Seasoning Cast Iron

I just read an excellent article on another blog about the science of seasoning cast iron. I thought some of you might like to read it also. It recommends flax seed oil which was a first for me, but it makes sense. As I was getting into it, I thought she was going to recommend linseed oil and was starting to cringe. Thankfully I didn't need to!

http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

It does make me wonder if our grandmothers used linseed oil or what. I seem to remember my mom using lard. Back then, linseed oil may not have been so chemically processed and all like it is now. It's great for the handles of garden implements, but I really don't want to eat from pans seasoned with it.

Good article! It gives me something to ponder on and wonder what you think of it!

Newest Cast Iron Finds

Yesterday I found 2 pieces of cast iron at Good Will! This "makes my day" of course! I love checking out Good Will and the store has a "last chance" store next door that has everything marked down to VERY small amounts.

The small round 6" skillet looks to have been used well. It's not too often one sees CI that has been seasoned and cared for so well. It was as smooth as silk to run my fingers over it. I went ahead and paid the $4.99 for it because it's in remarkable condition. The odd spots in the pic aren't there visually. I had to go back and run my fingers over it again!

The griddle was $5.99, which is more than I usually pay at Good Will, but sometimes I get stuff marked so darn low that I don't mind the occassional "off" price for something. Cast iron is one of those occassional somethings as it's RARE to find it there.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a guy on the Today show for the cooking segment who had a brand new cast iron skillet. The theme for the cooking segment was cooking in cast iron. He had commented CI can be bought anywhere these days and cheaply. Then he said it needed seasoning before use and to rub the inside with oil and then heat it. I suspected that the guy learned his seasoning-the-inside-only method from the inter net without questioning what he reads as being the best or proper way. Maybe I'm wrong on my suspicion, but I had immediately got the idea he didn't know much about CI when I watched it. ;) One wouldn't have a well seasoned pan like this (my new find) that was only seasoned inside IMHO. No offense to him as we ALL are on a lifelong learning curve and hopefully we don't close our minds to it before the end! However my new piece clinches my questioning of his method on seasoning the inside only or both inside and outside. This pan I just got is as well seasoned outside as inside and has the same "sheen" outside as inside. So my 2 cents is season both as I have always done. There would have to be some difference in feel and look if only seasoned inside.

I'll need to season the small oval griddle, as it's not done. It looks like it's just sat in a cupboard for some years. I'll do it with another pan I recently found, as soon as I get the wood stove fired up for a good heating.

I also want to look up what the proper name for this oval griddle is from the CI manufacturers.

I think I have recently become a CI collector! I'm tired of teflon pans that loose their teflon so easily so we are eating flecks of it. I guess the big problem is that my cookware is getting tooooo old - just like me (aged with a few flaws)!

Do you like CI? Do you season yours inside and outside the piece or just on the inside?

(PS - The griddle is actually a fajitta pan and would have come with a wooden serving tray. No fear, I'll not tell it and will keep it busy. It now has a real job!)