This guide will make cooking with cast iron a breeze! Check us out on Facebook! - buzzfeedtasty MUSIC Promenade En Provence Licensed via Audio Network Made by BFMP www.buzzfeed.com/videoteam.
yo, the part where she puts it in the oven upside down is important. she doesn't mention it, but the reason is to prevent oil from pooling in the bottom. had to watch another video for someone to clarify that.
If it's past its smoking point wouldn't just smoke or evaporate away? The reason why I ask is because I've been leaving it upside up for a while and have never seen problem at the end of the seasoning.
@eddie Dickens "Everyone is stupid and lazy except me oh why couldn't i have been born in the times of disease outbreaks with no vaccines, wars after wars and totalitarian governments? "
@eddie Dickens the moment somebody says they were born in the wrong era or generation, any and everything they say is invalid for 10 years. Please try again at that point.
Got an unseasoned 10" cast iron pan for $10 around 30 years ago. They said "season it". I never seasoned it. I just threw some bacon in it and started cooking. They said NEVER use a metal flipper. I've used a metal flipper for 30 years. I never wash the pan. Occasionally I wipe it with a paper towel. It lives on my stovetop. I figure the pan has cooked at least 10,000 meals. Best 10 bucks I ever spent. 5 years ago someone gave me a rusty 8" cast iron that had spent 20+ years in a shed. I used a wire brush to take off the rust and then I.....wait for it.....threw some vegetable oil in it and started cooking. Don't fuss about your cast iron. Don't let it sit wet, and it'll cook for generations.
Yeah this video feels like it focuses on how your pan looks, tbh the more you use it the more non stick it becomes, completely agree, it’s not as scary as people make out
One of the common misconceptions about cast iron is that the purpose of seasoning is to make the surface non-stick. Seasoning is to prevent rust. Over time, cooking and seasoning will cause the cast iron to become more non-stick. I cook almost exclusively with cast iron, and love it.
@Heaven & Hell Testimonies Non-stick pans don't really have the chemicals in them, but are made using them. There are concerns about wether they can stay in the pan and release if you overheat it or if it becomes scratched. There is a lot of conflicting information, so I can't tell how serious the danger really is, but the cast iron certainly is perfectly safe and healthy to cook with.
I'm 65 and finally got a cast iron pan after replacing Teflon pans every 9 months. I don't mind the extra work, it's kind of meditative, like folding laundry. I even like the heavy weight on my skinny arms. Use it or lose it! 😊
This is one of the most useful videos I have seen wrt cooking utensils. Clear, simple and not patronizing. Thank you! And it confirms how I have been caring for and using cast iron pans. They are truly a great tool.
Great video! I just restored a cast iron pan that used to belong to my mother n’ law. At first I was hesitant since I have a history of destroying cast iron cookware. But thanks to videos like yours, I have a new found appreciation for this understated piece…and now use it as often as possible. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏾👍🏾
This is just a one time deal. You hardly ever have to season the skillet again. Like maybe once a year if it gets dirty. Normally, after you use it, simple wipe it out with a paper towel and thats it!
I've been cooking with cast iron for years and these tips are spot on! If you are serious about learning to cook, you need at least 1 good cast iron skillet. Treat it right and it will last forever.
I've heard you're not supposed to use oil and instead use shortening. Thoughts on that? I've been meaning to buy one, but I want to know how to treat it right before I do.
I absolutely love my cast iron. My mom bought me a small skillet for my b-day to add to my cookware collection. It really isn't hard to clean, you really don't need soap and no matter what you're cooking or baking cast iron will do it best.
Been using cast iron my whole life and it's even easier than this video makes it out to be. I'd take these "rules" as guidelines since I've been using 3 cast iron pans, each about 100 years old, at least once a day since I was little. Dont waste your oil re-seasoning your pans every time you use them, you can just clean them with hot water and a scrubby sponge, I've never had one crack due to dousing it in water, rust only forms if you leave them to air dry, and as long as you use them pretty much daily, as I do, the layer of seasoning stays intact. Easy peasy, also they make excellent home defence weapons.
