calling cast iron cookware experts. . .

[Ksyder]

Using oil to clean works because of the old high school chemistry lesson- "like dissolves like", so yeah the salt is abrasive and the oil acts as a solvent. The water would be to rinse away excess residue and keep the pan seasoned. Then you dry the pan over heat to accelerate drying and prevent rusting.

 

[dawp]

I use a stiff brush and a soaking when needed and only use soap when I'm getting ready to reseason, and I prefer olive oil to veggie oil or shortening.

 

[NoShangriLa]

Why would it be gross if water that you drink contain all kind of organisms, and minerals?

Washing the dishes is essentially just rinsing the dishes with water and coat it with a very thin layer of minerals & organisms. And IMHO it is better to rinse the soap off your dishes because that cut down the inorganic chemicals that your body have to deal with.

 

[spidey07]

I did the math. 10 years of breakfast just about every weekend. That's 520 weekends. Normally a pound of bacon or sausage each weekend.

That's over 520 pounds of piggy fat soaked into the pan. Yummy. That's just from breakfast not counting all the other stuff that's soaked in there.

 

[LS21]

Originally posted by: miketheidiot


this i understand, its this how to clean it business that has me lost.

salt and oil and water? what the hell?

cast iron has an extremely rough surface. high surface area. all the little *scropic nooks and crannies means foods can easily get stuck in them.

thus you want to fill in these pocks with a layer of fat...from oil/grease... this will keep it slippery and non-stick

cleaning it with caustic soap means it will eat away this layer that you want kept on the cooking surface...

 

[lokiju]

I have a number of Lodge cast iron pieces and never have used soap and never have had an issue.

Just scrub it with as hot of water as you can make the sink produce and then wipe it down and oil it.

I never heat it back up either, the hot water I scrub it with gets the whole thing hot enough to do the trick since I oil it directly after washing and drying.