How do you clean a cast iron pan.

[john]

I believe:

They're supposed to "seasoned". No washing, no scrubbing. The fats and grease from cooking seals the pores in the cast iron.

I believe this amounts to wiping them out with a cloth or paper towel when done.

My wife says ick, but I have seen the teflon like coating that is left after years of seasoning.

[bobhenry]

When done with mine I simply fill about 1/2 full with water (and cover with the lid if it has one to clean also) and boil the water. Grab the hot cookware with a hot pad after the water has boiled a few minutes and scrub lightly under running warm water with a scotchbrite pad or a crumple of aluminum foil until clean and smooth.
Extremely difficult food deposits such as dried cheese or heavy sticky sugar deposits may require you to repeat this "boil and scrub" process.
Replace clean pan on the stove, cooktop , or fire and heat to dry and coat with oil inside and out. Be sure and treat any lid the same by drying and oiling it also.

Resist the thought of soap on heavy grease deposits there is no need for it. The boiling seems to take the greasy feel from the cast iron. If it seem a bit slimey after 1st cleaning simply go again.

If you clean it right away the cleaning is a fairly easy chore !

P.S. Do not let it set with water in it

you are inviting rust

[starleen2]

+1 on the boiling water cleaning method
Used it last weekend to clean ONE frying pan that did double duty to scramble a dozen eggs - clean with boiling water method, rinse out remains, use for frying sausage - repeated the cleaning method - Dry and put up - DONE!

[Dale M.]

You can use deglasse(sp) process (like making a wine sauces) while pan is hot, simply pour in some water, steam generated usually liquefies food particles, then wipe it out with soapy water.... Careful because of steam scalds....

If pan is seasoned properly you do not need scotchbright pads or steel wool or crumpled aluminum foil the food residue should release and pan should wipe clean with very little abuse, dry pan on open flame on stove or campfire...

The whole idea behind a good season is turn grease/oils into a hard carbon film on surface and that carbon film forms it own sort of Teflon like "non stick" coating...

Dale

[bobhenry]

Sounds like a great way to fracture a good piece of cast iron to me.

Heat it hot enough to create steam and toss in cold water ?????

AND SOAP

Well it could be worse my silly sister put mine in the dishwasher.

However , after our "Discussion" she has refrained from doing it again !

[TerryLawson]

I use the old salt and elbow grease on them for most times. But every once in a while I find that it needs a good full soap and water washing. Just make sure after its clean you reheat to dry it (the most important step) and then oil and heat to reseason.

I know there are people that will tell you not to ever use soap and water!!! But I have read alot about this subject and what I have found is that the no soap comes fromthe old days when the used harsh lye based soaps. Most of todays dish detergents are mild enough to use without the fear of ruining your hard won seasoning!!

And if you can leave your cast iron in the oven and oil it every time you preheat the oven. Every time you heat iron with oil it will add to the seasoning.


Terry

[parnold]

When I empty mine, I fill about 1/3 with water and scrub using a stainless steel scouring ball I purchased at a restaurant supply house. If the ball gets icky, I throw it in the dishwasher. I'm still on my first ball, and have used it dozens of times. It doesn't take much effort to dislodge anything that might have stuck to the sides. My grill pan does take a little more effort though.

[Cliffmeister2000]

+1 on the boiling water method. I don't fill half way, though, just enough to cover the part that needs soaking. In a pinch, I will lightly use a choreboy.

[Corwin C]

For those of you who cook with cast iron pans. How do you clean them? Do you take viagrea and go to scrubbing away with a bunch of steel wool? just courios? Slowcowboy about to crack out the cast iron pans this labor day weekend.

This is a late response, but, what the hey... Plain hot water (as hot as you can stand to put your hands in) and a long handled plastic bristle brush. Works best if pan doesn't completely cool before cleaning up (nothing so hot you can't handle it.) Dry thoroughly and VERY lightly oil. Well seasoned and often used cast iron works better than teflon.

I have used the salt scrub trick ... works pretty good, 50% vinegar solution on a warm (not hot) pan works sometimes, I have even gotten "medieval" in scraping with various implements and pads and steel wool in extreme cases, but I avoid soap whenever possible. If you do use soap -- warm 'em up and re-coat with oil.

Also, CI will crack if you put cold water in a hot pan. No problem with cold water in cold pan and bringing it to a boil. Be careful with those sudden temperature changes.

[Tadlan]

Not using soap isn't just to keep from eating away at the season you've achieved. Mild or not, soap should be avoided. Since the iron has microscopic pores, it can pick up bits of the soap and release it later. Nothing worse than tasting soap in your taters. You may not pick out a distinct soapy flavor, but you can notice the difference between my dutch oven without soap and my brother's with. I boil water, wipe it out, and while it is still hot apply a thin layer of oil with a paper towel. Then I leave a dry paper towel inside to absorb any moisture and over applied oil left over.

[starleen2]

Not using soap isn't just to keep from eating away at the season you've achieved. Mild or not, soap should be avoided. Since the iron has microscopic pores, it can pick up bits of the soap and release it later. .

HUMMM I thought that's why you seasoned Cast Iron in the first Place - so that the carbonized oil sinks into those pores and keeps it from rusting. If what you said is true even after seasoning- then even, water will past the seasoning and cause the CI to rust - with or without soap. I agree Cast iron is porous. If you use soap on a cast iron pan that is not completely sealed by seasoning, the soap will get into the cast iron and impart that taste to your food. Once the pan has been thoroughly seasoned and has a hard, impervious coating, using a mild soap to wash it will do no harm.

[Tadlan]

If what you said is true even after seasoning- then even, water will past the seasoning and cause the CI to rust - with or without soap. I agree Cast iron is porous. If you use soap on a cast iron pan that is not completely sealed by seasoning, the soap will get into the cast iron and impart that taste to your food. Once the pan has been thoroughly seasoned and has a hard, impervious coating, using a mild soap to wash it will do no harm.

True and false. If you have a nice thick seasoning built up over many years, then a little soap most likely won't penetrate into the pores, but...okay, science lesson time. Water is bipolar. It has a negative side and a positive side. Opposites attract so water clings to itself. Oil has no charge and so it doesn't stick to water. Water still sticks to itself, so it pushes the oil aside. Water will still stick to some of the carbon and other atoms present in the season, pulling them out. This is why if you let a dutch oven sit with water in it, it will rust no matter how good a season you have.

Now, soap. Soap is a mix of chemicals and oils. It has a side that likes water and a side that like oil, hugging both sides. Thus is pulls oil and disperses it in the water. This means that as soon as you add soap, it starts to pull oil out of the season and mix it in the water as the molecule hugs all sides. Some soap molecules won't have a strong enough connection to the oil and will let go and float back up into the water. Some will have a stronger connection to the oil in the season, forget about the water side, and stick. No matter how well you rinse, you will have some of these oil loving sides remain attached to the season, even if you can't see them. But, if your palate is like mine, you will taste them as the heat of cooking forces them to let go again in your food.

I hope that makes sense.