Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What Are You Using To Season Your Cast Iron?

Interesting stuff here:


https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

Been using Sunflower Oil for a long time, because it has one of the highest smoke points @ 450 degrees.

Nothing beats a well seasoned Cast Iron Pan, it's the original Non-Stick pan.

KB

Avocado oil is highly heat resistant. It's smoke point is 520F. It's also good for frying.

Stove and pots/pans get vegetable oil after every use.

Yep. My eggs slide right off the skillet into my plate. No stick.

PS The season is actually oil that's been polymerized, carbon infused, and bound to the surface via heating till smoking. It's important to remove it from the heat as soon as it starts to smoke, as letting it smoke further will actually consume season rather than add to it. Heating to just the point of smoking adds the carbon infusion element to the seasoning. The combination of carbon and polymerized oils is what makes the surface nonstick. The carbon element is why a properly seasoned skillet is back.

It's been so long since I seasoned a new cast iron skillet I don't remember. I don't put anything on my seasoned skillets after I use them, except maybe a little vegetable oil if they're looking a little dry.

No, no, no. She got some things right, but more info was wrong. She was a writer who happened upon a popular subject and got traction from it for a while.

Been using Avocado oil lately.

+1, supposed to be the best.

Lard for the using irons ,bees wax for anything stored.

OK. What did she get right?

After you deep fry a few messes of fish and taters in a cast iron dutch oven it will be black and slick as glass best way to season them I have found.

I have messed around with lard, bacon, crisco, flaxseed, olive, and canola.

Plain old canola has worked just fine for me. After use and cleaning I will put it back on the stove to dry, then wipe or spray with canola. Heat until it starts to smoke then set it aside to cool.

Grapeseed oil.

If you actually do it right with flaxseed oil (which is food grade linseed oil) you will get a polymerized, non-stick coating that will probably last the rest of your life. It will even stand up to commercial dishwashers.

I keep a small can of Crisco in the fridge, and occaissionaly wipe a thin coat on them.
I mainly cook with olive oil, except when i fry fish, for that i use peanut oil.

Another for Grape seed oil.

Mineral to maintain primarily.

but, I have been really pleased with some of the new beeswax products.

Look into Crissbee.
FWIW, I restore old cast Iron when I find the right pieces. I have and electrolysis tank that we use, then build the seasoning back with mineral oil.

Mineral oil will not go rancid like vegetable oils and other oils.

5/30 full-synthetic Mobil…..or Carlini Canola spray from Aldi’s.

Based on what you guys are saying, I am going to switch to Flaxseed Oil.

Thanks for the education :o)

KB