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Cast Iron Cookware--Why do you not wash with soap? How do you kill bacteria?

16K views 74 replies 34 participants last post by  Bob Riebe 
#1 ·
I'm assuming the soap cuts out the non stick surface that builds up. But if you never use soap how do you get rid of bacteria? Is there some type of product for that?

Any other tips for a cast iron cookware novice? I picked up some Lodge cast iron. I hope it's decent.

Thanks.
 
#52 ·
Dee said:
Ranger99 said:
AtlLaw said:
. I'm even using pure lard more and more! ::) Oh the horror...the horror. :'(

the shame of it all. . . . . :'(


my poor granny on my momma's side grew up picking cotton
with a sack in east texas, and consumed lard and sugar and salt
and tobacco and more salt and more lard and sugar
and coffee and tea and salt cured country ham and and lard cooked
scrambled eggs and biscuits with butter my momma and aunt churned
with wild plum jelly made with more sugar, and. . . . .etc.
everything on her plate got salted and peppered and the vegetables
each got a goodly spoon of sugar. the good white kind.
she was taken from us all too soon at the age of 95

It was that lard that killed her.
most likely the lack of it :D
 
#53 ·
Ain't that Dee a caution! ;D

Since I retired I've been cooking a more and using my CI more as well. Made Soda Bread and Shepherd's Pie in two skillets Yesterday. One was a Lodge and one was a Griswold. Even as good as the Lodge is 'spose to be I feel like the Griswold heats more evenly. :-\ And the Griswold has a vastly superior finish on the cooking surface. I wish I could find more of the old stuff.
 
#54 ·
goodshot said:
I wonder if pumice and a disc could polish the Lodge CI now.
Not sure what our grand parents used but have passed on a lot of Lodge
cookware as I am used to that wonderful surface they acquire.
Lodge used to put a nice smooth finish on the inside of their pans. I have one which I bought in the mid 1980s like that. I was shocked when I bought a smaller one 15 years ago and it had the rough interior. Someone here on GBO had posted about taking a sanding disc on an electric drill to smooth theirs out, so I tried it. First with 80 grit, then with 200 and it worked! Seasoned with commercial lard and the eggs scoot around like they were ice skating.

~WH~
 
#57 ·
Winter said:
Lodge used to put a nice smooth finish on the inside of their pans. I have one which I bought in the mid 1980s like that. I was shocked when I bought a smaller one 15 years ago and it had the rough interior. Someone here on GBO had posted about taking a sanding disc on an electric drill to smooth theirs out, so I tried it. First with 80 grit, then with 200 and it worked! Seasoned with commercial lard and the eggs scoot around like they were ice skating.

~WH~
Sanding the smooth works! ;)

Tim

quickdtoo said:
I use a flap disc to smooth out the modern Lodge CI, works great, not sold on the flaxseed oil tho, it's too brittle/fragile. :-\

Tim

http://www.instructables.com/id/Iron-Skillet-Seasoning-Modification/?ALLSTEPS
 
#58 ·
Most people cook with too much heat. It is surprising how "non-stick" a well seasoned cast iron pot or pan can be. Consider similar heat to what is used with stainless. It'll create a great "fond", and won't be hard to clean.
 
#59 ·
Heat is the way to clean cast iron cook ware. Say what you want but a cutting torch is the quickest and easiest way to get rid of the built up crud. If you do it right the cast whatever won't even get as hot using the torch as other methods. I've cleaned some really nasty cast cookware over the years with my torch and the combination of some heat and oxygen to oxide the crud peels it off quickly.

Wife uses Crisco vegetable oil on her cast stuff just like her mother and my mother used. Excellent cooks all.
 
#60 ·
Well I have one pan that has to be washed with a little soap occasionally. My wife insists on cranking the heat up and just flops whatever she is cooking right into the cold skillet. I have told her time and time again that the pan needs to be preheated. I tell her just put it on medium heat, walk away and do something else for 5 minutes and it will be ready to cook with. I am very picky about my cast iron pans and I have gone as far as telling her that she is not allowed to use them. Despite that, I frequently come home to crap baked onto my 10" pan. Sometimes the only way to remedy her having used it is to soap and scrub it. After all of this mistreatment, the pan still maintains a decent non stick surface.
 
