If you’re a devoted chef or just a great home cook, you definitely have at least one piece of cast iron cookware. Nothing can beat the taste of a well seasoned and well-taken care off cast iron pan. Sometimes, however, our cast iron can become dirty and lose its non-stick properties. When this happens, your delicious food becomes a burnt-on mess that can be incredibly difficult to remove. How exactly do you clean cast iron? Let’s talk about it!
How not to clean cast iron cookware
If you look around the internet for tips on how to clean cast iron, you’re likely going to come across someone who says “Just boil water in it!”. Please, don’t listen to them! The heat of the pan, when it’s hot enough to boil water, will open up the pores in the metal. Once it cools, it traps water in those pores. If this happens, your honest mistake may rust your pan. Not only does this look bad, it can very well make your whole family sick!
Coarse Salt
After you’re done cooking in your cast iron, scrape off as much food as you can. If the pan is seasoned correctly, then everything should be removed very easily. Once the pan has cooled enough for you to handle, rinse it out with hot water. If you do have stubborn stuck on food, then just drop some coarse salt into the pan and grab a regular sponge. the salt will help create an abrasive agent to remove particles of food without damaging the seasoning of the pan.
Dish soap should not be used on your cast iron. The memorable taste of food cooked in cast iron comes from the foods that have been cooked in it. With that being said, using soap may make all of your food taste soapy!
When it comes to cleaning cast iron cookware, it can be intimidating. These age-old tools of a master chef are a wonderful addition to any kitchen. Now that you know how easy it is to clean cast iron, go out and whip up a nice family meal. There’s no reason to be intimidated!
Love cooking in cast iron? You might want to try these recipes:
Loaded Potato Casserole – it’s the potluck staple that is good to the last bite.
Peach Cobbler – my grandmother’s recipe (and it’s SO good!)
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