molasses cookies

Although I don't buy the brand name Crisco, I buy whatever cheap can of shortening is on sale


and we are a neat group and a good place to hide when GD gets too hot :evilgrin:

I won't say we're the friendliest, but I bet we're in the top 5 :bounce:

and that lets lard and butter out. I just use the cheap stuff from the supermarket, the blend of soy and cottonseed oil.

shortening should work. I have found that seasoning them with vegetable oil sometimes makes them feel gummy or sticky, but I've never found that to be a problem with Crisco. I've never tried palm kernel oil.

Once you get them seasoned you will just love them. My daughter refers to my cast iron as "Mom's Teflon". They are absolutely the best for fried potatoes and the crust that cornbread develops when it's baked in cast iron can't be duplicated.

I have an all clad skillet I never use cause everything sticks to it. Do you do it the same as with cast iron?

I'd have to think its stainless. I'm not aware of any blue steel pans that All Clad makes.

If its stainless, it can't be effectively seasoned. If it *looks* seasoned, it s really just dirty. :)

So it is not stainless you season then. There is another kind of steel pan?

I know of what I speak, I got a thin carbon steel wok at the thrift store that's great, but had to season the lid as it had gotten all rusty inside

They weigh a ton. There's a huge hardware store near me that sells cast iron cookware, so I don't have to order it. My 10' skillet is one of my best friends. I use canola oil in it.

We got the super saver shipping due to the purchase of two cases of diapers. My total shipping was $10 due to some other little things we bought :)

I google like this...."free shipping-no tax-whatever I am looking for"..

I bought bamboo blinds for the whole house...from Florida..furniture from New Jersey...cooking stuff from all over , bolts of fabric from washington, a poker table from Texas, and never have paid a cent for shipping...

Enjoy them.