Cast iron cookware question ?!


Question: Cast iron cookware question !?
im completeley new to it , 1-what do people mean by "seasoning it " 2- why must i season it 3- how do i season it 4- how frequentley do i season it 5- how long can i make it last if i take care of it 6- i heard it adds iron to your diet , does it alter the taste of food!? if so is it in a bad way !?

thanks in advance !Www@FoodAQ@Com


Answers:
Cast Iron Basics
(some of the most important things you need to know!)
"Cast Iron Covered Wagon Cookin'" by David Herzog

Seasoning: Cast iron may be heavy, but with a proper seasoning, is the greatest type of metal to cook in!. But, you need to keep your cast iron free from rust and well seasoned to make it “stick free”!.
When someone buys cast iron from the store, the foundry (manufacturer) coats the pot or pan with a coating of some sort to keep the item from rusting!. This is done by spraying with a type of varnish or dipping it into hot paraffin wax!. This protective coating must be cleaned off before seasoning your cast iron!.
If your Dutch oven is made by LODGE, the protective coating is a sprayed varnish coating, which must be scrubbed off!. Heat the Dutch oven inside your home oven to 225oF!., then with a hot pad, lower the oven into hot soapy water, and scrub the Dutch oven with a S!.O!.S!. pad!. Scrub the inside and outside of the Dutch oven very well, rinse well, and towel dry!. Then place the Dutch oven back into your oven at 225° to dry for about 10 to 15 minutes!. The only way to dry cast iron is to dry it completely!. I do mine in the oven because, the heat is not concentrated in one spot, as it is on the stove top, which can cause minute cracks!.
If your Dutch oven is made by any of the other companies that make outdoor Dutch ovens, the protective coating is dipped paraffin wax, which can be burned off!. Do this outdoors in your gas B!.B!.Q!. or, a kettle type charcoal B!.B!.Q!. like a Webber!. In a charcoal B!.B!.Q!., use Mesquite charcoal for fuel because it burns much hotter than briquettes!. Start the charcoal or light the gas B!.B!.Q!., set on high and pre-heat the B!.B!.Q!. When the charcoal is white, spread it out a little so that is not to close to the cooking grate!. Place the oven onto the cooking grate, upside down, and close the lid on the B!.B!.Q!.
Heat the oven to 500° to 550° for 15 minutes!. Close the B!.B!.Q!. and cook the Dutch oven for about 1 hour at 500° to 550° , or until the oven stops smoking!. Cool the scrub the oven and dry as directed above!.
To season the Dutch oven, place the oven upside down on the cooking grate and warm the oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 500° to 550° !. With hot pads, remove the D!.O!. and rub a light coat of lard, bacon grease, white Crisco, or vegetable oil, using a paper towel
Coat the inside and outside of the D!.O!. and lid!. You only need a light coat of oil, you don’t want the grease to be dripping off the oven!. Place the Dutch oven back onto the cooking grate and cook the Dutch oven for about 1 hour at 450° to 500° , or until the oven stops smoking!. Remove the oven from the B!.B!.Q!. with hot pads to cool!. If the D!.O!. is a glossy brown color, not black, return to B!.B!.Q!. to cook about thirty more minutes!. By doing this outside in the B!.B!.Q!., you don’t have to fill the house with smoke and set off the smoke detectors!.

Cleaning: Cleaning cast iron is really quite easy and simple!. As the same principal with seasoning, there are as many opinions as there are cooks!. The methods I have found to work for me are written hereto share with you!. However, as you cook more with cast iron and outdoor Dutch ovens, you will find a method that works best for you and your style of cooking!.
Right after I am finished cooking in my Dutch ovens, I like to a spray bottle filled with a solution of 4 parts of water to 1 part of apple cider vinegar to clean and sanitize with!. Scrape out all the extra bits of food with a spatula then spray the solution into the hot Dutch oven and wipe it out with paper towels!. Sometimes, I need to spray and wipe out the oven several times to get it clean!. But, it works well and the vinegar has other uses as well!.
Many people will tell you to never clean cast iron with soap and water!. I have found this to be an excellent way to clean cast iron and use soap and water frequently myself!. Be sure that cast iron is warm, to free the food from the pores easily, and to rinse the cast iron with hot water very well to remove all of the soap!.
The last and most important thing to do after cleaning your cast iron is not applying more oil to the iron!. But, is to dry it completely over or in a heat source, to keep it from rusting!. When drying cast iron, don’t get it to hot!. It only needs to be about 225o for the moisture to evaporate and dry out!. Once the pot, pan, or Dutch oven is cleaned and dried, place a paper towel inside with a little of the paper towel going to the outside to “wick” out any moisture from inside the pot and lid!. Be sure to store your cast iron dry, without oil to keep it from turning rancid!.

