The Care and Feeding of Cast Iron: Cleaning and Seasoning Cast Iron Cookware

(Page 5 of 5)

December/January 1999
By Brook and Barbara Elliot 
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Alternatively, you can evenly heat your ironware by popping it into an oven set on low. Once it's heated, simply transfer it to the range top and cook as usual.

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Be particularly careful when cooking with an electric range, because the burners create hot spots that can warp cast iron or even cause it to crack. Be sure to preheat the iron very slowly when using an electric range and keep the settings to medium or even medium-low.

Preheating is not a problem when baking or oven-roasting, since the iron will heat evenly in the oven. However, you may find that you do not have to cook the food quite as long as the recipe calls for, because of iron's heat-retaining property.

Finally, be sure to use the appropriate iron for the task at hand. A three-legged Dutch oven is not the right choice for an indoor stove. Nor should a large baking dish be used on top of the range, unless you can perfectly balance the heat from the two burners it sits across.

Pick the right iron, treat it to the proper cure, dig out your favorite recipes and soon you'll understand why grandma spent so much time in the kitchen.

See also:

* How Do You Remove Rust From Cast Iron? 
* Seasoning Your Cast-Iron Pan 
* Cast-Iron Ware
* Country Lore: Crusty Frying-pan Pizza Recipe

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Comments

  • dave 12/1/2007 1:38:14 PM

    you can make a used pan as good as new by putting it in a self
    cleaning oven for a few hours. I've done this a few times w/ garage
    sale iron skillets and it's worked great. Once done in the self
    cleaning oven, you'll have a layer of ash in and out of the pan, so
    it behooves you to put a baking dish below the pan you're cleaning.
    Once you wash off the ash, season as you would a new pan.

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