@@dangr123 Choose an oil with a high smoke point.. like grapeseed or avocado oil; and that is only seasoning. Flaxseed oil is not economical nor desired
I agree that flax oil is no good. I tried it and had trouble results. I ended up having to strip my pan back down to bare metal and start again. I use avocado oil now, to season and to cook. Its high smoke point saves me a lot of grief.
I have three other skillets and two dutch ovens also now added to the one my grandmother had and love them for cooking in. They are not hard to clean and season either and they are so much better than the other cookware I have purchased.
I love cast iron for 4 reasons: 1. My family murders teflon within a week. 2. Affordable stainless steel pans have screwed-on handles, and they get wiggly after a couple of years because the screws corrode 3. My great grandmother's cast iron pans from 1922 are still around. 4. I love crispy meat.
Olga Cruz My Grandma has had hers for over 20 years to my knowledge. I hope that one day it will be passed to me, so I can pass it to my children. I can say without a doubt, that if it's used right, it can go to their children too
Love all myCast Iron cookery.. Hey if I get stuck foods I also use salt but I don’t use water I use oil,but everything you said in this video,grandma told me. Keep these traditions alive!!! thanks for sharing info
Every video about why you should use cast iron just sounds like reasons why I shouldn't use cast iron. I threw out my cast iron pan and went back to stainless steel and regular old non-stick pans. I have never been happier.
@@hypothalapotamus5293 indeed - I have two, one of each type. The only disadvantage of enamel coated iron pot is that you can actually make it burst if you mistreat it. My first pot I bought for myself after moving out of my parents home was a enamel coated iron pot. After some experimentation I went on to use non-stick surface cookware. It is great but it wears off relatively fast. For meat it wears even faster. Years later, marriage and off I started to make proper meals my already gone wife would never learn to appreciate and I notice that I still have this old pot. Great thing about this is that you can do a lots of things with it you hardly can do with non-stick and it will mostly forgive you. There was some learning needed but I noticed my results with steaks are much better and the big pot is a nice replacement for the oven too in some applications. The only problem I have with all this is that with my love for a good steak grew the need for a good wine. My waist grew too and my doctor is not happy. I do not give a toss tho. Going out that is downstears (down with merkel and her no-covid minions!) for a beer now.
I inherited a cast iron skillet that does a great job of cooking. Nice information on care of cast iron. I recently let mine sit overnight in a sink of soapy water so I should probably season it again.
I bought a set of cast iron pans 32 years 3 and they are still in incredible condition after using on a daily basis. The griddle is great for Welsh cakes. Non stick has it's place but there is no comparison to cast iron . Carbon steel is also a good and lighter alternative.
I bought my first cast pan yesterday. Been rifling through videos and this is literally and by far the best video!! Thank you so much. You literally covered all areas and in a perfect timed video! Great job 🫡
Gordon: Scrub the rust off. Dry. Olive oil. In. Now this will add the smooth texture and lift the flavor. Heat the pan in the oven for an hour. Let the knife do the work and season the steak with salt and peppa, and add a knob of butta and a few tablespoons of olive oil into the pan. Once the pan has heated, we are ready to drop in the steak. Mmmmmm. Let the steak sit until the edges turn into a beautiful brown. Flip. Hughhhh. Look at that. Serve. Now that is how you make a steak.
"People think it's hard to deal with or hard to clean, it's actually really easy" Proceeds to outline exactly why people think it's hard to deal with or hard to clean.
You can clean it like any other pan with soap - the seasoning wont go off from that because its polymerized fat. The only difference from other pans is that u have to season it every once in a while just dont let it rust by storing it wet (but who stores stuff wet). Honestly, maintenance is just to sear some meat and clean it soon after use.. The guide is excessive (salt and expensive oil, FACEPALM).
If it's not worth it to you then don't bother. But if you want to invest in one it's definitely worth it. It's not that much more work to take care of.
