FoodBanter.com - View Single Post

Alan Holbrook[_5_]

wrote in news:fci51chj95ih36a5kjgee612fv9oogmh3o@
4ax.com:

> All my life I have heard that with cast iron frying pans, you never
> wash them with soap, you just wipe them with a paper towel, and put them
> away until they are needed.

Not necessarily true. Lots of knowlegable people wash their cast iron with
soap and water, and if done properly, there's no damage to the seasoning
and there's no rust. Here's the method I follow: wash the pan in hot,
soapy water just as you would anything else. Dry it thoroughly, using
paper towels. Put a little bit of oil (I use olive oil) on another paper
towel and thoroughly coat the inside of the pan. Put the pan in a 200
degree oven, upside down (so that if you used too much oil, it'll drain),
for ten minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before
storing. I've been cleaning all my cast iron that way for years, and the
pans are still very much non-stick.

I've heard, but can't verify, that the "do not wash" thing is based on the
fact that chuck wagons used on cattle drives and covered wagons used by
settlers couldn't carry enough water to "waste" any on washing cast iron,
and that stuck and became apart of cooking legend.