Storing: As mentioned before, cast iron needs to be stored absolutely dry, free of any water, or oil!. The water will rust the cast iron!. The oil may turn rancid, especially if stored for a long period of time!. Personally, I dry my cast iron in the oven at 225o for 30 minutes, after towel drying!. So that I don’t burn my hands, I just leave the cast iron in the oven until the oven has cooled down, about 45 to 60 minutes!. When I’m camping, I dry my cast iron over a few coals, about 6, 4 under the bottom and 2 on the lid of the Dutch oven!. Only keep the cast iron until the water evaporates!. Then remove the cast iron from the heat source with hot pads and place paper towels inside the pot and place the lid on the pot!. Be sure some of the paper towel lays over the edge of the pot to the outside to wick any internal moisture to the outside of the pot and into the air!.
Once cast iron has been seasoned, unless it has not been cared for properly, does not need to be re-seasoned after you use it!. So, why store it with more oil in the pot, pan, or Dutch oven!. The oil will turn rancid, becoming sticky, smelly, and spoiled; just like food that has been around for to long in the refrigerator!. The oil also attracts dirt, dust, and other things flying around in the air, like bugs!. So don’t apply any oil to your cast iron until it is warmed up just before you use it and put food into it!. Take care of your cast iron and, it will take care of you!.


That covers seasoning how to and storing when not using!. so follow the numbers for your answers!.
1-what do people mean by "seasoning it "!?
Seasoning is the process of turning cooking fat into carbon!. "Seasoning" is the process and the result of the process described above!.
2- why must i season it"
You must season cast iron because it (A) protects the cast iron from rusting and (B) gives you a stick free surface to cook your foods on or in!. If you season well and keep using your cast iron the seasoning gets better with time and becomes like teflon!. (much healthier too)
3- how do i season it !?
That is described above in the excerpt from one of my three cast iron cook books i have written!.
4- how frequentley do i season it !?
Seasoning happens every time you cook if you apply a light coat of fat all over the inside of your pan or pot!. But, to go through the seasoning process i recoment once or twice a year to build it up for maintance!. the first time you can do it once if you want but most people season the first time 2 to 3 times even if its already preseasoned!.
5- how long can i make it last if i take care of it !?
if you take care of your cast iron it will last for many generations even with the original seasoning!. i have several Dutch ovens that are more than 250 years old and yes i cook in them often!. dont get the cast iron super hot the seasoning will burn off!. but if that happens throw some oil on it and bake it at 500 degrees in the oven and keep using it!. When washing many people say dont use soap!. i am one of those people!. i use 1 part apple cider vinegar to 3 parts water!. cleaning cast iron when it is hot 150 to 200 degrees cleans up in a snap!. when it is cold it is a pain to clean so, just heat it up with water in it and it will clean right up for you!.
6- i heard it adds iron to your diet , does it alter the taste of food!? if so is it in a bad way !?
cast iron does add small amounts of iron to your diet!. if you are anemic your Md will suggest to cook in cast iron to increase your iron intake!. cast iron makes your food taste better!. to try it cook a hamburger patty in a cast iron skillet and a stainless steel or alluminum or teflon coated pan!. the cast iron cooked burger will taste better!. i even bake in my cast iron all the time!. it makes the greatest breads and cakes!. Camp Chef and Lodge now offer muffin molds, bread pans and pie tins all made from cast iron!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Well basically to season it you will rub oil ( normally vegetable oil) into the bottom inside and sides of the skillet You then put salt and kinda rub it in !. Then you put it in your oven on say like 400 degrees and cook it for about an hour!. It will stink up your kitchen to high heaven and will smoke it up alot!. Try turning on your fan and opening doors and windows!. Ok, now that you have seasoned it , you don't wash it!. Funny I know!. You never want to put it in soapy water b/c this will cause rust!. I sometimes do but I make sure I dry it off completely and do not let it air dry!. I also keep mine in the oven at all times because I don't want any kind of bug to be attracted to it!. I take it out when I'm baking or something though!. So basically every time you use it you will want to give it a rub down with oil afterwards!. No it doesn't change the taste of food and as far as adding iron to your diet , I've never heard of it!. They will last forever if you take care of it!. They will get darker after the 1st few times cooking with them!. The darker they are the better they are!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

