Do you cook with cast iron? I know people that have their grandmother’s cast iron skillet. They say it’s been seasoned by years of use, nothing sticks to it, and it looks brand new. I love the whole idea of something that lasts. I have several myself, and though it’s not my grandma’s, I hope one day my grandchildren use it because it has stood the test of time. With a little TLC {and I mean, a little}, I think it will.
Here’s 3 easy steps to make sure your cast iron lasts for generations:
1. Wash in hot water, immediately after using. For stubborn, stuck-on food you can use kosher salt and a sponge or you can boil water in the pan, using a wooden/plastic spatula to loosen any remaining food. Camps are split as to whether or not to use soap. Some say it ruins the seasoning, others say it is necessary due to bacteria. I personally don’t use soap on mine. My grandmother didn’t, so I don’t. It’s that kind of logic that gets me through each day.
2. Dry immediately and thoroughly. Cast iron rusts if it is left to air dry.
3. Store with the lid off. I like to place a dish towel on top of it to protect it and absorb any moisture {a paper towel would work too}.
I’ve heard about people who have never washed their cast iron pans before. But I’m too much of a neat freak for that. I don’t know, maybe I’m weird.
Do you wash your cast iron, and if so, what method do you use?
~Mavis
Looking for some awesome cast iron cooking recipes? Check out The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook: Recipes for the Best Pan in Your Kitchen. The reviews are fantastic!
Ashley says
My husband insists that I don’t have to wash mine, but that just creeps me out. I do pretty much the same thing as you. Wash (no soap) and boil water if needed. I spray mine with cooking oil before I put them away though. Not sure if I read that in the care instructions that came with them or if someone told me I was supposed to….?
Denise S says
I boil hot water in it and scrape with a pan scraper to tough stuff dry it immediately and then put a small dab of vegetable oil in it and spread all over with a paper towel
Erin Kerbs says
I wash mine in hot water and Dawn dish soap with a Dobie sponge. *gasp* Then I dry it on a burner on low heat, let it cool, and cover it with a thin film of canola oil. It is still nice and seasoned from years of use, even though it is regularly cleaned.
Carol says
I do the same procedure as Erin does. I don’t even use oil every time, but I always dry it on the stove.
Shirley K. says
We use a skillet that belonged to hubby’s mom, and a dutch oven we bought last year. Sometimes we just wipe it out with a paper towel and call it good. If we cooked something messy or likely to flavor the next dish, we use a dish brush and hot water — no soap — to get rid of residue, and then set it on the burner on low heat to dry. It’s my understanding you’d have to re-season the pan each time you use soap.
You’re right, I love how food doesn’t stick to cast iron. And if your cookware is going to leach elements into your food, why not leach iron, which we need anyway?
becky says
I occasionally use soap in mine, particularly if we blacken fish in it.
After washing/rinsing, I pour about a teaspoon of oil in the pan and spread it about with a paper towel to store it. Not sure why, it was just something that was always done when I was little.
pat Lewis says
So is there any hope for a cast iron skillet that is already rusted? Can it be brought back into good useable condition? Ideas??
Melanie says
Yes cast iron can be brought back if there not too rusted I’ve bought some at flea markets and bring them home put them in a outdoor fire coat with oil , burn again and repeat as nessecaary . Every 4-5 years a redo mine as my kid do dishes here and don’t alway do them right.
Heather says
I was given a rusty-around-the-edges pan from a neighbor as she was downsizing her stuff and my mother suggested that I use fine grit sandpaper and see if I can hand buff it out. It was on the outside bottom though and on the lip edge, but it worked (the inside lip that is) and I just reseasoned it accordingly. I don’t know if it would work on the inside/cooking surface or not…
KatyK says
We have a skillet and an old dutch oven. I wash the skillet with a little soap, then dry it and heat it on a low burner. Then I season it with a little cooking oil. We use it almost every day. The dutch oven is a hand me down and the finish is flaking off, so we can’t really use it. I’ve heard you can strip the finish with sand paper or lye and then re season -but I’m not sure I’m ready for that project!
Kathy says
I do what my grandmother did, use coarse sea salt, which gets all the gook out. If it needs scrubbed (and sometimes it does) the skillet gets reseasoned…a little vegetable oil, wipe with a paper towel and put in the oven @250 for about 45 minutes. The same with my kettle/dutch oven. LOVE my cast iron. Both are older then dirt, younger then God and I wouldn’t trade anything for them.
Lisa says
Just hot soapy water!
Cindi Myers says
I have my mother’s cast iron skillet. I scrub it down with salt. I’ll occasionally e use soap and water, but rarely. Always dry it right away on the stove. The pan is probably 50 to 60 years old and it’s still in fantastic shape.
