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Seasoning Over Old Seasoning
- Thread starter StephenH
- Start date
Stephen,I've been using a skillet for over a year and its not getting to the non-stick stage. I'm wondering if I can season over the old seasoning, or it better to clean the old seasoning off and start a-new?
Can you describe the process you use to season it or provide a photo of the piece?
Getting our terms clear, "seasoning" is the layer of polymerized fat/oil that protects the cast iron from oxidation (and provides the non-stick qualities). the manual oven "seasoning" process is just a starter step, seasoning continues to build as you cook with it, and cooking with it is the traditional way to build seasoning.
You certainly can do another manual oven seasoning cycle over the old seasoning. But if you're having a problem with the seasoning not building up properly from normal use, I'd first look at how you're cleaning it, you may be being too aggressive and not giving it a chance to build normally.
You certainly can do another manual oven seasoning cycle over the old seasoning. But if you're having a problem with the seasoning not building up properly from normal use, I'd first look at how you're cleaning it, you may be being too aggressive and not giving it a chance to build normally.
Thanks, Eric
I usually drain oil, add water(mostly cooled skillet, never hot) and heat until steam starts to rise off the water then use a paper towel to clean. Some times I get a little aggressive with the paper towel to get skillet clean...perhaps I'm not letting it soak long enough and I'm too aggressive with the paper towel?
I usually drain oil, add water(mostly cooled skillet, never hot) and heat until steam starts to rise off the water then use a paper towel to clean. Some times I get a little aggressive with the paper towel to get skillet clean...perhaps I'm not letting it soak long enough and I'm too aggressive with the paper towel?
I don't think there is such thing as too aggressive with a paper towel. Give it time, good seasoning will come naturally.
Well, I use it 2-3 times a week and its been over a year since the initial seasoning.
Are you careful about what heat your skillet is at before you start cooking? Cold pan will always stick, except for bacon, and a pan that is too hot will usually burn and do the same. Also things like store bought bacon will usually stick because all the sugar. If you don't rinse all of the starch off your potatoes they will stick and on and on it goes. These pans will never be totally non-stick in that if we do something wrong stuff will always stick. But as we learn and the seasoning gets better it works well. Are you adding oil again to the pan after you cook off all the water?
Kyle
Kyle
Stephen, I had the same "problem" with my first CI skillet. Year after year it just would not cook like my grandmother's skillet. I thought it must be my pan. I didn't use it for probably a couple of years. Then one day I needed a pan to do a simple oven roasted chicken at 425 F. These chickens had nice fat. I noticed that after a few chickens the surface of the pan was becoming non-stick. I realized that to get the pan seasoned you have to cook a fatty food at a high temperature. This pan is a bumpy surfaced 1891 Wagner, not a vintage pan. But it is my go to pan because it is seasoned so well. BTW, this was way before I found this site.
That's for sure - what you cook on it, especially early on, makes a big difference with how the seasoning develops. Fry stuff, etc.
Regarding the OP's cleaning method, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but it's not really necessary to go that far every time either, IMO.
Just get a plastic scraper like the one lodge sells or similar items on amazon. Personally I use a wok whisk (a traditional tool used to clean seasoned carbon steel woks) made of a bundle of bamboo strips. Use the scraper to remove any debris under a little hot water, dry with a paper towel, put it on the stove over LOW heat for a minute or two, then give the cooking surface a thin layer of oil, wiping off excess.
The heating-water-in-it is a technique I've heard suggested to loosen tough "stuck-ons" that a scraper won't remove. It shouldn't hurt anything but it may or may not contribute to how quickly the seasoning is building, if done every time. Either way, it sounds like more work than it has to be.
Regarding the OP's cleaning method, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but it's not really necessary to go that far every time either, IMO.
Just get a plastic scraper like the one lodge sells or similar items on amazon. Personally I use a wok whisk (a traditional tool used to clean seasoned carbon steel woks) made of a bundle of bamboo strips. Use the scraper to remove any debris under a little hot water, dry with a paper towel, put it on the stove over LOW heat for a minute or two, then give the cooking surface a thin layer of oil, wiping off excess.
The heating-water-in-it is a technique I've heard suggested to loosen tough "stuck-ons" that a scraper won't remove. It shouldn't hurt anything but it may or may not contribute to how quickly the seasoning is building, if done every time. Either way, it sounds like more work than it has to be.
Robert.Aarstad
Member
I've realized throughout the past year that I've been using cast iron there are millions of people who cook with it every single day and also there are millions of ways to clean and season a pan. Personally, at this point in your endeavors I would clean the cast iron skillet with a green scouring pad and hot water with a little bit of soap. Rinse it and dry it very well. Then I would utilize The Culinary fanatic cast iron seasoning method. To summarize that process quickly would be. Heat the pan at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes and apply a coat of Crisco on it and wipe off. Increase oven temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes with pan inside there and pull it out after the 15 minutes is up and wipe it off again. Increase the oven temperature to 400 and leave the pans inside there for 2 hours. Do that twice and you should have a very usable pan. The temperature at which you insert your food into the pan is also extremely critical as mentioned above. I hope this helps in some way.