{"id":1866,"date":"2017-04-08T13:47:12","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T18:47:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dmentd.com\/?p=1866"},"modified":"2017-04-08T13:50:19","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T18:50:19","slug":"cast-iron-pan-seasoning-sheryl-canter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dmentd.com\/blog\/cast-iron-pan-seasoning-sheryl-canter","title":{"rendered":"Cast Iron Pan Seasoning – Sheryl Canter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seasoning method from the following article (worth a read a there is good chemistry info behind using flaxseed oil over other forms of fat):\u00a0http:\/\/sherylcanter.com\/wordpress\/2010\/01\/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The Recipe for Perfect Cast Iron Seasoning<\/h3>\n

The basic idea is this: Smear a food-grade drying oil onto a cast iron pan, and then bake it above the oil\u2019s smoke point. This will initiate the release of free radicals and polymerization. The more drying the oil, the harder the polymer. So start with the right oil.<\/p>\n

Go to your local health food store or organic grocery and buy a bottle of flaxseed oil. It\u2019s sold as an omega-3 supplement and it\u2019s in the refrigeration section because it goes rancid so easily. Check the expiration date to make sure it\u2019s not already rancid. Buy an organic flaxseed oil. You don\u2019t want to burn toxic chemicals into your cookware to leach out forever more. It\u2019s a fairly expensive oil. I paid $17 for a 17 ounce bottle of cold-pressed, unrefined, organic flaxseed oil. As it says on the bottle, shake it before you use it.<\/p>\n

Strip your pan down to the iron using the techniques I describe in my popover post. Heat the pan in a 200\u00b0F oven to be sure it\u2019s bone dry and to open the pores of the iron a little. Then put it on a paper towel, pour a little flaxseed oil on it (don\u2019t forget to shake the bottle), and rub the oil all over the pan with your hands, making sure to get into every nook and cranny. Your hands and the pan will be nice and oily.<\/p>\n

Now rub it all off. Yup \u2013 all. All. Rub it off with paper towels or a cotton cloth until it looks like there is nothing left on the surface. There actually is oil left on the surface, it\u2019s just very thin. The pan should look dry, not glistening with oil. Put the pan upside down in a cold oven. Most instructions say to put aluminum foil under it to catch any drips, but if your oil coating is as thin as it should be, there won\u2019t be any drips.<\/p>\n

Turn the oven to a baking temperature of 500\u00b0F (or as high as your oven goes \u2013 mine only goes to 450\u00b0F) and let the pan preheat with the oven. When it reaches temperature, set the timer for an hour. After an hour, turn off the oven but do not open the oven door. Let it cool off with the pan inside for two hours, at which point it\u2019s cool enough to handle.<\/p>\n

The pan will come out of the oven a little darker, but matte in texture \u2013 not the semi-gloss you\u2019re aiming for. It needs more coats. In fact, it needs at least six coats. So again rub on the oil, wipe it off, put it in the cold oven, let it preheat, bake for an hour, and let it cool in the oven for two hours. The picture above was taken after six coats of seasoning. At that point it starts to develop a bit of a sheen and the pan is ready for use.<\/p>\n

If you try this, you will be tempted to use a thicker coat of oil to speed up the process. Don\u2019t do it. It just gets you an uneven surface \u2013 or worse, baked on drips. Been there, done that. You can\u2019t speed up the process. If you try, you\u2019ll mess up the pan and have to start over.<\/p>\n

The reason for the very hot oven is to be sure the temperature is above the oil\u2019s smoke point, and to maximally accelerate the release of free radicals. Unrefined flaxseed oil actually has the lowest smoke point of any oil (see this table). But the higher the temperature the more it will smoke, and that\u2019s good for seasoning (though bad for eating \u2013 do not let oils smoke during cooking).<\/p>\n

I mentioned earlier there\u2019s a myth floating around that vegetable oils leave a sticky residue. If the pan comes out of the oven sticky, the cause is one of three things:<\/p>\n