Such a charming video, I really enjoyed it, thank you! I have a skillet sitting in the bottom drawer in my kitchen that I got from a charity shop for 50p. It has a few rusty patches and it was enough to put me off cooking with it straight away. A few months has passed and this was exactly what I needed the internet to give me today! I'm about to make the best steak I ever did make. Thanks again!
not really.. The best part about them is how fast it is to clean (as long as you don't burn ur shiet) just pour off the oil, and brush the pan under running water while its still hot, clean in few seconds - no washing up liquid required (this will also remove your "seasoning-layer")
The statement you made at the end. You could not take yourself seriously. Not with a straight face. Very useful information about the skillet. I'm also blessed with a cast iron skillet cover
I bought a (then cheap) set of four cast iron pans more than fifty years ago and have used them continuously for more than half a century, I've never seasoned them or followed any of the other suggestions I've read, which in my opinion are mostly superstition. Here is what I do: (1) use them often, (2) make sure to dry them completely, and (3) store by hanging up on hooks. As to being any kind of trouble to take care of, I believe that they are actually easier to care for than the steel and teflon pans --- if you treat them with a little kindness they will thrive.
This ^. If my hanging pans DO get some rust, I know they weren't dried enough when hung. I just take a swipe at the rust with some oil and a paper towel and merrily start cooking.
@@Jon155mt If you're throwing your cast iron in the oven everytime you clean it you're doing it wrong. You only need to do that when you give it a deep clean, not an everyday clean.
Well then it have to be a good one. If you end up with a bad one its more like: the more you give the more she'll take. see ya in family court and helloooo Alimony!
@eddie Dickens not sure if I agree with that Eddie. Even if you dont know what you're doing, if you enjoy it, it'll still be alot more fun than eating at a crappy FF-restaurant
I grew up with cast iron and we never were low on iron. Almost everything that was cooked in our family was done in cast iron I still cook it it today 🌻
Can you tell is it harmful if we cook sour dishes in iron pans : like with Tomatoes, vinegar, Curd ? I know it gives a metallic and foul taste of iron,but that is not the issue for me, I need to know whether it is bad for health or not? Metallic taste of iron is OK with me
Real unsalted butter. Best season ever. What I do is season mine and wipe it out with a dry towel right after cooking always leaving that nights season in the pan. After I wipe it down from cooking I add more butter wipe it in with a no lent towel then put it up. It's my grand mother's been in the family since 1923. My mom always taught me this method and it's always nice to rub salt and pepper into a steak and get those years worth of season.
One thing to note that is not really mentioned anywhere is that when you season it in the oven on high for an hour, turn on your fan or open windows. It gets really smoky.
@@bivouacrecording3412 no idea, i use mostly grapeseed oil too, and since my oven is broken i'm using the stovetop to season them. How thin the layer? I mean, if you remove excess oil before putting it in the oven, you should be fine.
Caring for your knives, wooden cutting board, carbon steel wok, and the cast iron. Makes me proud of my kitchen and makes me cook more. I just restore my 12" cast iron skillet.
I love cast iron cookware. I used to love to watch my granny flip the cornbread when she made it in her cast iron skillet. That was a special skill, let me tell you 😂😂😂🥰🥰🥰
Been using my Grandfathers handed down cast Iron forever. I love it. I use it for just about everything and it always cooks meat in a way that no other pan would. So good.
NerdRagerGaming never i this and never had a problem with my cast iron pan and can cook anything then throw it in the oven and don't have to worry about handle burning #manpan
Great video - thanks ! Optional tip: whenever using steel wool products, consider using a glove, maybe like a Marigold - as wire / steel wool can be pretty unforgiving on the ol' fingies !!
This video has been life changing for me. I learned more in your 6 minute video than I have in my whole adult life about cast iron. I never knew how to cook with cast iron, let alone take care of it. I've finally begun to make REAL use of a devastatingly under-utilized iron pan I got as a wedding present 4 1/2 years ago, and it has become my favorite pan ever since. I feel like all of my cooking tastes better now. Fast forward to garbage day... my neighbor threw out a cast iron pan that looked dried out, rusted, and utterly destroyed. The garbage men never took it. Cha-CHING! I brought it inside, applied what I learned in your video, and I restored it like new! I never thought I could have so much fun restoring a pan. I'm so excited about it that I've been spamming all of my friends with your video for weeks. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Not only do they last a lifetime and more, but they make food taste AWESOME. I have my grandmother's cast iron skillet she bought sometime in the late 1940's. Once a month we'd go over to her house in West Miami (FL) and cut her lawn, and she would make fried chicken, mashed taters & gravy, and some sort of veggie & a home made dessert (apple turnovers, cake, pie - she was expert at Key Lime Pie and had a key lime tree in her back yard). That is a meal, I will never, ever forget. She's been gone since 1982, but I still remember those wonderful meals in the mid to late 1960's.....just incredible.
