The 4 Best Ways to Light a Cast Iron Skillet Before First Use

Having bought a frying pan, you cannot immediately start cooking. Purchased utensils are saturated with chemicals to protect the metal surface from corrosion and therefore require annealing to remove dangerous plaque. There are several simple and effective ways to light a cast iron skillet before the first culinary use. In order for the dishes to serve for a long time, the hostess should handle them carefully from the first days after purchase.

Characteristics of cast iron pans

A high quality cast iron skillet is an indispensable item in the kitchen. It is heat-consuming, characterized by long-term heating, so that food does not burn. Cast iron requires powerful heating, is suitable for frying pancakes and meat, and for cooking vegetable dishes.

The cast iron structure is porous, air molecules and fat particles are collected in microscopic cavities, so an additional non-stick coating is not necessary. The inner surface of the product, which has been abraded with metal sponges and harsh chemicals, should be calcined and greased with sunflower oil.

It is better to buy cast iron cookware with a lid. When frying without a lid, splashes of oil fly up, fall on the outer wall of the pan, which leads to a gradual accumulation of carbon deposits. Cast iron cookware retains heat perfectly, preventing the cooked dish from cooling quickly.

Why do you need to calcine cast iron

The manufactured frying pan is treated several times with technical substances in production. And before being sent to the market, an anti-corrosion chemical composition is applied to the product.

The cast iron skillet must be lit before use. The procedure will not only clean the pores of the metal from absorbed chemicals, but also eliminate a specific smell. If ignored, cooked food will be unpleasant in taste and dangerous to health.

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It is also recommended to light the stove so that:

• microcracks and chips have appeared;
• close the micropores;
• improve the structure of the metal;
• increase the anti-corrosion ability of the surface;
• extend the operating period;
• facilitate subsequent procedures for the care of dishes;
• ensure uniform heating of the cast iron bottom.

You can light not only a frying pan, but also a cauldron and a cast-iron pan, if they do not have an enamel coating. Annealing is acceptable if the enamel is black.

Preparing for the procedure

Before calcining the cast iron product, it is thoroughly washed with a foam sponge and detergent. Rinse, wipe. This will remove the top of the chemical deposits. Sometimes manufacturers calcine their cast iron products themselves before they are sent to market. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the information on the product label.

If the calcination is done by the manufacturer, it is sufficient to wash the pan to prepare it for use.

How to properly anneal a cast iron product

Most cast iron products tell you how to cook them properly before use. If there is such an instruction, the hostess can only follow it. If there is no information, you can use one of the following methods.

Traditional method

An easy way to light your stove is to use vegetable oil. The only drawback of this method is the consumption of a large amount of product. Economical housewives are advised to use oil calcining to clean shallow pans (pancake, egg).

To turn on the dishes, proceed as follows:

1. Take any refined oil.
2. Pour it into a washed saucepan at least 2/3 of the volume. If you pour less, they will have to coat the cast iron walls during the calcining process.
3. The oil is heated on the stove. When it begins to boil, keep the heat to a minimum.
4. Keep the oil on low heat for about 30 minutes.
5. Turn off the fire. Let the skillet cool.
6. After cooling, the used oil is removed.
7. Wipe the oil-soaked pan surface with a paper towel.

When cast iron is heated, the evaporation of chemical deposits begins, so the air is saturated with a pungent smell, sometimes even a suffocating haze appears. Before turning on the dishes, a window is opened in the kitchen or a ventilation device is turned on.

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With salt

An economical way to light a cast iron skillet is to use salt.

They act like this:

1. Pour the coarse salt into a washed and carefully dried pan. Leave a few centimeters at the edge, as agitation of the product is necessary during the calcination process.
2. Put the dishes on high heat.
3. When the cast iron is hot, they begin to stir the salt continuously with a spatula. The salt crystals will gradually darken and become greasy.
4. Calcination is continued for 10 to 15 minutes. If the salt becomes strongly frozen before the end of the procedure, take a new one.
5. After calcination, the salt is removed. The pan is washed without detergent. Mop up.
6. They put it back on the fire, heat it.
7. The bottom is lightly greased with vegetable oil using a silicone kitchen brush.
8. After cooling, excess oil is removed with a paper towel.

In the oven

You can light a frying pan with a cast-iron or removable handle in the oven.

For that:

1. The washed and dried pan is wiped with a cotton cloth soaked in sunflower oil. Do not use synthetic material. The piece of linen should be such a size that the bottom of the pan is completely covered.
2. Place the pan upside down on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.
3. The bottom is covered with an oiled fabric.
4. Calcined in an oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes.
5. The fire in the oven is extinguished, but the baking sheet is not removed. Let cool.
6. The cooled cast iron is removed. Wash thoroughly with a foam sponge using detergent.

The advantages of the method are low smoke and an uncontrolled process. The hostess does not need to monitor the condition of the pan.

Outside

Outside the premises, it is better and more convenient to light a cauldron or a cast iron pan. But for a frying pan, the method is also applicable. The main advantage is the instantaneous volatilization of unpleasant-smelling fumes. The method can also be used at home if there is a stove with a good chimney.

To light cast iron cookware, follow these steps:

1. The washed and dried product is put on a lit fire. Wait for the black cast to turn gray.
2. Poured over it with cold water. In winter, they are immersed in snow.
3. When the steaming ends, take out the cooled dishes and dry them thoroughly.
4. Grease with sunflower oil, return to heat.
5. After calcination, wash and dry. Repeat the action one more time.

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old frying pan

When the pan is worn out, food burns on it, then it can ignite in the oven with the help of salt. The bottom is abundantly covered with salt, the dishes are set to heat for an hour. The used salt is thrown away, the bottom is wiped with a paper towel moistened with sunflower oil.

If after baking the non-stick quality of the metal surface has not been restored, baking should be done again. And now, to keep the non-stick properties normal, hot dishes are cooled without running them under cold water. Cooling should be gradual to room temperature.

To remove carbon deposits, do not use metal sponges, hard scrapers, chemicals containing abrasive particles. It is enough to fill the bottom with hot water, leave for half an hour. Fresh carbon deposits will soften and come off easily when washed with a foam sponge.

Precautionary measures

It is not difficult to calcine cast iron, but some nuances should be taken into account:

• crockery must be free of plastic and wooden parts;
• when working, you need to use kitchen gloves;
• do not leave the kitchen during the lighting process;
• do not perform the procedure without ventilation or aeration;
• remove children and pets from the kitchen.

Follow-up care rules

In order for a cast iron frying pan to serve for a long time after roasting and not lose its non-stick properties, you need to take care of it:

• wash only with foam sponges and mild detergents;
• do not use machine wash;
• remove carbon deposits immediately after it appears, using gentle means;
• do not use metal scrapers and sponges to clean dishes;
• do not keep food in the cast iron for a long time;
• wash off stubborn greasy stains with hot water;
• with a dense layer of fat, pour water over the pan, bring to a boil for easy washing;
• put food for frying only in a preheated pan;
• after washing, carefully wipe the cast iron surface;
• do not put moist and insufficiently dried food in heated dishes.

These simple recommendations will allow you to operate a cast iron skillet trouble-free for many years and prepare healthy foods.