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.
Acidic foods (unless you make it snappy)
Acidic foods (like tomato sauce, wine-braised meats, etc.) enter the red zone when they spend too much time cooking in the skillet. It's particularly important to not marinate anything in a cast-iron pan, as many marinades are quite acidic in order to tenderize the meat.
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.
Be careful not to overheat your cast iron when using it on a campfire. Image Story: Don't overheat it. Sticking your skillet into a roaring fire might seem like a good way to heat it up in a hurry, but overheating or uneven heating can cause your skillet to take on a permanent warp, or even crack.
If the pan wobbles, the base has warped. Slight unevenness likely won't impact performance, though the pan will heat less evenly, so keep an eye on food and stir frequently. A dramatic wobble will make food heat very unevenly, and may actually cause food to splash or spill from the pan.
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.
Deterioration of cast iron pipes is normal after just 25 years. Wear and tear is normal in residential pipe systems. One frequently asked question is “How long do cast iron drain pipes last?” Cast iron waste pipes last anywhere between 50 and 100 years.
Eggs fall into the category of sticky foods that are not ideal for cast iron skillets that haven't built up their seasoning yet. While cast iron can become non-stick with sufficient use over time, a newer skillet will almost certainly cause your eggs to stick to its porous surface.
Several of our consulted chefs agreed that cast iron can leave an unpleasant flavor layer in tomato-based dishes. The "naked" cast-iron cooking surface of an unenameled skillet can cause "acidic foods to become discolored and acquire a metallic taste," says Weinstein.
After all, there's likely food residue and oil still on the skillet. So you can use soap and water to wash your cast iron skillets — even the iconic cast iron brand Lodge says so — but the truth is, there is a better way to clean them: Loosen food and debris with a hard-bristle brush.
Because it can withstand high temperatures (up to 650˚ F, in fact!), it's a great option for almost any heat source. No matter where you like to cook, we've got tips and tricks for using cast iron on electric, induction, and gas cooktops, as well as gas grills, charcoal grills and campfires.
The black residue on a cast iron skillet isn't harmful; it's just a part of cooking with a cast iron pan. A black seasoned coating shouldn't rub off easily or affect the food, as it should form a useful non-stick surface for cooking. If residue starts to build up, however, this can affect your cooking.
Moisture is cast iron's greatest enemy. Not properly drying a cast-iron pan can cause it to rust. After rinsing, dry your cast iron well with a clean cloth and then place it on the stovetop over low heat.
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.
Unfortunately, as a result, soaking is a surefire way to end up with a rusty cast iron skillet. Similarly, you should always make sure your pan is completely dry before putting it away, as any residual water can also cause rust.
Two words: heat & oil.
The most common reason food sticks to cast iron is because the pan is simply too hot. Because cast iron retains heat much better than other types of cookware, you generally don't need to use as high of a heat setting as you normally would with stainless steel or aluminum cookware.
First, it's important to always heat up the pan prior to adding any oil, butter, or fat. When cooking on cast iron, when it comes to fat, less is not always more. It's better to err on the side of too much fat, and then simply drain any excess after cooking.
Generally, we recommend seasoning your cast iron about once per month, but after every time you use it works as well if you find that it could use some seasoning. What type of oil is best for seasoning a cast iron skillet? Canola, vegetable, or coconut oil are best.
Enameled cast iron pots can sometimes develop white spots, which are often caused by cooking with starchy ingredients, like beans, or mineral deposits from water.
It only takes proper care of cast iron cookware to make it last for generations. With proper care cast iron cookware can withstand a lifetime of use. Actually several lifetimes as these cast iron pans and dutch ovens are often passed down from generation to generation.
Although salt is hard, it's still softer than cast iron, so it doesn't risk scratching the surface of your skillet.
If you accidentally leave your cast iron cookware on any heat source for too long, food, marinades, and sauces can burn and get stuck to the surface.