House Guest Soaked My Cast Iron Frying Pan

[mayachel]

I had an old, well-seasoned cast iron frying pan. A dear friend who was housesitting for us, noticed it on the stove and decided to do us a "favor" and wash it. She soaked it with dish soap for "three or four days" and gave it a "good scrubing". Yikes! I smiled politely, thanked her and then let her know "just for future reference" how I usually take care of cast iron.

So, it used to be my go to early morning out the door egg frying pan, only it is dry as a bone, and my eggs stick like crazy. I can''t seem to put enough oil in the pan! Help! How do I get back my hard earned non-stick surface? Are eggs the worse possible thing for me to be using it for now? I used to saute and cook 98% of my veggies in it, but it''s so much work to clean the egg out now.

 

[JulieN]

aww, so sad!

Do you know how to re-season your pan? That''s the first thing I would do... but I don''t know if you will be able to fry eggs for a while.

 

[neatfreak]

If you aren't a vegetarian, bacon is one of the best things to start using it for, it'll season it in no time.

 

[BeachRunner]

I second NF. Anything with a lot of grease that''ll saturate your surface again would be best.

I''m so sorry for you cast iron mishap

 

[ljmorgan]

The first thing that you need to do is re-season the pan. Wipe the interior (and many do the exterior as well, you may want to since it''s been totally stripped) with crisco or a liquid vegetable oil on a paper towel. The set it in a warm oven (150 degrees) for several hours and then turn it of. Wipe any excess oil out of the pan.

I would go ahead and re-season, and then as NF suggested, cook something like bacon. No eggs for a little while! You need a really well seasoned pan for that.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

I''m sorry this happened. I did that to one of my mother''s pans when I was a child. I was trying to help, and I scrubbed and scrubbed that thing because it didn''t look like it was clean to me. Ooh... she was upset with me!

She ended up using it again, but I don''t know how she got it to work again, like it used to. I was kind of not allowed in the kitchen again for a while.

Hope you find a way to re-season it soon!!

 

[Elmorton]

I think I saw Paula Deen talking about this once...she said to not throw it out, but re-season it, and it had something to do with using the oven, too.

Here''s a link that describes the process that I saw Paula mention:


http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071208114408AA0JFuP

 

[movie zombie]

yes, low heat, lots of fat and in the oven. another vote for cookiing some bacon in it and then doing the oven re-seasoning.

movie zombie

 

[somethingshiny]

I don''t have a cast iron skillet myself, but my mom would be on the verge of a breakdown if anyone came near her skillet with water let alone soap!! I know she seasons with the oven method, too.

Just out of curiosity, I wonder how long your guest washed the pan. She had to have been scrubbing that thing forever!~

 

[Steel]

Some folks are never grateful...

Sorry about your pan, hope you manage to seal it again.

 

[mayachel]

Wow, I knew I could count on you smart ladies for ideas. I knew the idea of seasoning the pan, but not how to go about doing it. I thought it involved something more than just the oven (flame throwers? jk)

I AM a vegetarian actually, so no frying bacon but I will start up with the crisco.


Elmorton-Thanks for the link!

somethingshiny-I noticed the pan looked exceedingly clean ie:dry so I casually asked her, "did you by any chance clean the cast iron pan?" to which she proudly answered yes, and proceeded to tell me how she soaked it for 4 days with soap and water, before scrubbing it spotless...I felt like I was chanelling MY mother, but managed to calmly "oh that was so thoughtful of you, just so you know, usually what I do is...followed by clearly stating, please in the future do not use soap in this pan." Le sigh.

I have to admit it is somewhat hilarious to me because I hear my thoughts, sounding just like my mother. I didn''t get it back then, but I do now!

steel-

 

[somethingshiny]

The extended story makes me chuckle! I can just imagine letting it soak for days on end and thinking "gosh, doesn''t she EVER WASH this pan!?"

 

[radiantquest]

sorry about your pan. i almost did that to my mothers pan when i was a kid.

when i was a teenager i worked in a pizza shop and we got new pizza screens and had to season them. we covered them with cooking spray and ran them through the oven a bunch of times. hope it doesnt take you too long

 

[hisdiamondgirl]

Okay so this is going to really show everyone how "undomestic" I really am? But...do you not wash your pan?

I guess you''re not supposed to...so...how do you keep it clean? LOL...

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 1/21/2009 4:19:21 PM
Author: hisdiamondgirl
Okay so this is going to really show everyone how ''undomestic'' I really am? But...do you not wash your pan?

I guess you''re not supposed to...so...how do you keep it clean? LOL...

Cast iron is a special animal...you don''t do that with all pans!

 

[Sabine]

I''m just as undomestic as hisdiamondgirl...so if you don''t wash your pan, what do you do with it?

Sorry you have to go through all that trouble to reseason it!

 

[brooklyngirl]

Date: 1/21/2009 5:38:35 PM
Author: Sabine
I'm just as undomestic as hisdiamondgirl...so if you don't wash your pan, what do you do with it?

Sorry you have to go through all that trouble to reseason it!

