Cleaning

[CraigA.]

Was recently reading an article that suggested removing stuck food residue from seasoned cast iron by heating the pan with baking soda and water.
Knowing the pH of baking soda is between 8 and 9 (somewhat alkaline), wouldn't that have a similar reaction as using lye? Sure, it's not nearly as strong as lye but still could have the same results. Or am I just over thinking things again?

 

[Doug D.]

I think whoever suggested to use baking soda was the one doing the overthinking. I have never had anything stick to any cast iron pan that couldn't be removed by letting the pan sit with a half inch of plain warm water in it for 20-30 minutes. I'd file that one along with the "cut face of a potato and salt" method. The lye solution we use would be more in the pH of 13 range, far above baking soda (the pH scale being logarithmic, meaning 9 is ten times more alkaline than 8; 10 is ten times more alkaline than 9, and so on).