[rconti]

(reply really meant for @arrowleaf)

Man, I'm so turned off by the entire cast iron hype cult. I've tried so hard to make it work for me, and it just doesn't, and everyone's advice is totally different so it's impossible to know what to do. Wash it. Don't wash it. Scrub the shit out of it. Just remove the chunks and leave the rest.

The reply will inevitably be "it's simple, just...." where the words following "just" are different from anything ever written on the topic before.

[asow92]

I think the reason there is so much conflicting advise on the topic is because it's such a forgiving cooking medium, but people swear by their method as the one true method.

It's a piece of iron. It's cheap. It just works™

[ff317]

I cook on cast iron multiple times a week. Have for years, using a very antique pan from a dead relative. My rules are fairly straightforward. I don't do any other maintenance or cleaning than this after-care routine:

* Let the pan cool (if I'm lazy or it's late, possibly this is overnight and then I do the rest in the morning).

* Scrape out any easy solid waste (burnt food bits, etc) with a wood spatula edge and throw the waste in the trash.

* Toss a healthy amount of salt into the pan and scrub the pan using the salt, with your hands/fingers. The salt is a great abrasive, like sand, but I don't want sand ground into my cookware, while salt is fine for food.

* Rinse out the dirty-salt-mess with plain water from the sink.

* Occasionally, if stuck-on things are particularly stubborn, repeat some of the above steps as necessary until the pan surface is smooth and clean.

* Wipe off most of the remaining wetness with a paper towel (the towel will probably look pretty dirty, that's ok).

* Throw the pan back on the cooktop, pour a few tbsp of cheap olive oil in the middle, and turn the burner on as high as it goes. Wait a few minutes for the oil to thin, spread, and smoke. Once it's smoking pretty well, shut off the fire and leave the pan to cool again.

* Later when it's cooled off again (possibly overnight or hours later, whatever), gently wipe off any excess liquid oil with a paper towel and store the pan back in the cabinet, ready for next use.

[s1artibartfast]

Where is the hype cult if it "just" works for tons of people?

People use them for cooking different things, so the advice is bound to be different. Maybe they don't work for your cooking, and thats OK.

[scottyah]

it's simple, just use stainless steel and preheat it to where water droplets bounce instead of evaporate before putting the oil on