I’ve only bought the pan a week ago and used it three times. Hot dogs, eggs, and steak.

When I’m done I clean it with a scrubby sponge and once with a little bit of detergent, then put it on the stove to dry quickly. Then while it’s hot I smear maybe a teaspoon of vegetable oil on it with a paper towel “brush”.

In between uses it’s wet with oil, as you can see in the picture. How much residual oil should there be? I had the impression that it would be dryer.

Also, how much should I scrub? I am not going to leave crust of beef on there, but I also don’t think it’s supposed to be scrubbed back to new smoothness.

  • ralakus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    16 hours ago

    I’ve had a few cast iron pans and a carbon steel pan for a few years now. I just wash them with dawn dish detergent (make sure whatever soap/detergent you use doesn’t contain lye) and a sponge until all the food bits are gone and the water cleanly skids off the pan. After, I shake the water off and hand dry with a cotton dish towel. I don’t put oil on them unless I’m gonna store them for months at a time.

    You mentioned your pans are new so the water may not slide off like a well used and seasoned pan so just scrub and rinse until the food bits are off. If there are any difficult bits, you could buy a plastic dish scraper or just gently scrape at it with a metal spoon. Don’t worry too much about damaging the pan when washing; cast iron has lasted many families many decades of cooking and abuse.

    Just make sure not to drop it or heat/cool it too quickly and it’ll be fine

    • Clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      1·
      9 hours ago

      Thank you very much. I was hoping this pan would be less work than the nonstick we have already, but so far that’s not been the case. Hopefully I settle in to a good routine!

      • whereisk@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        8 hours ago

        Look, realistically, it’s never going to be less work than a new non stick pan - it’s heavy, might need some oil now and then and can’t put it in the dish washer.

        But if you are like me, once you settle into a routine that you’re happy with you’ll be glad with the freedom that you don’t have to babysit this thing: that it can take a beating the non stick never could, that you don’t eat pfas, that you can stab it, scrape it, wash it, stack it, throw it in the oven, cook at any temperature, heavy mass means even heat and that you’ll never have to buy another one and will probably pass it on to your grandkids or even let it rust and come back to it and will be fine with a bit of love.

          • whereisk@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            4 hours ago

            I see. The first mistake I was making if I remember correctly was using the same continuous high heat as I would in a non stick and not wait long enough for the pan to heat evenly.

            The difference in the amount of mass it carries makes it a different beast to cook in: it takes a while to warm up but also for the same reason it maintains and exceeds the temperature a non stick if you maintain high heat under it.

            So try either starting at a low heat and waiting a while to warm up - maybe 3-5min. Or start at a high heat wait 2 mins to get it warm fast and then lower the stove to what would have been a simmer so you don’t overshoot.