Seasoning Cast Iron (Flaxseed vs. Old School methods)

welcome to another episode of cookware therapy, today we're reviewing my

cast

iron

and carbon steel skillets. I know what they're going to ask me. I tried the

flaxseed

oil method when Cheryl Campers' blog post appeared several years ago with this new way of cooking. Seasoned

cast

iron

took the cooking world by storm Cook's Illustrated said that kitchen waste season this way could survive a run through a dishwasher The kitchen gave the thumbs up, so I wasn't going to go into this video without being prepared. I have to try it, so today I'm going to show you a new old way to season cast iron and show you how the pans performed immediately after

seasoning

them because you know the proof is in the pudding.

The first step required completely removing my pants from the current

seasoning

. Cheryl suggested that I dip them in a bucket of Lies but first I needed to cover myself completely like an astronaut for this procedure because you like even a little bit and it gives you a terrible burn if it touches your skin this made me a little uncomfortable and then the spooning of a whole bucket of bleach afterwards didn't sound like much fun either, so I cheated. I decided to do what I've always done when seasoning pans and just give them a thorough scrubbing with the bartender's friend.

My carbon steel skillet is a great way to show you. how well this product works with a little effort. I was able to remove it; It's a glossy base so I figured it would be enough. I know it looks nice and fast in the video, but in real life it's about 10 minutes of scrubbing. I'm just saying this so you know that what you're putting in cast iron will never be shiny, but it will start to look gray instead of black once you remove the seasoning. The trick here is to use very small strokes like with brushing your teeth it is more effective than big sudden movements just ask your dentist yes I know there are parts that are still black well I will tell you what if the seasoning on those parts is so strong man who survived the system for a minute with the bar manager's friend. deserves to stay, I dried the pants and heated them for about 10 minutes in a preheated 200 degree Fahrenheit oven to make sure they were completely dry and open their pores.

Sheryl's post warned me against using

flaxseed

oil blends, so I splurged on Pure Organic Flaxseed Oil from Whole Foods. See the only ingredient is linseed oil. The instructions say to apply a little oil and then rub it all over to remove it from the pan. It shouldn't look shiny at all once you're done, it can be sticky. To season, you want to apply the oil to the inside and outside of the pan, so I have to put the pans in the cold oven. The reason people choose upside down pans is to prevent oil from going up the sides of the pans and turning. sticky, not that we have visible oil now, but just in case I turned the oven on to 500 Fahrenheit, waited for the oven to preheat, then set a timer for 1 hour, after an hour at 500, turned off the oven but didn't I did.

I took the pans out for two hours and let them cool gradually. This whole cycle took 3 and a half hours, then I did everything over and over again. I performed this procedure 6 times, which was the minimum number Cheryl suggested here are my pants. After I finally finished seasoning, at some point I realized that the outside of my carbon steel pan was a little rusty. I should have removed it and greased it inside and out. Great to live and learn, other than that they looked pretty good. ok this is the moment of truth let's cook an egg my first egg and the carbon steel pan was a little rough but the good thing about these pants is that they are soft so even if something sticks a little, they don't make a terrible mess, I cleaned my pan and gently gave it another shot, check this out, it's moving and I even took it out of the pan with no problems, not bad for the second egg.

The cast iron skillet was a disaster the first time because its surface was not smooth, if it were an old Griswold it would have worked just as well as carbon steel because all cast iron skillets were made smooth but the only ones Katharine pans readily available these days, like my lunch here at Bumpy & Linseed, oil seasoning doesn't magically resolve itself. this problem, but every disaster is also a learning opportunity since I have this big disaster on my hands. I'll show you how to clean a cast iron skillet that's gotten sticky, take out what you can, add a bunch of kosher salt and a little oil, lower the heat, hold the paper towel with tongs and scrub, then wipe it all down, rinse the pan and dry immediately and we can try again.

The second attempt was better and my third attempt was almost non-stick, but I wasn't crazy. about the little black cast iron spots left on my Being very careful with acidic ingredients would make changing the oil more flexible. I boiled red wine in my carbon steel skillet. for a couple of minutes and oh bomb, all the seasoning came out right away. I know I'm trying to do the impossible here. You're not supposed to be making sauces for months, but I just spent two damn days running my oven at 500. Fahrenheit in the middle of summer and rubbing six coats of this super expensive oil on my pants, wasn't this supposed to be any way different than normal seasoning?

Well, not in the way I cared. You know, I haven't tried putting my frying pan on. in the dishwasher maybe it would work, I don't know, but I don't care because I don't wash my pants in the dishwasher. You could argue that I didn't season the pants well in the first place because I didn't give them a fake bath, so the seasoning didn't stick to them as well as it should, certainly the same could be said for my cast iron skillet. , but the carbon steel pan seemed pretty bare to me. I think the reality is that all cast iron rules still apply no matter what seasoning procedure you use, so next time I'll save myself some trouble and do the old-fashioned way: preheat oven to 450 Fahrenheit, scrub your pans really well with the bartender's friend, you will remove both loose seasoning and rust. guns thoroughly with a towel and put in the oven to open the pores for 10 minutes rub everything with any neutral oil canola grapes is a flower whatever you use for water cooking both inside and out wipe off as much of the oil as possible possible put in the Bake upside down for 30 minutes, repeat grease and bake two more times and that's it.

I've found that making many rounds of seasoning doesn't replace the need to use the molds frequently, and to start with easy ingredients in the first few days, use the mold as much as possible. as much as possible to cook fat in meats or roast vegetables. I suggest not using eggs or fish for the first 10 times you use the pan. Do not drink wine for other acidic ingredients for a few months. The first weeks. Wash the pans with hot water and the sponge. but don't use soap, eventually you'll want to use soap, especially if you start cooking fish in your cast iron pans and that's fine, never wet your pants, try to quickly wash and dry your pans immediately and very thoroughly, the easiest way.

To do this is put the pan on the heat and wait for all the moisture to evaporate once the pan is dry, rub a little oil and polish everything like we did one season in this summary of my seasoning procedure and all the products that I use in this video are in the description below, so what is the difference between cast iron and carbon steel skillets? Ah that's a topic for another kitchen utensil therapy video, this video was brought to you by viewers like you, if you like it click here to support my channel, don't forget to subscribe, hit that little bell button so you'll receive a notification when I make new videos, and if you're ever in the Boston area, maybe I'll see you in one of my classes.