The more I research the subject the more confused I get. I am learning as I go. After reading on this site and others about seasoning I can't really come to a conclusion whether to reach or exceed the smoke point of the oil or stay below it. If I understood right this website suggest 350 degrees for seasoning. I used the new crisco to season two of my skillets. The smoke point from what I understand is 495 degree I seasoned at 400 degrees for 2 hours. The skillets were not black but they have worked fine. I used a fellows You Tube Video to season and he suggested the 400 degrees for 2 hours I am not sure if he is using the new Crisco or the old. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Should I reach smoke point of oil to season?
- Thread starter DBrooks
- Start date
I've been playing around with temperatures. I'm not sure higher equals better ... or worse. I was wondering if higher temperatures make a skillet turn black in few rounds of seasoning. I can't tell that it makes a difference. As longer as you are hearing it long enough for your skillet to come out feeling dry, not sticky, I think you're ok.
Much depends on what a person is trying to do (or thinks they are trying to do) with manual seasoning. Any appropriate oil brought to somewhere south of its smoke point and heated long enough at that temp to completely dry it to a non-sticky state will have been sufficiently polymerized to begin cooking on.
Exceeding the smoke point will cause further breakdown of the oil and the creating of a carbon residue, which will darken the layer and also help begin the foundation of a good seasoning. Will repeating it six times, ala the youtuber's or blogger's advice, mean it's going to perform at or near the level of a pan that's been used regularly for 3-6 months? Not really. But it sure will look nice and dark like it has been (sort of). And you will have used up probably 3 times more oil and electricity, and stunk up the house 4 more times than necessary.
Alternatively, doing only one or two layers just below the smoke point will give a durable if not cosmetically enviable foundation upon which to build. Cooking will provide more fat to polymerize and even more carbon (from the cooked food itself) than that contained within the oil. And you will have done it without wasting oil, power, or time. Yes, you will need a little more cooking fat the first several times, but regular use of cast iron cookware is its own reward. All that's required is some patience.
Exceeding the smoke point will cause further breakdown of the oil and the creating of a carbon residue, which will darken the layer and also help begin the foundation of a good seasoning. Will repeating it six times, ala the youtuber's or blogger's advice, mean it's going to perform at or near the level of a pan that's been used regularly for 3-6 months? Not really. But it sure will look nice and dark like it has been (sort of). And you will have used up probably 3 times more oil and electricity, and stunk up the house 4 more times than necessary.
Alternatively, doing only one or two layers just below the smoke point will give a durable if not cosmetically enviable foundation upon which to build. Cooking will provide more fat to polymerize and even more carbon (from the cooked food itself) than that contained within the oil. And you will have done it without wasting oil, power, or time. Yes, you will need a little more cooking fat the first several times, but regular use of cast iron cookware is its own reward. All that's required is some patience.
DonnaM I thought the smoke point for the New Crisco Shortening is 490 degrees? It has this info on this website. I seasoned at 400 degrees so I was not sure if my skillets were seasoned correctly. The temperature of the oils smoke point and whether to go over or below was confusing me. After reading the post I think my skillets are OK. If I get more cast iron I am going to experiment with the temperature. I appreciate your response.
DonnaM. I am with you next time I get a cast iron piece I plan to bake at 500 degrees like you. I followed the youtube video which said to cook at 400 degrees using Crisco. Then I found this site and a few others that had other temperatures. Lot of them mentioning to match or exceed the smoke point of the oil. I am learning as I go. The skillets that I reseasoned are working as far as non stick goes. Some of them are just about black. I reasoned them about 2 months ago. Thank you for your response.
Enjoyed the read. I think many of us are still experimenting with temperatures and types of oils to find the sweet spot. Many times the dial may read 400* for oven and the inside of the may be different temp. My oven seems to run hotter than the dial so I might make some adjustments, but keep a eye on food and suggested done time.
Steve,
Steve,
TJ Schneider
New member
This is great info since I too was using 400F for my pans. Overall though I found that a couple rounds even at 400F was enough to get the seasoning started. The real non-stick seems to come from just using the pan over the course of several months. All of my Griswolds are to a point where it seems like very little sticks to them given they see regular use. My latest purchase is a large block #3 that has minimal seasoning but has been used for melting butter but will see some use with fried eggs this weekend so we'll see how it goes.