Your skillet must be very important to you and, therefore, calls for intensive care. nYou should always make sure you clean it well and clean it right.
If you accidentally remove part of the smooth seasoning when cleaning, you can always re-season it afterward.
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What are the materials you need?
A brush is necessary for cleaning. Getting food off your pan requires a strong scrub brush.
This is a cast-iron tool only. You also need to use a moist cloth to clean down the skillet immediately after use.
The skillet pan should not be soaked or left in the sink.
Other materials you require are an iron pan, a sponge or a hard brush, some cleaned and dried cloths or paper towels, plant-based oils or fats, and kosher salt (optional)
How do you go about cleaning?
Wash the skillet with soap and hot water immediately after use.
The pan should not be soaked or left in the sink. Wash the skillet by hand with hot water and a sponge or stiff brush.
You can use tongs or gloves if the water is hot.
Use soap or steel wool to remove the seasoning from your pan, not the dishwasher. Using kosher salt and water paste, scrub the pan clean.
Then clean the area with a paper towel. Boiling water in the pan can also help loosen stuck-on food.
Use a towel or a low heat setting on the stove to dry the skillet.
Prepare the skillet’s interior by wiping it with vegetable oil or melted shortening.
Some cooks also prefer to coat the skillet in cooking oil before using it. Wipe away any excess with a cloth.
Using soap, steel wool, or another abrasive isn’t fatal, but you may need to re-season the skillet. Soap can clean a well-seasoned skillet.
Also, a half-raw potato and some baking soda can be used to remove rust from cast iron. The pan may need to be re-seasoned after cleaning.
The same as a car, a cast-iron skillet needs regular maintenance. Good maintenance will extend its life; abuse (neglect) will necessitate costly repairs.
In any case, these steps will revive your skillet:
- Wash your skillet after each use
Cleaning a hot skillet with paper towels removes food and oil traces. Use hot water and a non-metal brush or cleaning pad to remove any remaining food residue.
Wash with mild soap and rinse completely. This method should help you to get rid of stubborn food and grime.
- Apply a little oil after each cleaning.
Cover the pan with oil using paper towels. To remove oil residue, use oiled paper towels to wipe the surface repeatedly.
Before serving, let the pan cool fully.
What is the best way to season cast iron?
You can restore the seasoning of your skillet using the following methods:
Stovetop Restore
Medium-high heat the skillet. Clean the surface with 2 tablespoons oil on paper towels held by tongs until no oil remains.
Experiment with a few drops of oil three to five times, checking for smoke and letting the pan cool
Oven Repair
Preheat oven to 500°F 1 tablespoon (12-inch pan) or 2 tablespoons paper towel-oiled pan surface (10-inch pan). Remove any residual oil with clean paper towels (the surface should look dark and smooth).
The skillet cooks in an oven for an hour. Allow cooling entirely using potholders.
How to deal with rust on your skillet
In most cases, a cast-iron pan’s seasoning will simply need to be maintained or refreshed.
If the seasoning has become dull or damaged, or the pan is substantially rusted, a total overhaul is required.
As the first line of defense, use steel wool and soap. Afterward, scrub it well to remove any rust and debris, then re-level it. Remove only the gunky seasoning components.
Wash and dry the skillet completely before re-seasoning it. If the pan is beyond repair, throw it away or strip it.
Stripping your skillet pan
Begin by removing the coating from a rusted-out cast-iron skillet (and then re-seasoning it).
Reverse the oven repair techniques (previous part) six times or until the skillet has a dark, smooth surface.
What does seasoning your skillet mean?
A coating of molecules that resembles plastic forms when fat or cooking oil is heated to its smoke point in cast iron.
Small amounts of oil were collected in pan pits and adhered to the metal form of seasoning.
The coating gets more slippery and long-lasting with repeated exposure to hot oil. Although most skillets are pre-seasoned, regular use makes them even more non-stick than they already are.
How much seasoning oil do you need to use?
Toxicity increases with polyunsaturated fat content.
Flaxseed oil, which oxidizes and polymerizes faster than other vegetable oils, can be used to create a long-lasting seasoning. Alternate oils include sunflower and soybean.
Best flaxseed oil (9 percent saturated, 18 percent monounsaturated, 68 percent polyunsaturated).
Despite its length, seasoning with flaxseed oil is very nice since they stick to the skillet pan very well.
Affordable substitutes include sunflower oil (10% saturated, 20% monounsaturated, 66%), and soybean oil (16%). (7 percent saturated, 63 percent monounsaturated, 28 percent polyunsaturated).
The worst fat is bacon fat (39 percent saturated, 45 percent monounsaturated, 11 percent polyunsaturated)
Testing a skillet pan’s seasoning
A well-seasoned skillet will have a black, semi-glossy outside and a nonstick inside when cooked in.
No rust, dullness, or dryness.
You may also try the egg test to check whether your skillet has been well seasoned, though, in the hands of an amateur, eggs may be wasted.
How do you do this?
Cook an egg in a skillet to test the seasoning (heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes, then add egg).
Well-seasoned pans shouldn’t stick much.
With the above information, you should have no problem with cleaning your skillet, a very important procedure, and re-seasoning it afterward.
Make sure that when you do all of these things, you take great care to protect yourself.
Avoid abrasive materials and chemicals that can cause injurious and severe harm to you after the cleaning or even during the process.