last year my parents went all over my town and found the only store that had one of these left and got it for me for my birthday, i now am a proud owner of a very large,perfectly beautiful cast iron, im also terrified of using it cuz its so different from a regular one. But my gosh is it great, i usually sear and use the oven so its perfect that i can just throw it all in there with whatever seasoning and vegetables i need. and cleaning isnt that hard once you get used to it- will try your version aswell! If you have interest in making food, this is the one product you NEED in your kitchen, nevermind anything else!
In India cast iron stuffs are all around and I have a 12" diameter 3.75kgs skillet, helps me with my bicep toning sessions 🤣🤣btw, cleaning is actually easy. I just boil plain water in it every time immediately after cooking.. Pour it off, scrub it with a scrubber, wash it of with plain water, air dry it, and lubricate it with some edible oil, wipe off the excess before cooking the next time.. I cook in it once a day to treat my iron deficiency
@@Hwoman1123 nice haha, yeh i do the same, cook food, poor some water to boil and scrub clean,then remove water add oil and done., very easy! havnt used mine to much tho.. scaaarry haha
Bought a Japanese made cast iron pan version. Cost a bit more but you don't have to do any of these stuff as it stays well seasoned throughout no matter how many times you cook on it. Worth it.
I cook my eggs every day on cast iron pans and the eggs never sick. If I purchased a nonstick I get a year out of the pan. The cast iron will last a lifetime. The cast iron cost 5 dollars at Walmart, and the nonstick is 20 dollars plus. I follow this simple rule, I never clean it with soap. I use hot water and a scotch bright pad. I always let the oil heat up before I cook and that re-seasons the pan. I just wash it when I am done and then dry the pan. It is not any more work than a regular pan. If you do it right, it will last and work well.
The key thing is to not use soap since it dissolves the oil seasoning you have and make sure it's not wet when you store it. that's how easy it is to take care of it once you've seasoned it. Don't really know why people complain about not having time for a cast iron pan, it's easy to maintain and like you said, nothing sticks and it lasts a lifetime
You're absolutely right. So many people here are whining that cast iron is so much work, but its not. My pans are only less than 3 years old but, they're so well seasoned from regular use that I've actually swished around some Dawn dishwashing liquid, if there's a lot of butter or something in the pan, just with my hand, rinsed it and dried it and have never had a problem with my seasoning wearing off.
@@Warlundrie Totally untrue, proper seasoning on your pan is not an 'Oil" layer. Proper seasoning layer is a carbonized layer that has adhered to the surface of your Iron and normal dish soap and sponge will have no effect on your season at all, just make sure not to use scotch brite sponge as it will take if off everytime.
I’ve been curious about cast iron for years and this video confirmed one thing for me: it’s exponentially more trouble than it’s worth. BUT thank you for the very informative video and for saving me the frustration of buying one without understanding it!
This video lived in my brain for two weeks and I ended up buying a cast iron pan. Made corn bread with it tonight. I retract my previous statement, it was good and worth it.
a friendly reminder to not pour the water in if the leftover oil is still boiling hot... tasty is pointing out every little detail except how not to create a bonfire accidentally :P
Anvilshock I'm not sure myself, there's something about the explosion that "could" auto-ignite it in combination with oils that have a lower flash point, maybe when it's almost near ignition but still I wouldn't recommend it either way^^
It does not auto ignite, however, as someone who had a 2nd degree burn with the combination of water and boiling oil, let me tell you this: even the smallest bit of water, when you pour boiling oil on-it, will make the oil go crazy and spitting all around, which might not be so dangerous in itself, but could lead you to do some frantic move that ends up with part of your body being covered in burning oil. Ouch.
My boyfriend and I cook with a cast iron skillet every day and honestly? It's the best. Once you season it properly, it's all pretty minimal effort from there. Plus it adds more flavor to your food (in our opinion). We love it. Others are afraid of cast iron skillets and think they're too technically challenging... We say nay.
