Tim, you couldn't have posted this at a better time!! My prince took my cast iron grill pan and ran it through the dishwasher. No explanation....
Thanks for the info. Now I have to find the oil.
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| Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil http://www.cookaholics.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=954 |
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| Author: | Tim [ Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:54 am ] |
| Post subject: | Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
Hi, Sheryl Canter has an interesting article on seasoning with flaxseed oil on her blog. (This came to me in the current issue of Cook's. That's one reason for a mag subscription.) Link to Sheryl Canter on Seasoning Cast Iron The process is quite simple but takes lots of time. You need food grade flaxseed oil which is available at natural food store. Your pans also should be totally stripped of seasoning (oven cleaner or self-cleaning cycle) and dried at 200 degrees for an hour before starting. This is the Cook's Illustrated version of the process:
We carried out Canter’s approach on new, unseasoned cast-iron skillets and compared them with pans treated with vegetable oil—and the results amazed us. The flaxseed oil so effectively bonded to the skillets, forming a sheer, stick-resistant veneer, that even a run through our commercial dishwasher with a squirt of degreaser left them totally unscathed. But the vegetable oil-treated skillets showed rusty spots and patchiness when they emerged from the dishwasher, requiring reseasoning before use. Why did the new treatment work so well? Flaxseed oil is the food-grade equivalent of linseed oil, used by artists to give their paintings a hard, polished finish, and it boasts six times the amount of omega-3 fatty acids as vegetable oil. Over prolonged exposure to high heat, these fatty acids combine to form a strong, solid matrix that polymerizes to the pan’s surface. Although lengthy, seasoning with flaxseed oil is a mainly hands-off undertaking. We highly recommend the treatment: 1. Warm an unseasoned pan (either new or stripped of seasoning*) for 15 minutes in a 200-degree oven to open its pores. 2. Remove the pan from the oven. Place 1 tablespoon flaxseed oil in the pan and, using tongs, rub the oil into the surface with paper towels. With fresh paper towels, thoroughly wipe out the pan to remove excess oil. 3. Place the oiled pan upside down in a cold oven, then set the oven to its maximum baking temperature. Once the oven reaches its maximum temperature, heat the pan for one hour. Turn off the oven; cool the pan in the oven for at least two hours. 4. Repeat the process five more times, or until the pan develops a dark, semi-matte surface. *To strip a cast-iron pan of seasoning, spray it with oven cleaner, wait 30 minutes, wash with soapy water, and thoroughly wipe with paper towels. I do not cook in cast iron frequently but use French carbon steel pans almost every day. I am anxious to try this technique. Tim |
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| Author: | Paul Kierstead [ Fri Jan 07, 2011 12:37 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
As an aside, a little while back I got my first french carbon steel pan -- a crepe pan -- and have been very impressed. I may well have to get a couple more. |
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| Author: | JesBelle [ Fri Jan 07, 2011 3:17 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
Uh-oh I see a project looming on my horizon. |
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| Author: | KSyrahSyrah [ Fri Jan 07, 2011 3:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
Tim, you couldn't have posted this at a better time!! My prince took my cast iron grill pan and ran it through the dishwasher. No explanation.... Thanks for the info. Now I have to find the oil.
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| Author: | fitzie [ Fri Jan 07, 2011 5:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
Paul -- French carbon steel pans - I love 'em! I'm looking for a carbon steel sheet pan. Have you seen any? Fitzie |
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| Author: | easy bake [ Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:28 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
It seems shocking that CI would be running any cast iron pan through the dishwasher, no matter how it is seasoned. That just seems like a big no-no. |
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| Author: | TheFuzzy [ Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
Tim, You season carbon steel? I don't. Unless you count making 20 batches of crepes seasoning, which I suppose it is. I'd love to hear from someone on this board trying the flaxseed method. My 14" skillet could use better seasoning. The 12" has around 25 years of seasoning-by-use, so I don't think any reseasoning is going to beat that. |
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| Author: | Kathy's Pete [ Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:13 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
I once burnt a 40 year (at least) seasoning off a nice old CI pan. It's come back a bit but nowhere like it used to be. I could give it some thought. Looks like our local natural food store sells flaxseed oil. |
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| Author: | Tim [ Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
TheFuzzy wrote: Tim, You season carbon steel? Fuzzy, They get really non-stick when they are black. The problem is that the surface never develops the durability of seasoned cast iron. I suspect this relates to the lower porosity of the steel. I'm groing to try the flaxseed oil process and should have results in a few weeks. Tim |
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| Author: | TheFuzzy [ Sun Jan 09, 2011 12:56 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Seasoning Cast Iron - A New Method Using Flaxseed Oil |
Tim, I guess I just don't see the point in seasoning them, at all. But all I have are crepe pans, and the crepes don't stick, so it hasn't been a concern. |
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