For those of us who love our cast iron pots, we take good care of the and want to pass them down to our kids and grandkids. I’m lucky because Chad loves cooking with cast iron and he appreciates it and takes good care of it.
There are several ways to clean cast iron pots to keep them lasting through generations. Of course, I think the way I do it is best or I would do it a different way but if you clean yours using a different method and you’re happy with your way, there’s no reason to change.
I had always heard that you should clean your pot, wipe it dry, oil it and heat it either on top of the stove or in the oven. While my pots were seasoned to my satisfaction, my aunt, who was a real cajun lady, had the best cast iron pots. Hers were like glass and nothing ever stuck to them. When I was in Louisiana helping care for her before she passed away, I asked her how she cared for her pots. I will always regret that I didn’t learn more from her but she told me that she washed her pots (yes, with soap if needed), then she heated them on the stove to make sure they were completely dry and fairly warm . . not smoking hot. Then she rubbed just a bit of oil all over the pot. You don’t want it to be thick. I’ll rub the oil on, then in a minute or two, come back and wipe the excess away.
Cast Iron
Pots that have been used for years and years are black and shiny, where the newer ones are a bit lighter in color and not quite so smooth. The smoothness comes with use and with repeated seasoning. Every single time I use mine, I wash them, then oil them. All of these are Lodge except the back left. It’s a Cajun brand. You can probably see that the pot on the back left and front right are the ones I use the most. They’re smooth as can be. I can cook in either of those without anything ever sticking.
For messy cleanup jobs, I use a chainmail. I keep it at my sink because I do use it for something almost every day. Yesterday while making bread, I had the dough all over my hands and rubbed the soapy chainmail over them and it cleaned the gunky bread dough off easily.
I also love these Lodge scrapers and keep several of them handy.
Cast Iron Pots
The pots that I use almost every day are on a shelf in my pantry. Others are stored upstairs in the shop but for the most part, unless we’re cooking with the Dutch ovens outside, these are the pots I use most.
It’s rare for me to use anything but cast iron when cooking these days. I do have a couple of bigger stainless pots that I use for making things with tomatoes because the acid can eat at your finish on the cast iron. When making marinara sauce or chili, mostly just things with tomatoes, I use stainless. Otherwise, it’s cast iron at our house!
debbierhodes says
Dio you think it is safe to use on smooth top electric stoves?
Judy Laquidara says
Good question! Most owner’s manuals for the smooth top stoves will probably say not to use cast iron on them so always follow your manufacturer’s suggestions. We had a smooth top in Kentucky and I used cast iron on that for 9 years and didn’t seem to hurt it. In MO, we had a smooth top for 4.5 years and I used cast iron on that and it didn’t seem to hurt it. In both those houses, I hoped it would ruin them so I could replace the stove. Seriously, if I had a smooth top and did not want to ruin it and the instructions said not to use cast iron, I probably wouldn’t use it.
Mary says
Thank you so much for telling me how your aunt cleaned her pans. My mother had a three piece of cast iron oans that she used daily and often several times a day. Now that I have two pans I have tried to remember how she cleaned them to no avail. I know she washed them and out them on the stove to heat for just a minute or so. I didn’t remember the oiling but she must have done that as her pans never stuck. Later in life she got a flat top electric stove and still used the small cast iron pan for eggs. I enjoy your posts!
Rebecca in SoCal says
I was just reading the other day that anyone who would let water and SOAP (gasp) touch their cast iron didn’t deserve to own cast iron. I’m glad to see that that is an urban legend. (The old wive’s tale of how to maintain it wins!)
dezertsuz says
I love my Lodge skillet and the 3 legged pot. I got it for outside cooking, of course (or my son gifted it for a birthday, really), but It’s just the right spacing to go over a small back burner on my electric stove, and I used it that way for sweet potatoes last year around the holidays and it was perfect! I’m so lucky to live near a Lodge outlet (well, the whole factory, of course) and be able to stop in to see what seconds they have. Most of the time, I can’t tell there’s anything second about it!
Amy Makson says
We do just what you do… use the chain or soft nylon pad… you can use soap… and then be sure it is dry… a bit of oil and heat… the skillet can cook fish without it sticking… it is amazing. BUT years ago, before information was so accessible, we probably killed 2 or 3 cast iron pans… so the internet is good for things like this. Thanks for sharing.
Jane K says
Okay, at the risk of sounding really stupid (I have a cast iron skillet I have yet to use!), what kind of oil is used to season and keep it seasoned??