Tips for cleaning and storing iron pans

Avoid using detergents and chemical products for cleaning, the right way is to wash them with water and dry them very well, and store them with a thin film of oil so that it stays in optimal conditions for later use.

Healing

Traditional cast iron pans do not come with a non-stick surface. The most advisable thing, before using it for the first time, is to cure it. This means covering it with cooking oil and baking it at 177 ° C for one hour. It will not have that shiny black patina yet, but once you dry it, it will be ready to be used.

You will reinforce the non-stick coating every time you heat oil in the pan and you can accelerate the process by curing it as often as you wish.

Cleaning

A cast iron skillet is not ideal for those who prefer to leave dishes soaking. For best results, rinse the pan with hot water immediately after cooking. If you need to remove remains of burned food, carving with a light abrasive, such as sea salt, and a brush that is not made of metal, to preserve the non-stick surface; You can also use a few drops of dish soap from time to time.

If the frying pan acquires a sticky coating or oxidizes over time, tap it with a fiber and cure it again. To avoid rust, dry the pan very well and lightly cover its surface with cooking oil. Cover it with a serpentine to protect it from dust.

If you are determined to buy an een pan van gietijzer, the bad (or the least) of these is that, not wearing an artificial nonstick coating, they will require some pampering and a little patience on your part during the first uses, since it will be from the moment in which the oil goes penetrating in the micropores of the cast iron when the pans are acquiring the tone as far as its non-stick power is concerned. It is somewhat similar to what I explained in the article on How to Cure a Steel Skillet.

At the time of use for cooking, cast iron skillets should be preheated to medium or medium-high heat before putting the ingredients on them.

Finally, the basic care of a cast iron skillet goes through not putting them under any circumstances in the dishwasher and drying them thoroughly after each wash. Once dry, in addition, and especially during the first 5 uses, we will have to grease them with a cloth or a paper stained with olive oil.

How to restore an old iron pan?

One of the advantages of this type of pans is that they are eternal. You can even give it a new life.

To restore a forgotten cast iron skillet the first thing you should do is value it. Has it been deformed? Do you have a lot of embedded rust? If the damage is very severe, it is better to buy a new one, otherwise, do the following.

Surface oxide: Use a scouring pad - or brush - of soap and wire. Rub vigorously until all the oxide is removed from the surface both inside and outside, do not leave any residue. Then remove all the dirt with a conventional scouring pad, lather several times, rinse and dry. Start the curing process in the oven as I explained before.

Oxide produced: If the oxidation is deep but the pan is not deformed you can also recover it. In this case, you have no choice but to machine polish with the help of a drill and a steel wire disc. Polish the surface to remove all the rust, scrub several times with soap, rinse and dry. Cure it in the oven.