How To Season Cast Iron Cookware

 Why give your cast iron season? Ok, the purpose of having a cast iron pan or skillet is to get a cooking surface that heats uniformly and throughout the cooking phase does not allow food to adhere to it. Seasoning the cookware of cast iron should make this possible.

Seasoning a pan of cast iron is a science method. It's a lot like blacksmithing: The mixture of heat and metal, processed in certain respects, increases the finished product's consistency. Cast iron pans are pretty basic and relatively common products, so the procedure shouldn't deviate too far from what I'm about to describe.

When purchasing cast iron cookware first, skip anything but a good piece of cast iron. You don't want something that screws on, nor want any wood fixtures or funky coatings. Just 100 per cent iron cast! Do check that you have high quality peanut or coconut oil, and a sheet of paper towels, after you've picked your cookware.

You want a good curing base, not the fluffy base that you get from animal fat! Remove all the labels from the plate, rinse them by hand (never using a dishwasher on the cast iron) to avoid any glues, enabling it to dry entirely. Wet skillets never season!

Now coat the entire interior of the pan gently. I can't explain sufficiently this: just using a thin oil coat! Not only is using too much oil a mistake, it would also raise the quantity of oil that needs to be burned off, thereby disturbing the seasoning cycle. Place a sheet of aluminum foil (slightly bigger than the pan's main body) on a counter top which you can spare for a few days.

Flip the pan over (face-down, with the bottom of the pan pointed to the sky) and the oil can flow gradually and dry for the next 36 to 48 hours. Take the pan off the foil and inspect it at the end of the time but do not touch the cooking sheet! When you see some areas that are still liquid, wipe them out softly. Finally, the pan will be primed for seasoning.

Set the oven to 500 degrees (of course Fahrenheit) and take off another piece of aluminum foil, the same thickness as last time. Put the foil on your oven shelf and place the pan on top of it face down (the bottom of the pan again pointed to the sky). Others claim this cycle should be performed at lower temperatures ... Yet it is not scientific.

Science suggests you want around 500 degrees to burn the oil straight into the pan. Leave the pan for a complete hour in the oven. If you do several pieces at once, then put them in for another five minutes or so.

Note this crucial move after you have begun baking the pan: Switch on every vent and open any kitchen window you can! The cycle might, to say the least, be smoky! Proper ventilation is an utter necessity. Of example, please be mindful of fire threats, and be able to tackle them!

Remove the cooking utensils from the oven with your best oven gloves when the time is up; it'll be really dry. Enable it to cool down on top of the burner, then test the surface. Then, you can see any darkening or blackening of the pan, since you used strong oils at high heats. When you are not pleased, add a very thin oil paint, then season it in the oven at 500 degrees for another 60 minutes.

Since you allowed it to cool first, and you're using such a light oil layer, it shouldn't be a issue for the pan (no reason to let the oil get tacky on the second run for a few days). Any way, allow it to cool to room temperature when you're done. Never use water to cool your iron cast skillet, as it would erase all the good work you've accomplished!