Please help,did I ruin my cast iron pot?!


Question: Please help,did I ruin my cast iron pot!?
I let it sit in some water and for got it, now its all rusty ! Can I fix this or is it ruinedWww@FoodAQ@Com


Answers:
It's fixable!. Wash it thoroughly, takes a lot of elbow grease, do not use scouring pads or powder to remove the rust!. Rinse well, dry completely!. I usually set mine on a low heat burner for a few minutes to get all the moisture out of the pores!. Then, pour a very small amount of cooking oil into it, use a paper towel to coat the inside completely, then place it back on low heat burner or in an oven on low temp, for 15 - 20 minutes, repeat the oil treatment several times to season the cast iron so that foods will not stick!. Www@FoodAQ@Com

try with very hot water and an S!.O!.S!. pad that will usually take care of your problem!. rinse with hotter water than the wash water and dry in a 225 degree oven for 15 minutes then re season!. here's how from my cook book!.
Easy and Safe Cast Iron Rust Removal

Coleen Sloan taught me how to remove rust from cast iron with a couple of household items and the method is not toxic in any way!. I have used this method many times with great success and for heavy rust I just let the iron soak two to three days instead of over night!.

You need to gather the following items together:
*1 to 2 gallons apple cider vinegar (not apple cider flavored vinegar) super important
*a large non reactive (plastic preferred) tub
*enough alfalfa hay or pellets to completely cover the cast iron
*enough hot water (120 degrees or hotter) to cover the cast iron by at least 1" over the top!.
*use an S!.O!.S!. pad for lighter rust and a wire wheel or brush for heavier rust

Take the wire wheel brush for heavy rust or use an S!.O!.S!. pad and hot water for lighter rust and scrub or brush the pot to remove rust chips, heavy or loose rust and rinse with hot water and dry in a 225° oven for 30 minutes!. This helps in the total removal of rust and sometimes even determines if you need to soak the cast iron or not!. When the cast iron dries, you may notice a light orange dust covering the surface!. This is normal and ok!. If all you have left is the orange dust and no remaining rust deposits or bright orange spots, go ahead and season your cast iron and use it!. If you have rust remaining in the form of brighter orange spots etc!. then proceed to the remaining steps!.
Please note: alfalfa cubes or pellets will expand in volume anywhere from 4 to 8 times so you do not need to completely cover a piece with cubes or pellets!. Try rehydrating cubes or pellets with warm water for 30 minutes prior to soaking!.
Place a 1" layer of alfalfa on the bottom of the large plastic tub then place the cast iron on top of the alfalfa layer!. Fill the tub and interior of the cast iron with alfalfa and cover 1 to 2" over the top of the cast iron!.
Add a solution of 3 parts of hot water and 1 part of apple cider vinegar to completely cover the cast iron 3:1 I like to boil the water but you need to be careful with the hot water when pouring into the tub!. You can use hot tap water that is over 120° F!.
Let this solution soak over night for lighter rust and 2 to 3 days for heavy rust!. Remove the cast iron from the solution and rinse the cast iron with cold water to remove the alfalfa!. Scrub with an S!.O!.S!. pad in hot water and rinse with very hot water!. Place the cast iron into a 225° preheated oven for 30 minutes to dry the cast iron completely!. To season increase the temperature to 500° and proceed with the seasoning process at 500°!.

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 CWww@FoodAQ@Com

It's not ruined!. You can bring it back to life!.

Use Brillo to scrub off all the rust!. Rinse and dry thoroughly!. Pour a little vegetable oil in the pan, and rub it in all over the inside, including up the sides!. Heat the pan on the stove just until it starts to smell but not smoke!. Carefully add about a tablespoon and rub the inside with a paper towel to spread the oil!. Let it heat another minute, then allow it to cool!. Wipe out any excess oil, then rinse in warm water and dry thoroughly!. I dry my cast iron by heating it until all the water evaporates!. Never put them away with any moisture on them, and never just leave them to soak!. Even with proper cleaning and storing, it's a good idea to do the oil and heat treatment every so often!.

Three of the frying pans I have are almost 150 years old and still in great condition, though I admit that I have had to restore them a few times!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Hopefully not!. What I do when someone inevitably rusts my cast iron is:

Wash very well and then I rub it with oil until the rust stops coming off!. Wash it again!. Preheat oven to 400!. Coat skillet with regular Crisco (don't leave puddles of it!. Make a thin, even coating)!. Put it in the oven for about an hour!. This should re-"season" the pan!. also, when I am done cooking with my cast iron, I wash it and let it dry in a warm oven to make sure no water is still in it!. Then put a THIN coating of Crisco back on it!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Dont worry, I do that sometimes!. Just use a brush you dont care about and clean it with soapy water and brush!. Dry thoroughly, and add oil!. It should be fine!. Or like someone else said, if its really bad then go through the whole season process again!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

I had that happen to one of my pots with a scouring pad get the rust off and pour oil (vegetable oil) in it and let it set for about 1hour and then wipe the excess off and then it done good as newWww@FoodAQ@Com

I would take a scratch pad to it and remove the old rust!. Once you've done that, wipe it really clean and then re-season it in the oven with oil!. It should be good to go again!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Burn off the rust in a hot oven, like 500--for 30 mins!.
Then rub with a light coat of veg oil, wipe off the excess, and store as usual/Www@FoodAQ@Com

You need to take the rust off with steel wool and dry it with a cloth, then go through the process of curing it again!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Mrs!.g h as the right idea follow those instructions Www@FoodAQ@Com





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