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Does the smoothness of the interior have that great an effect? I thought the polymerization was what mattered to prevent the food from sticking.
Big Iron: Cast Iron & Carbon Steel Pans
- Thread starter scdub
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Does the smoothness of the interior have that great an effect? I thought the polymerization was what mattered to prevent the food from sticking.
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I haven’t done any comparative testing, so I can’t say for certain/for all foods, however I believe so for the following reasons:
1) The older cast-iron pans are sought after BECAUSE of the smooth factory finish.
2) Friction is definitely decreased with a smooth finish, and I imagine less friction would help with food release.
3) Related to the above, but the smoother finish also reduces available surface area for food to stick to.
I’ve never cooked with a new cast iron pan, but I can imagine that if you were able to build up a really thick coating of oil that would smooth out the finish as well.
Anyone out there that can comment on the non-stick qualities of “bumpy” cast iron? Can you fry an egg on one without using a spatula?
I've got a 30 cm and a 20cm cast iron pans that I've had for maybe 6 or 7 years as well as a 20cm griddle pan I've had for about 15 years that all have the rough finish.
As long as the seasoning is maintained it's almost as good as a proper non stick pan. To be honest, I don't think I would be able to crack an egg into my pans and have it move around without first moving it with a spatula. It just kind of lightly sticks to the bottom until you move it. That's my experience anyway. I will say as well, they seem to be getting more non-stick with age, so that polymerization is probably creating thicker layers etc. each use.
They definitely still have that rough look but not quite so much as when they were new.
Edit: 30cm = 12" ; 20cm = 8" for those who still measure things like our ancestors
A couple of questions
1 What is the best high temp oil to use for seasoning ? I used to think it had to be an edible oil but from what i read here that is not necessarily so
When I say high temp i am meaning which oils take the most heat before cooking off
2 Is it possible to season aluminum in the same fashion ?
As a child i watched my grandmother fry eggs in an electric frypan and it seems to me they stuck very little
1 What is the best high temp oil to use for seasoning ? I used to think it had to be an edible oil but from what i read here that is not necessarily so
When I say high temp i am meaning which oils take the most heat before cooking off
2 Is it possible to season aluminum in the same fashion ?
As a child i watched my grandmother fry eggs in an electric frypan and it seems to me they stuck very little
I use rice bran oil. Canola oil is another good choice, but there are plenty of good oils to use. Just do a search on the web, there is plenty of good info out there.
I'm not sure about non-edible oils; never heard of that and doesn't make any sense to me logically.
I'm not a fan of using aluminum for cooking. Too many potential health risks for that. Carbon steel is another alternative which behaves much the same way as cast iron. Stainless is another option, but isn't as easy to maintain a non-stick polymer layer as the other two(cast and carbon steel). If you can get the temperature right, the water drop test method works surprisingly well for stainless without the need for any oil/polymer layer.
I use the grocery store brand vegetable oil, and it works great. I can't see any reason not to use it. I can't imagine that anyone's grandmother used any special oil, either. Lard, shortening, vegetable oil, or whatever they had on hand.
The trick to seasoning, is to wipe the oil on the pan, and then wipe it off....all of it. I mean, you will think you are wiping all of it off of the pan, but there will be an extremely thin layer of oil left on the surface, especially in the "pores" (for lack of a better word) of the pan. It's so thin, that you really can't even see it. Then, I put it in the oven, upside down, for 1 hour at 500 degrees (450 is OK, too). Let it cool down in the oven. I repeat the process 3 times. I like to use the blue shop towels for this process, because they don't leave any lint on the pan, like paper towels.
Yes on the cast i had used canola oil before but was thinking of something with a higher flashpoint
Like you say it would be silly to use inedible stuff
Quit the aluminum cookware decades ago but was just curious if it took a coating like cast
Correct it was lard or shortening she used and a bit of water and then covered
Will season the cast over again a see how it goes
SwissHeritageCo
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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I've heard flaxseed oil seasons well.
It's a good walkthrough for seasoning a cast iron pan. I will say though there are a lot of different ways to do this and maintain them, and the whole "never use dish soap" thing is a complete myth. Once you have a good polymerized layer, soap will not damage it.
Having said that, I just scrape any food or whatever from the surface, then use a small amount of plain hot water and paper towel straight after using the pans to clean them. After that, I just add a tiny coating of oil to the pan and heat back up to where the oil starts smoking, then turn off the heat. As I said, there are many ways to do this and many different opinions on what you need to do and what not to do that are just opinions and make it sound harder than what it is. I know people that prefer to use soap and it absolutely works just as well.
Yeah, there are probably 1000 videos out there, on how to take care of cast iron. I mainly posted this video to show the "wipe-on, wipe-off" method of applying oil. Leaving too much oil on the pan during the seasoning process, can end up causing that sticky oil feeling, on the pan.
I wash mine about the same way you do. I also like the small polycarbonate scraper that Lodge makes, and their scrub brush too. If there is nothing stuck to the bottom of the pan from searing meat, I just wipe out the left over oil with a paper towel, and then fill, and dump out, 4 or 5 pans of hot water. Then wipe it dry. And that's it. I will use soap, if necessary, but it usually isn't. They really are easy maintenance once you get them seasoned.
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I have a small pan my wife and I have been using almost exclusively since we’ve been married, and recently I got this two handle lodge number 10 with lid. Big cast iron fan here.
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This is my experience. The pan I’ve had for 7 years looks noticeably smoother, and I’m not sure what to attribute that to. I will say that when the pan needs to be reseasoned, it doesn’t matter how smooth it is. Sticks like a sumbitch.
Edit: 30cm = 12" ; 20cm = 8" for those who still measure things like our ancestors
Zing! Or as they say in France, “le zing”.
Haha our grandparents would be laughing their heads off seeing all these scientific seasoning processes.
A French chef in Bordeaux
just told me to just use it and the patina will grow better.
If food gets stuck just soak it and if it gets burnt on carbon or eggs on it a plastic scraper or a stainless chainmail scrubber will get it off without damaging the pan.
The heavy carbon steel pan used to be teflon-coated PTFE but the coating wore off and I had to strip the pan and season it cooking bacon etc.
The two other ones are granite anodised aluminium and enamelled aluminium which are okay but not a patch on the old carbon pan.I love my carbon knives too `cos they`re a doodle to sharpen and look lovely to me.
A French chef in Bordeaux
If food gets stuck just soak it and if it gets burnt on carbon or eggs on it a plastic scraper or a stainless chainmail scrubber will get it off without damaging the pan.
The heavy carbon steel pan used to be teflon-coated PTFE but the coating wore off and I had to strip the pan and season it cooking bacon etc.
The two other ones are granite anodised aluminium and enamelled aluminium which are okay but not a patch on the old carbon pan.I love my carbon knives too `cos they`re a doodle to sharpen and look lovely to me.
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Yes, the Lodge stuff is straight sand cast and never milled in the interior like the classic cast iron pans. It’s a cheaper finish and inferior.
I tried grape seed oil and found it not durable. I’m using avocado oil now.
I season a freshly sanded pan with 4 very thin coats baked on in a hot oven - at least the smoking point of the oil. I touch up with a single coat a few times per year. I have a ton of cast iron. Pictures later.