Cast Iron Frying Pan

Cast iron frying pans, skillets, and pots are perfect for cooking. Why? Because these cookware have the ability to retain and disperse heat quickly and effectively. So what kind of cooking can be done with cast iron cookware? You name it. Sauté vegetables or meat, stir-fry them, or even use the cookware to grill, the food cooked in these pans and skillets come out well done. One of the plus points about having a cast iron pan is that your food will cook evenly and that too in a short amount of time. Which in turns saves your time in the kitchen and saves you money. However, there are some drawbacks to having a cast iron pan, such as the pans being slightly heavy and difficult to work within the kitchen and the need to season and clean them on a regular basis. But we can surely overcome at least one drawback - following proper cast iron seasoning and cleaning methods. And that's what our article will be concentrating on. Giving you information on curing (seasoning) and cleaning the skillets and pans. Take a look.

Cleaning a Cast Iron Skillet or Pan

Before we can season cast iron cookware, knowing the techniques of cleaning the skillet and pan is very important. Here are the directions which you can follow.

• First gather the materials - hand gloves, salt, paper towels, metal spatula, liquid dish soap, scrubber, and vegetable oil.
• Every time you use the pan, make sure that you heat it properly before cooking anything in it.
• Also, use the pan for frying purposes only for first couple of months to keep the seasoning of the pan intact.
• After you're done using the pan, immediately wash it. To wash, add a tablespoon of salt with some water.
• Wear your hand gloves at all times. Use paper towels to scrub inside the pan. Make sure the pan is not very hot.
• After that, place the pan on the stove (low heat) and let it dry properly. Keep it there for about a minute or so.
• If there is any food leftover on the pan, you can use a metal spatula to remove it. Or use water and liquid dish soap mixture.
• With a scrubber, you can easily remove the leftover food. In the end, rinse under water properly and wipe the insides with vegetable oil and paper towel.

Seasoning a Cast Iron Skillet or Pan

There are two main reasons why seasoning your cookware is always beneficial. One, it protects the cooking utensil from rusting and two, provides a natural non-stick layer to it. So if you want to learn how to season a cast iron pan, then follow the directions given below.

• First gather the materials - hand gloves, liquid dish soap, scrubber, shortening, aluminum foil, cooking sheet, paper towels or cleaning cloths.
• Make sure that the pan is absolutely clean. If not, then use hot water with liquid dish soap and scrub it properly.
• Once clean and dry, keep the pan on the stove to warm it a little bit.
• After that, melt shortening and apply a layer inside the pan with paper towels or cleaning cloth.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 350ºF. Take a cooking sheet and cover it with aluminum foil properly.
• Place the coated pan on the sheet upside down so that once hot, the shortening can drip inside the sheet.
• Keep the pan inside the oven for 20 minutes. But if you see any smoke inside the oven, lower the oven temperature and bake for the rest of the time.
• Later, remove the grease from the sheet and place the pan back inside the oven. Keep it there for about 2 to 3 hours.
• Keep the oven off and let the pan cool down on its own. In the end, remove it. Your pan has been seasoned.

As you follow the instructions mentioned in this article on cleaning a pan and then seasoning it, you will see why it is so important. Now before I end this article, I'd like to give you a quick tip. Whenever you purchase a new cast iron cookware, remember to season it immediately. Newer cooking utensils, including cast iron cookware, have a protective layer which is placed by the manufacturers themselves. This layer has to be removed in order to make the cookware usable. Use a dish scrubber and liquid dish soap to scrub the pan properly. Other than that, follow the directions given above in the article.