I'm not sure how others clean it, but I just wipe it with a dry paper towel. If anything does stick to it, I heat it up and pour boiling water in to it, and that usually releases anything that got stuck -- then I proceed to wipe it with a dry paper towel

 

[mayachel]

Now you''ll be in the know...I also wipe it down with a paper towel, and add a little bit of water if food remains. Then, I just put it on the stove with a drop of oil until it starts to radiate heat waves, and leave it too cool for the next use.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Displaying ignorance: does it not absorb flavors? That is, if you just wipe it clean, how is it that the pancakes do not smell like last night''s fish? I have to say that it is this question that has kept me from getting nonenameled cast iron pans [I have a bunch of the enameled kind and they are great - but them, again, they get cleaned with soap! LOL!]. I keep longing for the plain cast iron ones but I don''t see how flavors don''t mix. Can anybody enlighten me?

 

[Definitely. Maybe]

wow, I am really glad I ventured over here to the Family, home area. I''ve learned quite a bit with this one post! My family has always used cast iron pans. Being a little OCD it drove me nuts that my parents never washed those pans. I thought they were crazy.

I still do not understand why one doesn''t wash cast iron pans and you wash others? To me it is like using any other dish and just wiping it clean vs washing with soap and water.

Yuck, the thought makes me cringe (no offense). What is the difference? Is it as *clean* as those you wash when you just use a paper towel?

Sorry for all the questions, I''m just really interested now.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 1/21/2009 7:19:18 PM
Author: Definitely, Maybe
wow, I am really glad I ventured over here to the Family, home area. I''ve learned quite a bit with this one post! My family has always used cast iron pans. Being a little OCD it drove me nuts that my parents never washed those pans. I thought they were crazy.


I still do not understand why one doesn''t wash cast iron pans and you wash others? To me it is like using any other dish and just wiping it clean vs washing with soap and water.

Yuck, the thought makes me cringe (no offense). What is the difference? Is it as *clean* as those you wash when you just use a paper towel?


Sorry for all the questions, I''m just really interested now.

You don''t wash it because if you do it loses it''s nonstick properties and all the beautiful flavor that you get from cast iron. Things cooked in a well seasoned cast iron pan just have this depth of flavor that is incredible.

But it''s certainly not for germaphobes that is for sure!

 

[brooklyngirl]

Date: 1/21/2009 7:34:18 PM
Author: neatfreak

You don''t wash it because if you do it loses it''s nonstick properties and all the beautiful flavor that you get from cast iron. Things cooked in a well seasoned cast iron pan just have this depth of flavor that is incredible.

But it''s certainly not for germaphobes that is for sure!

Why not? The heat kills all the germs right

 

[strmrdr]

sadly it takes about a year to get a cast iron frying pan right even using the oven method to get a start.

 

[JulieN]

Date: 1/21/2009 6:26:23 PM
Author: DiamanteBlu
Displaying ignorance: does it not absorb flavors? That is, if you just wipe it clean, how is it that the pancakes do not smell like last night's fish? I have to say that it is this question that has kept me from getting nonenameled cast iron pans [I have a bunch of the enameled kind and they are great - but them, again, they get cleaned with soap! LOL!]. I keep longing for the plain cast iron ones but I don't see how flavors don't mix. Can anybody enlighten me?

You can wash it with water and soap once in a while. It doesn't absorb flavors. Not washing it, and letting the oil build up, can sometimes cause you to have too thick a layer that might flake off. Like right now, my pan is a little flaky, but there is yet another layer underneath that, so it's ok.

The flavors are on the surface.
And most people do not just have one pan, cast iron or otherwise. So if your pan smells like fish, use a different one to make pancakes. My pan usually smells like bacon (fat is good for the pan) but anything other food I want to make in it can have a little bacon flavoring, too. Even pancakes!

 

[Definitely. Maybe]

Date: 1/21/2009 7:34:18 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 1/21/2009 7:19:18 PM
Author: Definitely, Maybe
wow, I am really glad I ventured over here to the Family, home area. I''ve learned quite a bit with this one post! My family has always used cast iron pans. Being a little OCD it drove me nuts that my parents never washed those pans. I thought they were crazy.


I still do not understand why one doesn''t wash cast iron pans and you wash others? To me it is like using any other dish and just wiping it clean vs washing with soap and water.

Yuck, the thought makes me cringe (no offense). What is the difference? Is it as *clean* as those you wash when you just use a paper towel?


Sorry for all the questions, I''m just really interested now.

You don''t wash it because if you do it loses it''s nonstick properties and all the beautiful flavor that you get from cast iron. Things cooked in a well seasoned cast iron pan just have this depth of flavor that is incredible.

But it''s certainly not for germaphobes that is for sure!

Thanks Neatfreak! I definitely don''t think it''s for me, although, I guess I do have to admit the food cooked on them is really good and now I know why. Ours have been in my family for quite a few generations, so thats a LOT of seasong.

 

[JulieN]

Lucky you Definitely, Maybe to have an old pan. The ones being manufactured now are, IMO, not as good (bumpy instead of smooth.) I''d never be able to make eggs in mine.

 

[Definitely. Maybe]

I just did a *little* research and found this website: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/CastIronPans.htm ... It says you can use soap and water to clean it, if not used daily, BUT it has to dry completely.... Anyways, it has info about seasoning it that I thought the OP could try along with the advice of others as it is pretty much the same.

Edited after reading JulieN's post: The website I mentioned talks a little about seasoning it to make it smooth again or seasoning a new pan to make it smooth. Maybe it could help with yours?

I never thought of pans as an heirloom piece... hmm next time I am back home I will have to learn more about them. I guess it does feel pretty nice/ lucky to know different generations have all cooked with the same pan... maybe one day me too.