Hellobee Boards

Wash immediately, dry thoroughly and coat with shortening.

Never use soap!

Do not scrub it hard or with harsh scrubby sponges - and don't use soap on it . The more seasoned it gets, the more flavor your food will have and the more non-stick the pan will get . After rinsing, we dry ours over a low heat and rub down with olive oil.

Have fun! I love cooking with cast iron and the high temps they can withstand; perfect for making a good roast chicken, steaks...anything really!

@Meridian: no, no, Le Creuset Dutch oven are enameled so it's not the same. We're talking about cast iron like like the ones by Lodge.

Peanut oil is wonderful because it can take the high temperature. And keep it away from the soap. I keep my pan on the stovetop because its too heavy to carry back and forth

The only other tip I can think of is to store them with a dish towel in between each pan (if you are nesting them).
We cook almost exclusively in cast iron / enameled cast iron and love it!

I'm having trouble with my cast iron as well.. Isn't it supposed to be non-stick after it's been seasoned? Mine isnt...What are you supposed to do with all the food residue if you can't use soap... Scrape it off? So confused...

@Torchwood: I have seen a lot of enameled cook wear in smaller sizes and lower prices at places like home goods, maybe you can look there?

@locavore_mama: ok.. So what should I have done with burnt maple syrup in my cast iron pan.. It was essentially just reduced to carbon and such a thin layer that anything wooden couldn't scrape it off... Can I scrape with something metal, is that bad?

@T-Mom: you can buy a scraper just for cast iron pans!

You can boil water in enamel coated cast iron pots and they can be cleaned with soap. It's the uncoated ones you can use soap on or boil water in. I love my cast iron pans.

You can cook just about anything in them if you use enough fat (butter, oil) to keep it from sticking. Over time, they develop a lovely season that makes food taste super yummy. I have one small, uncoated pan I use to make scrambled eggs now and they taste so yummy.

I have two uncoated pans from Lodge that were pretty inexpensive. I believe you can get them atBed, Bath, and Beyond or even Costco sometimes. The LeCreusets were big wedding gift splurges and I use them so often. I do hate having to store them up high because they're so heavy, so I make my husband get them down for me.

As far as cleaning the uncoated pans, I found a vendor on Amazon who sells a square of chain-mail (like literally what knights used to wear) specifically for cleaning cast iron. That thing gets my pans so clean, somehow doesn't scratch them, and preserves the seasoning on them. When my pans were new, I'd put a coat of olive oil on eat one and heat them on low for about 20 minutes to help season them.

Oh man, this overwhelms me! I own ZERO cast iron and know nothing about it - benefits, drawbacks, how to use it, clean it, etc.!

@T-Mom: I've found this to be helpful for general care and cleaning of cast iron pans:

I like using my cast iron pan for steaks and chops and such, but when food gets stuck to it (I'll fry shrimp in it or try to get a crust on pork chops, etc), it gets chunkies glazed onto the surface, basically. I've never been able to successfully get a true nonstick surface, and I just got an enamel covered one for Christmas, so we'll see.

I always wanted to make a cookie with mine, but was concerned it would taste like savory foods.

I've used crunched up aluminum foil to strip the oil and start from scratch, though. I need to do it again, though. They're close together on the galvanic chart so it won't cause your pan to rust. Exposed iron will rust, as will iron that is wet, so you definitely want to keep it sealed with a barrier like oil. But if it does rust, you can scratch off the rust and then seal it off again. So it's not ruined if you keep messing it up like me

@lovehoneybee: crap. I just boiled water in my new cast iron pan today!! Grrrr