Oh, right, it requires maintenance—you can't just throw it in the dishwasher and forget about it. But with proper care, your cast-iron cookware will last a lifetime (or more). I've been cooking with cast iron for years, and I've tested dozens of methods and products for cleaning it to find out what works best.
Cleaning and maintenance
Keeping cast iron in good shape for regular use is not difficult. After you have seasoned the pan, you don't need to do so again until the surface appears dull or rusty or food begins to stick.
Yes, cast iron is high maintenance - in some ways. But it is also incredibly durable. Read the “use and care” guide that came with a set of regular pans.
Daily Upkeep. Gently clean your skillet after each use with water and very little soap, if necessary. Use the firm scrubbing side of a two sided sponge rather than an abrasive metal scrub. After you finish washing and rinsing the cast-iron, dry it thoroughly with a towel and return it to a warm oven for 10 minutes.
Many manufacturers pre-season their cast iron before selling it, but it's still a good idea to know how to prepare because it's recommended maintenance two or three times a year. Without this protective coating, the combination of water, cooking, moisture, and exposure to oxygen can rust the cast iron.
Cast iron pans can leach a sizeable amount of iron into your food, exceeding dietary intake in some cases. Acidic foods will contribute to much more leaching while an old, heavily-seasoned pan will leach much less iron than a newer one.
CLEAN CAST-IRON SKILLET AFTER EVERY USE
Wipe interior surface of still-warm skillet with paper towels to remove any excess food and oil. Rinse under hot running water, scrubbing with nonmetal brush or nonabrasive scrub pad to remove any traces of food. (Use small amount of soap if you like; rinse well.)
Keep It Seasoned
Seasoning cast iron is an easy process which makes it different from other pans. You season it once and it's good for decades.
Seasoning forms a natural, easy-release cooking surface and helps prevent your pan from rusting. It may take a little extra care, but a well-seasoned cast iron pan will last for generations.
From a food-safety standpoint, the surface of a cast iron pan during cooking easily reaches upwards of 300 degrees, which is high enough to kill any bacteria that don't get washed away. You will not get sick from maintaining your pan this way.
In addition, by using cast iron with your everyday cooking, you are not only getting more iron and fewer chemicals in your diet, but you're also learning how to cook with time-tested cooking gear.
The type of iron that comes from cast iron cooking is nonheme iron and is safe to consume. It is the same type of iron as found in plant sources such as beans, spinach and tofu. Children one to three years old only need 7mg iron daily, so if it's best not to cook every meal for children this age in cast iron cookware.
They get better over time
Cast iron skillets, however, aren't just coated with a cooking surface. They are the surface. The entire pan is made of iron, so it doesn't degrade over time.
Without the protective layer of carbonized oil called seasoning, cast iron is susceptible to rust. Even a well-seasoned pan can rust if it's left in the sink to soak, put in the dishwasher, allowed to air dry, or stored in a moisture-prone environment.
The Advantage and Disadvantage of Cast Iron
Cast iron provides a number of advantages, including high wear resistance, machinability, and low notch sensitivity, to name a few. Its tensile strength and elongation, on the other hand, are extremely low.
Two words: heat & oil.
The most common reason food sticks to cast iron is because the pan is simply too hot.
Can I soak my cast iron pan? No! Soaking cast iron in water is a recipe for rust. If you need to remove sticky or stubborn stuck-on food, use a nylon scrubbing brush or a pan scraper and rinse under warm water.
If cast iron is left in the sink to soak, put in the dishwasher, or allowed to air dry, it will rust. It can also happen when you store your cookware in moisture-prone environments, such as a cabinet near a dishwasher, an open cabinet in a humid location, or stored outside.
Cast iron lasts a lifetime and only gets better with use. Whether it's corn bread, flapjacks, country ham or fried green tomatoes, food is delicious cooked in cast iron.
Soaking your cast iron skillet in your sink is a recipe for rust, as is washing it in the dishwasher. Instead, clean it ASAP, even using simple soap and water if you must.
Each time you cook with oil or fat, you're adding another layer of seasoning to the pan. Over time, these layers build up to form a strong, nonstick cooking surface. These initial layers of seasoning added as you cook in a new cast iron skillet may be uneven.
Molded like a single piece of metal, an alloy of carbon and iron, cast iron uses no other additives or toxic substances. Even better is the fact, that cast iron is naturally non-stick, allowing anyone to replace non-stick pans and use this healthier alternative, consuming less cooking fat in the process.
Olive oil is a great option for seasoning your cast iron skillet because it is affordable and easy to find. It also has a high smoke point, which means it can withstand high temperatures without burning.
It's driven by two theories. The first is that since oil is used to season the cast iron skillet and create a nonstick surface, soap would effectively wash away the cure that you worked so hard to build. The second reason that this myth persists is that soap isn't the most efficient cleaner of cast iron.
Cast-iron cookware is porous, and the oil works to fill those pores and create a smooth, nonstick surface. Enough oil soaks into those pores during the initial coating, so you can go ahead and wipe off as much as you can. Leaving too much oil on is a common mistake that will leave your skillet sticky.