http://en!.wikipedia!.org/wiki/Cast_iron_c!.!.!.
http://www!.castironcookware!.com/cleaning!.!.!.

Seasoning cast iron cookware is preparing it so it won't stick anymore!. Since is it iron, it will also rust if you don't season it!. However, some castiron comes already seasoned so read the label!. If you need to season yours, follow the link!. The more you use it, the better it gets!. And never use soap on it (the heat will kill any germs)!. also remember that iron holds heat a lot longer so you don't have to have the flame/heating coil on the full amount of time, you can shut it off for the last 5 mins or so and the pot will continue to cook the food inside (it will scorch it too if you overcook)!. Seasoning is an ongoing thing!. It does add some iron to your food but not enough to taste!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Buy 1 that is pre-seasoned and read the directions for care!.

It will last forever!. The blacker it gets the better it gets over the years

Save yourself the headaches!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

I found a great way to season a cast iron pan is over a hot charcoal bbq!. It gets very hot and the smoke is outdoors!. It turns out very good!Www@FoodAQ@Com

Check out this site

http://whatscookingamerica!.net/Informati!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Using cast iron pans for cooking is a wonderful way to obtain a nice caramelized crust to your foods!. Add to that the fact that cast iron pans add to your daily dietary intake of iron and the fact that cast iron pans are superb at heating evenly and you have a winner of a pan!. Taking care of that pan is of utmost importance!. First, learn how to season a cast iron pan!.



Things You’ll Need:
Cast iron pan
Oven
Sheet pan
Seasoning fat
Step1
Wash your new, or used, cast iron pan well with a mild dish detergent and hot water!. Make certain to wash away any excess soap!.
Step2
Dry the pan with a towel, paper or cloth and set aside to fully dry!. Once the pan is fully dry, after at least ? hour of sitting in the open air, you are ready to season the pan!.
Step3
Heat your oven to 250 degrees!.
Step4
Set out the seasoning fat!. This can be vegetable oil, vegetable shortening or even lard!. I recommend using a plain vegetable shortening because it doesn’t spoil as often as vegetable oil or lard does!.
Step5
Pour or smear two tablespoons of fat into the pan and use a paper towel or some plastic wrap to evenly distribute it among the base and insides of the pan!. If you have a larger 12-inch pan, use three tablespoons of fat!.
Step6
Flip the pan over and pour or smear another two tablespoons of fat onto the back of the pan!. Again, distribute the fat evenly over the entire back of the pan and onto the handle!. When you are finished, the entire pan should be coated with the fat of your choice!.
Step7
Place the pan sitting up onto a sheet pan or cookie sheet!. Place the sheet pan into the warmed oven!.
Step8
Let the cast iron bake in the oven for 1? to two hours!. After that time has passed, turn the pan over!. Make sure to use pot holders as the pan will be hot!.
Step9
Bake the pan for another 1? to two hours!.
Step10
Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool!. The fat should be a glossy surface at the end of the cooling time!.
Step11
Make sure you only handle the pan after several hours of letting it cool!.
happy cooking!.
good luck!.Www@FoodAQ@Com





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