Newly seasoned cast iron may have a brownish tint to it. It's not rust, it's just the initial patina baking in. It can take a few coats of seasoning and some use to get a black finish. Don't worry about the brownish colour - go right ahead and use the pan.
A well-seasoned skillet will have a dark, semiglossy finish and won't be sticky or greasy to the touch. It won't have any rust or any dull or dry patches. An easy way to test a skillet's seasoning is to fry an egg (heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes, then add egg).
Most cast iron is either so-called gray iron or white iron, the colours shown by fracture. Gray iron contains more silicon and is less hard and more machinable than is white iron.
A well-seasoned cast iron pan should be dark black, shiny, and smooth to the touch. Unseasoned cast iron has a rough look and feel until it is properly seasoned.
The skillet turning grey basically means you burned off the seasoning. The natural color of cast iron before it is oxidized and with no coating is grey, metallic, and shiny. To bring it back to black, over time as the seasoning turns to polymers, it will darken.
Newly seasoned cast iron may have a brownish tint to it. It's not rust, it's just the initial patina baking in. It can take a few coats of seasoning and some use to get a black finish. Don't worry about the brownish colour - go right ahead and use the pan.
A properly seasoned cast iron pan should be a uniform, shiny black color without splotches or gray spots. It should also feel smooth to the touch – not rough, sticky, or greasy. An easy way to tell if your skillet is well-seasoned is if water quickly beads up and runs off the surface.
When is too much too much? Although it seems odd, it is technically possible to over-season a skillet. Too much oil baked into the cast iron will cause it to polymerize unevenly and eventually will cause the surface of the skillet to flake.
The dullness comes when the oil on the pan burns off before cooking. To fix this, just re-season the pan. If your cast iron still looks dull after re-seasoning it, repeat the process until it achieves a slight sheen.
You should only need to fully re-season your cast-iron cookware one to two times a year, but you may also want to give it some extra seasoning love anytime you cook something that requires a heavy-duty cleaning.
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.
Gray Cast Iron, also known as gray iron, is a popular type of iron used in castings. The composition of gray cast iron is 2.5%–4% carbon, 1%–3% silicon, and some additions of manganese ranging from 0.1% to 1.2%. Gray iron contains graphitic microstructures, giving the iron it's gray color.
They are most likely carbon deposits. This happens due to overheating of fats and oils. Using an oil with a low smoke point will carbonize at high temperatures and cause residue from the pores of your pan to rub off onto your food. While unappealing, they won't hurt you in such a small amount.
Repeat steps 3-5 for at least another two times (more if you have time for it!). At the end of the process, the seasoning on your cast iron should be a glossy, nonstick black.
Bake for 1 hour
Place the cookware in the oven upside down. Place a large baking sheet or aluminum foil on the bottom rack. Bake at 450-500 degrees F for one hour. Allow to cool.
Although it's recommended that you only need one coat of seasoning to start searing those steaks and baking those Dutch baby pancakes, many folks apply multiple coats of seasoning onto their cast-iron skillets and Dutch ovens. But, like, four or five.
If you're regularly seasoning cast iron, then it should not be sticky when you're cooking. Cast iron seasoning will produce a durable coating that stops food from burning into a sticky residue when you're cooking.
Seasoning is a simple post-cleaning step where you buff a thin layer of oil into the pan over heat to continue the bonding process and maintain an ideal cooking surface.
All cooking oils and fats can be used for seasoning cast iron, but based on availability, affordability, effectiveness, and having a high smoke point, Lodge recommends vegetable oil, melted shortening, or canola oil, like our Seasoning Spray.
Set your clean and dry skillet in a 200° F oven for 15 minutes. Heat opens the pores of cast iron, so that it will easily accept the seasoning. Cast iron retains heat and the entire pan (including the handles) will get hot- so don't forget to use an oven mitt or potholder when you take the pan out of the oven.
For regular maintenance, do this process at least twice a year. If this is the first time you're seasoning your skillet, it's best to do this process twice in a row.
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.
All in all, you'll want to do this oiling-and-heating process three to four times, to set down a good initial layer of your own seasoning. Once you're done, just let the pan cool down. It's now ready for cooking.
The black stuff in your cast iron skillet is carbon residue and burnt food, and excess oil.
Cast iron that's been taken care of by its owner will be regularly seasoned. This process leaves behind a jet black coating that not only stops a pan from rusting but creates a non-stick surface that's easy to cook on. Seasoning is a natural process and requires oil to be heated in the pan.