Cast iron cooking gear is durable. With proper care, it will last practically forever.
- Warm the pan on the stove with a quarter-inch of water in it
- Scrub any dirty spots with a stiff brush
- Rinse and dry thoroughly
- Apply a small amount of oil and rub in with a paper towel
- Boil a small amount of water to loosen
- Scrape the area with a metal utensil
- Follow the cleaning instructions above
- If the scraping left a bright metal spot, re-season that spot
Sometimes, cooking leaves a lot of grease. Here's how to deal with it.
- Allow the grease to cool
- Scrape the excess grease into a container or trash bag. There should be very little grease left
- Add a quarter-inch of water to the pan
- Heat the pan up
- Scrub the water and grease with a stiff brush
- Pour out the water
- Dry with a paper towel
- If needed, apply a small amount of oil with a paper towel all over, inside and out
If the pan has bright metal or rust spots, it will need to be seasoned
- Using white vinegar, scrub the rust spots to remove
- Rinse and dry thoroughly
- Put a tray lined with foil on the bottom rack of your oven
- Preheat oven to 475F
- Rub the pan inside and out with a layer of neutral oil
- Wipe off all excess oil. You want a thin coat
- Bake the pan upside down on a middle or upper rack for at least an hour
- Turn off the oven and let the pan cool
- Handle carefully. You will want to repeat steps 4 through 8 for multiple coats. Scrape the coat with a metal scraper in between coats to make them flat coat