There are so many reasons I love having a gas stove. Probably the main reason is that I can cook even if the electricity is off but a close second is how my cast iron cookware performs on a gas flame.
Several of my pots are slick as glass and nothing sticks. I love being able to cook an egg without it sticking at all.
And bake biscuits without the bottoms burning. Now, if the cook just wouldn’t walk away with the broiler on, the tops wouldn’t scorch either.
The mess left behind from cooking the eggs . . oh, I guess I should say that I don’t eat the whites – just the yolks so I only cook the yolks.
I wipe the mess out with a paper towel (that does leave behind lint) and it’s ready to be used next time. I’ll wipe it with a damp lint free rag before I use it. No use messing up a rag no because it’s so gritty and dusty here, that I always wipe or rinse my pots and dishes before using them, even if it’s just been one day since I used them.
I’d give up my Instant Pot before I’d give up my cast iron but I hope I never have to give either of them up.
Clare Wilkinson says
What am I doing wrong——things stick in my cast iron. Supposedly it came preseasoned and I always add oil but after a little while cooking stuff starts sticking.
Teri says
I have the same problem. I bought a LODGE pre-seasoned pan and add oil but everything still sticks. I also baked it in the oven with oil but it hasn’t helped with the sticking. Any advice is appreciated!
Judy Laquidara says
I find that it takes a LOT of use to get them slick. What I do is when I have one that’s not quite right, I keep it out on the stove and try to use it every day. Even the pot that I cooked the egg in, I wiped it down, heated it up on the stove, wiped it with oil, heated it again, then wiped away the excess oil. I have a couple of pots that aren’t right yet and if they’re sitting on the stove, several times a day, I’ll heat them, oil them, heat til the oil smokes, turn the fire off and wipe it down. Don’t give up!
Liz says
A while back, you recommended an alternative to the typical scrubbing pad – a chain mail scrubber.. It works great. And, it’s important not to use any detergent on the pan.
While you are seasoning a pan and stuff still gets stuck on it, fill the pan with water and heat it up. The hot water will soften the food and then it is easier to wipe or scrub off. The other point my mom taught me was to always heat the pan after rinsing it in water since that helps to prevent rust. Then just like Judy’s instructions, wipe it with oil, heat, wipe away excess oil. And repeat until the finish is what you want it to be.
At some point, you or someone else will scrub the pan so it loses the non-stick quality. Just restart the process. A great place to look for great old pans is at flea markets.You might need to really scrub the pan down to get it clean enough to start seasoning it, but it is so worth it.
Teri says
Thank you both; I will keep at it!
Judy Laquidara says
I do use Dawn in my pans and I use either the chain mail or the Lodge brush.
For pans with rust or a really bad seasoning job, they can be soaked in vinegar for a day, then scrubbed, then soaked in more vinegar and scrubbed, til the seasoning/rust is all gone and you’re back to just the cast iron and can start over with the seasoning.
Elle says
Share your preferred biscuit recipe? Please ?
Sara Fridley says
I always loved my cast iron pans – especially when I had a gas stove. But as my arthritic hands have gotten worse, and I have an electric glass cooktop now I gave most of them to my son-in-law. He is using and enjoying them. The big ones got too heavy for me to handle easily.
Judy Laquidara says
It’s much better to pass them on to someone who will love them and use them than to keep them . . just because! I too find that I don’t use my biggest ones as much, not only because they’re too heavy but because we just don’t cook huge meals any more.
Tee says
Best thing to do to get cast iron to not stick is to use them as a deep fryer for a few times. Put an inch or 2 of oil in, fry up some onion rings or veggies and let it sit after. Use the oil a few times, then toss the oil, wipe it clean with a paper towel and they are slick as glass. Also, put them in a hot oven after using them with oil (leave the oil in). It takes a bit longer than the deep fryer method, though. There are a bunch of ways to do it, but this is what worked for me. It just takes time.
Susan Nixon says
When you can’t hoist the cast iron around any more, I highly recommend cast aluminum. I bought a Dutch oven at Aldi for about $20, but I’ve never seen another cast aluminum pot there in the 3-4 years since. I look all the time! I love that pot and use it for all kinds of things. I did find this German made cast aluminum cookware on Amazon, and it looks much like my pot. You CAN use Elo brand on glass ceramic top stoves, too, but not induction. Calfalon
Judy Laquidara says
I remember that you’ve mentioned that before. Some day I’ll probably have to switch over to the aluminum. Thanks!
Susan says
I have a question. Since it sounds like you only wipe your pans after using, are you concerned about them getting rancid or bacteria on the pans. Obviously I don’t own any cast iron pans, hence the question.
Judy Laquidara says
I don’t only wipe my pans always. That was after cooking an egg. I often use soap, hot water and a Lodge brush. I do not worry about them getting rancid because I use the same two or three pots over and over . . several times a day usually. I do not worry about bacteria because I heat the pots before I use them. I found this online “Heating foods will kill all microbes – depending on the temperature. Most microbial cells will die at a temperature of 100 ºC. However, some bacterial spores will survive this and need temperatures around 130ºC to kill them”
130C is about 266F and my pots are always hotter than that before I begin using them again.
If you are concerned, I never have a problem with using soapy water to clean them once they’re seasoned.