KC says
No extra soap here, although sometimes it goes through with the rest of the dishes in a sink full of slightly soapy water.
But everyone has a different intuition about what constitutes “gross” or otherwise “unclean” – I once met a super neat and tidy and very clean person… who doesn’t *rinse* dishes. Straight out of the sink of soapy washing water to drying them with a towel. No rinse step. That weirded me out. My “but…but… rinsing! You don’t rinse?!” reaction probably weirded her out, too.
Broadly speaking, though, if it’s a pan that’s going to see 400F before you eat anything out of it again, it’s really hard to make an argument for medical necessity for almost any cleaning process. I seriously, seriously doubt any bacteria would live through the cooking process for most stuff I have cooked in cast iron (tortillas, etc. – that pan gets *hot*). But we can still find things intuitively icky. 🙂
Terri says
I definitely wash my cast iron! I’ve found that if I cook something with a strong flavor, like taco meat or a curry, and then don’t wash my cast iron, the flavor sticks around and gets in the next food I cook. I do try to be gentler on my cast iron than with other pans– I like to fill up the pan with hot water and add a drop of soap to it and then wash it out, that way the soap gets diluted.
Deb says
Mavis,
I let my cast iron pans soak filled with hot water. I use a scrubbie if I can’t get everything out, but NO soap. I do let mine air dry and they don’t rust. I think they are seasoned enough. I’ve had mine for over 25 years. If I have a pan that starts sticking, I clean it good and then fry tortilla chips in it and it’s good as new. When I do use oil in a pan I just wipe it out.
Lissa says
I have my grandmother’s cast iron skillet. Over the years I’ve added different sizes to my collection. I use mine in the oven all the time. I have a special oven mitt that can withstand the scorching hot temps of the pan. I wash it in water with dishsoap and dry on the stove or in a warm oven. A note of caution to those who wipe their pans with oil– don’t use too much oil or it could turn rancid and sticky. Yes, you can clean a rusty or excessively dirty cast iron pan. Search the internet for instructions. I’ve done it before in a very hot oven. It will emerge spotless from the oven. You then need to re-season it. I love my cast iron skillets!
schmei says
We use our cast iron skillet 3-4 times a week. After each time we use it – unless it’s just oily – I scrub ours with hot water and a scouring pad, then boil a bit of water in it on the stove. Dump out the boiling water, let the hot pan dry (takes less than a minute) then wipe a VERY SMALL AMOUNT of canola oil on it with a paper towel.
As mentioned above, if you don’t use it frequently, that oil can get rancid… we learned this the hard way with a smaller pan we didn’t use as often. Couldn’t get that nasty taste/smell out of it, no matter how hard we tried… so sad.
We have a cast iron griddle, too. We usually just wipe that down because it’s only ever got a little oil or butter on it. Been using them both for years and they’re lovely: nonstick and easy to use.
Oh, my well-meaning father did dunk the skillet in soapy water when he was helping us out when our son was a newborn. Nearly gave me a heart attack. But it survived, as did I.
subienkow says
I’ve found the easiest way to clean them is to boil water in them. I don’t care for the idea of washing right after cooking, because at that point, I want to eat! Seriously, though, whether it’s the next day of later that night, just put water in to just over the residual food line, and bring it to a boil. After it’s been rolling for a few minutes, pour it into the sink (with the strainer/stopper in so the little bits don’t clog your drain). Everything comes out nice and easy. I just wipe it down with a paper towel after that.
K. Muckemuck says
Everybody says they use vegetable oil to season/wipe them down…. can you use coconut oil for this as it is a much healthier oil for you??
Linda says
I see your post is older now.
Did you ever use the coconut oil? If so, let us all know the long term results.
K. Muckemuck says
Yes, I have been using nothing but coconut oil… I do not use my one CI skillet very often but when I do I use coconut oil IN it to cook then I clean it and wipe down with more coconut oil… I am fairly new to actually using CI, but so far so good with the coconut oil.
Jess says
I just found your blog & I love all of your posts! My husband & I have his grandmother’s and aunt’s cast iron. WE NEVER wash them. We get a clean dish rag, get it hot with hot hot water and wipe clean. We don’t let water soak in. Then we put it in the oven to dry. This is the way his grandmother was taught to do, she taught his aunt & his mama. I can’t wait to teach our daughter how to care for this heirlooms.
Eric says
I boil water in it after I’m done with little bit of salt in it. Once it loosens up I just use either a sponge or dish rag and scrub it. Dry it off and rub vegetable oil on it with a paper towel. Put it in the oven on low for about 10 minutes then I just turn off the oven and store it in there. Seems to work pretty well!