Have I ever mentioned that I have some of the most awesome, incredible readers and friends in the world? Truly.
And speaking of that, here's what you do NOT do with a cast iron skillet.
Do NOT put a bunch of grease in it, warm it up and then stick it in a cupboard where it is promptly forgotten.
Lots of very thin layers of grease - that's what builds up that wonderful seasoning.
I don't know who shunted it off into the cupboard, but the layer of fat in it was far too thick. It turned into a sticky, nasty horrible mess that encrusted my steel wool scrubby and wouldn't come off even with boiling water. I filled the skillet with lots of coarse salt, let it sit for a bit, and then scraped.
Can you see the nasty mess that came up?
You want to see it close up? That's a thick *peel* of fat and ... stuff.
And it's not as though I don't know how to season a skillet. Here's the one I've been using for several years, just after we finished lunch (corned beef hash - yummy!). This is the very best type of non-stick skillet. But it has become that way through lots and lots of use. And that's the ironic part of cast iron. The best one to have is your mother's, or your grandmother's, because it takes years to build up that wonderful layer seasoning.
Very cool gifts! I keep seeing abused pans in the thrift store and thinking that "one day" I will buy a couple and refurbish them. The one we bought new about 6 months ago is just starting to come right :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL If I can do nothing else for them, I plan to leave each of my kids a well-seasoned cast iron skillet *and* the knowledge of how to care for them. :)
ReplyDeleteEww...I reckon in a survival situation you could feed a family for days on what you were scraping off that skillet ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've recently started seasoning my skillet properly now that all the people around the place who would insist on washing it with detergent are gone. A nice layer is starting to build up.
BLECH! It was a thick layer of fat and ... dust? I don't know why it turns so sticky and nasty.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to convince Mr D that cast iron is worthwhile. His father always had cast iron (because that's what HIS mother had), but always complained that everything stuck. That's because he always washed it out with detergent, so it was never seasoned.
very jealous over the molds...lucky you
ReplyDeleteGorgeous, aren't they? :D If the apartment wasn't in such terrible disarray, I'd make muffins.
ReplyDeleteEventually I'll have a full set of cast iron kitchenware to use, season and pass on to my daughter.