My southern ancestors just used Crisco to wipe the pan after cooking. I leave my cast iron on my stovetop because I use it 1-2 times a day. Very easy to maintain. Wipe with paper towel and just rinse if super greasy.
Ruined my first one and silly me, threw it out. When I got a new one it had instructions. Followed it and 47 years later still use the same pan every day. Wonderful for stir fries etc 😋
My mom still uses my great-great-grandmothers cast iron that she used literally as a share cropper in South Carolina a few years after slavery ended 😯. It's literally as old as Juneteenth its self- ps: my great-grandma made the best peach cobbler I've ever had in it & my mom makes the most deliciois fried chicken in it 😛
I have my mother's cast iron that she got from her mother and she got from her great great grandmother! They're about vintage 1840, and they are just as beautiful and work just as well as if I just bought them, maybe even better. They've been well cared for all these years. It makes me overjoyed to know that I cook with history. How many years ago they were used to cook up good food, day after day. It astonishes me. Something that's really hilarious to me, in this comment section, is there are folks who are convinced that the regular old pots and pans you can find in any old store will have the same kind of lifespan. Who taught these people anything? Companies don't stay rich by selling you cheap garbage, that somehow lasts forever. Regular pots and pans will never have a lifespan of much more than a decade of you're extremely careful with your possessions.
Informative video, thanks for sharing. I'm newbie on using such skillets, thus I have ...lots of queries. To toss the main one: Are there two different kinds of cast iron skillets? the enameled ones and the non-enameled ones? What you present in this video holds true for both kinds or solely for the non-enameled ones?
It's cause she's not trying to be a twat, she has a dribble of humor in her voice but also knowledge, and she's not trying hard to sound fancy or like a know-it-all, she just shares her knowledge. I am on there with you, usually this nasaly-ish voice annoys the crap out of me, but she's awesome!
I know exactly what you are talking about, that nasal, phlegmy throat kind of voice that all these American girls post Britney Spears era seem to have. and that raising of pitch towards the end of every sentence. But This girl and her buddy won me over by the absolute frank happy laughter at the end.
Wow. Now THIS is a great instructional video. I've watched various tutorials on seasoning and caring for cast iron; this is BY FAR THE BEST. THANK Y🍳U. 😊
Seriously. A thread about started out talking how hard this video makes maintaining a skillet look and ended up with people calling each other snow flake beta males for saying "I was born in the wrong generation"
Loled so hard. A guide how to cook with cast iron. In the past, all around the world everyone used to cook in cast iron kitchenware. Until very rich decided that it is bad for economics when the herd doesn't buy a new pan each year. In our family we still habe two very old skillets - one, 32 cm in diameter, made in 1913, and the other with unconventional 27 cm dianeter, made in 1922. Heavy as hell, but extra durable and dependable. Cooking almost evey day.
@@adp187 Agreed. Not to mention that it has a smoking point of only around 225 degrees. Odessa should check out this article instead: www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/smoke-point-matters-in-cooking-with-oil/article26569060/
No. You do it once, when you get a new pan, or refurbish an old one. Then you just cook w it. A rinse w hot water and a wipe and it's ready for the next time. A bit of soap, if you must.
@@tammycash7003 how do you get rid of the smell in it? I.e. If I cook a steak and wash it with water only, the smell of meat still stays in the pan? Do I need to use soap?
@@japesy1 this morning, I fried four eggs and made a grilled cheese sandwich. Let it cool a bit, rinsed w hot water, a gentle brush if needed for stuck on foods, and wipe dry. I browned a roast in it, and finished it the same way. No smells. You can use a drop of soap if it makes you feel better. I've done that, too. Just don't scrub the heck out of it. Whenn the water runs clear, stop. I adore mine. It's a 10", ozark trail. $9 at Walmart. Works just as good as pricier pans.
@@japesy1 The salt also works to neutralize smells. I've been using mine for years, hot water then using course salt really is everything you need to keep it fresh.
Instead of salt to clean it I read that ashes from a woodstove work great. I tried it and it’s remarkable how easy it was to clean and I no longer run out of salt. I keep a small container of ashes just for this purpose and only need about one tablespoon each time.
Unless you've knowingly been putting your cold meat in that hot skillet and it has been sticking, it simply means Brad oils and heats that skillet much better than you.
