how to season cast iron properly. no, really.

my wok--the before picture!

Ok, we’re about to nerd it up here because I’ve been reading some information on the science behind seasoning cast iron that kind of blows my mind. It was just last week that I was patting myself on the back for having a cast iron wok that nary a kernel of fried rice stick would stick to, and this week I discover I have been seasoning it all wrong. I did suspect that I was re-seasoning a little more often than I should, and I tried to ignore a streak of rust here and there that would come and go–but all of that has been explained by Sheryl Cantor on her blog. I’ll summarize for you, but you really must head over and read the whole thing:

  1. It does matter which oil you use, and flaxseed oil is recommended because it’s a “drying oil” (not what you think) and will create a hard coating.
  2. Yes, flaxseed has a lower smoke point than the peanut oil I’ve been using and yes, that means it will start to break down faster–release free radicals!*–and yes, it’s still what Sheryl recommends. (It’s not like the peanut oil wasn’t smoking when I seasoned my wok, but it never occurred to me that I should have been more…aware of the free-radical part.*) The reasoning and the recommended process are detailed in the original post.
  3. Red rust is bad (duh, we knew that…sheesh.) but black rust is good (…eh…?!) which Sheryl covers in another post on that subject, complete with chemical symbols and smart commenters that have sold me on the whole thing.

The pictures on her posts alone have convinced me to strip down my wok and start seasoning from scratch. Anyone else?

*Updated to include a little disclaimer. Let me be clear, I am in no way advising you to set off a bunch of free radicals in your kitchen, nor overheat your pans that are doused with oil. I hope I made it clear at the beginning of the post that I actually have no idea what I’m doing in this area, which is why I’m pointing you to someone who seems to. Proceed with caution, at your own risk, etc. Only follow my lead when I tell you to splurge on good wine, never to buy fresh tomatoes in February, always give the best piece of food to the person you love, things like that.

 

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6 Responses

  1. Thanks for the pointer to Sheryl’s article on black rust, Yasmin.
    Looks like your wok has a handle on it. Is it plastic? How does that affect the seasoning process? I’ve seasoned a lot of cast iron skillets and dutch ovens but have never tried a wok so I’m interested to hear what differences there are.

    Reply

  2. hi david! yes, the handles on my wok are plastic, but all of the info id read on seasoning it used a stove-top method. when i brought it home raw (and then washed), i heated it on high heat on the stove till dry and blue with heat, then used an oily cloth to slick it all over while hot (lots of smoke!), then let that heat up and smoke and dry out again, watched it turn blue/white, then repeated a few more times. my place was filled with smoke but id say it was well-seasoned and it sounds similar to blueing process on sheryls post, i think.
    so those plastic handles werent affected or even warm when i seasoned my wok. i was thinking of wrapping them in lots of foil and trying the oven method to strip and re-season it, but at 500 degrees, i probably will ruin the handles, so i might stick to the stovetop. what do you think? and does what i did differ from what you did to season your pans?

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  3. Oooo, I have had the same thing, where I had a good pan, but with a plastic handle. I think I did try one pan in the oven, but I am always very careful about that because smoke from plastic, especially from cookware, is usually really super toxic, and I wouldn’t want that hanging around in my oven/kitchen.
    I think the way you did it with your pan on the stove top is the one I would recommend, and I’m pretty sure it’s the way I’ve seen most professional chefs do it, from what I remember? Is there a bigger benefit from doing it in the stove versus stovetop particularly?
    btw, just discovered your blog, so great! Adding it to my blog list. =)
    @bsarich

    Reply

  4. awww, thank you, brennan! um, yeah, i never thought about the fumes that the plastic handles would let off at that heat… good thing you came along! sticking to the stove top!

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  5. Hey Yas!

    Thanks for this. Just last week we had guests over and we used our cast iron skillet for something (I can’t remember). Well our guests thought it’d be nice to do the dishes for us. They didn’t understand the cast iron thing and proceeded to wash it and use steel wool on it without me noticing (might’ve been the wine). Next morning… a skillet of rust. 🙁 Thanks for the post and I’ll let you know how the new seasoning turns out, apparently I’ve been doing it all wrong too.

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