Ugh. You wanna know the secret to cooking on cast iron/carbon steel? Just cook with it. Put fat in, get it hot, put your food in. It’s really that easy. Wipe it out when you’re done, rub some oil on it. That’s it. You can even cook tomato sauce in it, it’ll be ok. People have been using cast iron to cook all kinds of things, acidic and not, for literal centuries. This myth that cast iron/carbon steel pans are these delicate special snowflakes that need constant attention and maintenance needs to die.
But they do need special maintenance, compared to Teflon pans or ceramic pans, they are the most finicky and hard to work with.
There are a lot of things people have done for centuries. Being old doesn’t make something superior.
The problem with the people who prostletyze cast iron, is they usually assume that everyone cooks like them, but the reality is that cast iron is generally a pain in the ass. I mean just the fact that you need to cover the entire pan in oil Every time you put it away should be enough of an indicator.
You definitely don’t need to oil it after every use. The main reason for applying oil is to keep it from rusting while it sits. If you just use it at least once a week then that rust isn’t a concern. Even if it did rust you can just scrub the rust off before you use it.
There is all sorts of special care you can do to cast iron if you really get into it. But if you really don’t care then you can just use it and wash it exactly like any other pan without issue. The whole soap thing is a myth now a days because modern soaps don’t contain lye anymore. Soap is entirely unnecessary in cast iron but it won’t hurt it. Seasoning is adequately acheived just by actually cooking with it. You really don’t need any special process to season it unless you deliberately stripped off all the old seasoning. You can cook acidic foods in it without issue. I do tomato sauce in mine all the time.
Coated pans require way more care. At least I can use proper metal utensils in my cast iron.
You don’t and it isn’t. I cook exclusively on cast iron, and I oil it only before I put some food that requires oil. I use hot water and a paper towel to wipe it clean. Been using it for years, way less scrubbing than stainless 90 percent of the time.
But I use it exclusively and daily, so ymmv.
I have a side business restoring antique cast iron pans and I use them for most of my cooking. I cook whatever the fuck I want in them, I leave the pan dirty on the stove a couple days sometimes when I’m busy, I use a scotch brite and scrub them clean with dish detergent, it really doesn’t matter.
Go get a shitty Walmart pan and complain that CI is too hard to work with, it’s ridiculous. My CHF #8 is an amazing piece of hardware
Ugh. You wanna know the secret to cooking on cast iron/carbon steel? Just cook with it. Put fat in, get it hot, put your food in. It’s really that easy. Wipe it out when you’re done, rub some oil on it. That’s it. You can even cook tomato sauce in it, it’ll be ok. People have been using cast iron to cook all kinds of things, acidic and not, for literal centuries. This myth that cast iron/carbon steel pans are these delicate special snowflakes that need constant attention and maintenance needs to die.
But they do need special maintenance, compared to Teflon pans or ceramic pans, they are the most finicky and hard to work with.
There are a lot of things people have done for centuries. Being old doesn’t make something superior.
The problem with the people who prostletyze cast iron, is they usually assume that everyone cooks like them, but the reality is that cast iron is generally a pain in the ass. I mean just the fact that you need to cover the entire pan in oil Every time you put it away should be enough of an indicator.
You definitely don’t need to oil it after every use. The main reason for applying oil is to keep it from rusting while it sits. If you just use it at least once a week then that rust isn’t a concern. Even if it did rust you can just scrub the rust off before you use it.
There is all sorts of special care you can do to cast iron if you really get into it. But if you really don’t care then you can just use it and wash it exactly like any other pan without issue. The whole soap thing is a myth now a days because modern soaps don’t contain lye anymore. Soap is entirely unnecessary in cast iron but it won’t hurt it. Seasoning is adequately acheived just by actually cooking with it. You really don’t need any special process to season it unless you deliberately stripped off all the old seasoning. You can cook acidic foods in it without issue. I do tomato sauce in mine all the time.
Coated pans require way more care. At least I can use proper metal utensils in my cast iron.
I’ve been cooking with cast iron for years, all I do is scrub it with hot water only and let it dry. No re seasoning, no coating in oil, nothing.
I’m genuinely impressed you’ve managed to fuck up using cast iron.
You don’t and it isn’t. I cook exclusively on cast iron, and I oil it only before I put some food that requires oil. I use hot water and a paper towel to wipe it clean. Been using it for years, way less scrubbing than stainless 90 percent of the time.
But I use it exclusively and daily, so ymmv.
I have a side business restoring antique cast iron pans and I use them for most of my cooking. I cook whatever the fuck I want in them, I leave the pan dirty on the stove a couple days sometimes when I’m busy, I use a scotch brite and scrub them clean with dish detergent, it really doesn’t matter.
Go get a shitty Walmart pan and complain that CI is too hard to work with, it’s ridiculous. My CHF #8 is an amazing piece of hardware