#61 ·
you can't really scrub off "seasoning".
it's down in the pores of the iron.
you can sand it off with sandpaper or
an abrasive cleaner, or take it out with lye
or something that would reach down into the
pores of the metal to dissolve it.
"seasoning" is different than baked-on crap.
an occasional washing with mild soap and hot
water won't take it out.
the problem most folks have with c.i. is that
they don't re-heat the piece on the stove
to drive away traces of moisture from washing.
rinsing in hot water after washing isn't hot enough
to drive away the moisture left after washing.
 
#62 ·
We always wash our's the same as our other pans. Then we rinse in very hot water. If the metal gets hot enough, when removed, it will quickly dry right before your eyes. Then we put a bit of lard on a paper towel and lightly coat the insides. Been doing so for years without an issue.
 
#63 ·
Minnesota1 said:
I'm assuming the soap cuts out the non stick surface that builds up. But if you never use soap how do you get rid of bacteria?
KILL IT WITH FIRE!

There isn't going to be any bacteria in anything thoroughly cooked in cast iron or any other pan.
 
#64 ·
I recently discovered the joys of CI. I cooked eggs in a modern no-stick pan, but a few months ago I was reading about vintage cast iron and decided to try it. I got a 60 year old Griswold #4 and use it every morning for my eggs. I love using it, the way it forces me to slow down and enjoy the process, making breakfast more of an art than a science. Today I received a really nice Griswold #3 which is 80-90 years old. I think this might be my new go-to for eggs. The cooking surface is like glass! We have a sturdy old Lodge #8 which we use for searing steaks, and it works like a champ, but the Griswold pans are works of art in comparison. You can see the craftsmanship in the older pans.


I use coconut oil to cook eggs, olive oil for steaks, and a few drops of olive oil on the still-warm pan for seasoning. I rarely use soap, but an occasional drop of Dawn during cleanup won't hurt the seasoning. Just dry completely and re-oil.

 
#65 ·
I have a few of my grandmother’s pieces. She died in the early 60s when I was a little boy. My mother died at 93 and they passed to me. My mother always washed them with hot water and maybe a little salt and dried them and then heated maybe a teaspoon of lard and wiped them down before putting them away. She would never use crisco or oil when she was cleaning them...always lard. I wish I’d asked her why but I didn’t. I do know that they are still as slick as snot.
 
#66 ·
We've talked about this somewhere else more recently then this thread, but it's still a great topic! I only have one Griswold, a #10, but I'm always looking! :tango_face_wink:

As far as I'm concerned, the "modern" pans like Lodge cannot compare with the Griswolds. Look at the cooking surface and you can see the difference!

I wash them with hot water and then give them a quick rub down with whatever oil I grab first. If need be I scrub them with a pad.
 
#67 ·
Actually we wash ours in hot soapy water and a rag. Then warm it up on a burner, and wipe it out with a little olive oil on a paper towel.
They have been seasoned for decades.
 
#68 ·
Our large cast iron skillet get washed after every use then oiled and heated.
My cornbread skillet hasn't been washed since 1976 when it was new.
 
#73 ·
Some of the things that started the industrial revolution.

One was cast iron cookware. It revolutionized cooking for the masses. Before meat was cooked on a spit with open fire. Copper was the cookware if you could afford it. Copper kills vitamen C though.

Another was good china. About the same time as cast iron cookward good china was developed. More durable and could last for years.

Ben Franklin developed the cast iron stove. More warmth, and with a flat top and oven also revolutionized cooking.

Of course the steam engine. (Build from cast iron parts).

Noticed 3 either directly or indirectly affected cooking. Made for healthier meals. Killing germs, not only on cookware, but also not having to eat on wooden plates.
 
#75 ·
I am surprised at the number dudes who are worried about germs.
My grandparents were farmers and both grandmothers houses were **** n span but the in the food preparation, concern about germs and such was never ever expressed.
Wood cutting boards were just washed in hot water, although back then most hot water heaters had extremely hot water.

My dad especially pushed the limit on meat being on the edge of being edible.
I ate some chicken a week or so ago that was not cooked well enough and made me wonder if I should stick my finger down my throat but it finally moved on down the poop shoot after a bit of being uneasy and I am just fine.
 
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