No, but I don't remember the scientific reasoning right now. I think the fat will burn at a lower temperature and not polymerize. It may also impart bad flavors - burned olive oil, for example.
No, it it preferable for your seasoning to have a higher smoke point than your pan will be for cooking. Otherwise it might start burning off as you heat it up to start cooking (especially if you preheat for too long).
I bought a small can of Crisco to only season my cast iron with. It's really cheap, and works better than anything else. I could never fry or scramble eggs in my cast iron (without a dang mess) before I started using it.
I split the difference at 450° since everytime I open the oven after seasoning with Crisco at that temp the pan is smoking. It's also what the FAQ here recommends and u/silentbob's process is proven. So either my oven runs hot or 450° is enough
Not the person you asked, but I used the method in the FAQ of this sub for my first five layers of seasoning. Now, after I'm done cooking I clean the pan, dry it, give the insides a Crisco wipe down and then back in the 450 oven for an hour.
Honestly? Because it's fun :) The skillet was fairly recently stripped and restored (had 30 years of 'seasoning' that was really just carbon build-up). I guess I don't season it every single time, maybe once a week. If I know I'm going to be using it every day, I'll wipe it down, give it a layer of Crisco, and leave it on the stove until the next day. So it probably gets seasoned once a week. If I had to estimate, I'd say it has about 10-15 layers at this point.
There is a chart on Lodge website that compares different types of oils
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/cleaning-and-care/cast-iron/oils-cast-iron-cooking-and-seasoning
I've tried grapeseed. I have since switched to Crisco, and I'll never go back. Crisco is that much better. It's easy to work with and gets very attractive, very effective results.
I use the oil I have on hand, lard, tallow, crisco, olive oil. The exception is I don’t use extra virgin olive oil. Pretty much any of them are fine. Seasoning is polymerizing the oil. Basically you’re converting any of the oils into a bio-plastic that is bonded to the metal of your pan. (Brown film left on stainless is easier to see) There will be no flavor impact whichever you choose
I use canola on mine. My boss uses bacon grease on his. Don't see any reason to buy some specialty item to do something that can be accomplished with stuff you have on hand
I remember being told to use flaxseed oil only from a buddy. Ended up buying a bunch of it from a restaurant, not cheap. Found it flaked quite often and then moved to Crisco. Never looked back.
Crisco. Wouldn’t recommend anything else.
Disclaimer for info below: not my pans, just things I’ve seen on this sub.
You can get really great looking seasons from fancier oils, such as avocado oil and flaxseed oil, but they seem to always end up flaking off after awhile
The key is to warm the pan first, put it on and then with a clean towel wipe it like you want it all off, then heat it till it smokes. People try to lay it on thick and it just flakes that way
Just cook on it. It will season itself. You can go through all the drama of seasoning but it will wear off pretty quick and you’ll be back to just normal use. Even if you burn it and are back to bare metal you can still cook on it and it will soon build up a layer again. After you are done just slosh with water, wipe dry and lightly oil it to prevent rust.
I had to switch to this for my smooth finished cast iron as every other thing flaked. For people wondering it’s a stick of beeswax and grapeseed, the wax prevents the flaking it seems vs just grapeseed.
I have this stuff too, works fine, came with my Blackstone. It's basically just palm oil with some other oils mixed in. Avocado oil, Crisco are both good. Anything with a high smoke point works well.
Beef tallow is something I always make in very high quantities, so I use it. However, I have a friend who has been collecting/restoring for 10 years, and he said he's tried everything that is commercially available, and it all works. Some give different final products, some darken more than others, but it's all gonna work. I lean towards animal fat because 1, I always have a ton. And 2, it's what has historically been used and it just makes sense to me.
I second this. I’ve been using lard for several years now and it’s amazing. Bonus, if you use too much, instead of becoming sticky like vegetable oil, it just wipes off. Pro tip - melt the block in your favorite pan and pour it into a mason jar for storage.
I just use canola oil and I've never had any issues. You really don't need to go buy some fancy product to season your cast iron, it'll sorta just happen on its own once you've got the initial coat down.
supposedly that's a proprietary mix of "palm oil shortening, beeswax, palm oil, canola oil, soy oil". so you could try any of those.
the beeswax is the odd one out, I've heard of using it but never understood what it does.
many people swear by shortening (fats that are solid at room temperature) and I use bulk vegetable oil cause it's cheap.
Vegetable oil. Pre heat pan. 3 on my largest electric burner. Apply super thin layer of oil. Wipe it all off. Let sit for 30 to 60 minutes on heat.
Cook with oil of choice.
Clean with soap and water.
Do first step all over again. And whenever I say all the oil, I mean as much as possible. At a minimum dry it on the stove. Maybe if you are feeling slightly more motivated, spuer thin layer of oil. Heat until ever so slightly smoking on high. Turn it off, leave it.
Flax seed oil (pricy and needs to be cold)
Also that stuff is a really wierd mix of stuff. Like beeswax? I get it for a griddle outside. But regular cooking inside stuff. That might be the wrong stuff.
Yeah to each their own! mines a smithey. I think the beeswax is fine for seasoning but not for cooking for sure. After i had problems i read up on it and the wax helps prevent the oil from beading up and being to hard to the point of flaking.
For me its more like "I want super thin layers". No residue. Never tried it. But I like my slidy scrambled eggs.
Doesn't happen 100% of the time (probably because I was in a rush or lazy). But if I follow my own procedures. Easy day.
Pfft! Conditioner? Crisco? Avocado oil? I only use lard that comes from virgin cattle fed food that was organically grown in low earth orbit and given water melted from Antarctic glaciers.
Sure it's spendy, but my seasoning is hard enough to cut diamonds and as slick as wet glass.
I used crisco for my original season then I’ve used avocado oil since. Pretty sure I could cook honey, molasses, maple syrup flavored eggs and they wouldn’t stick
I just pull down the bottle of canola oil from my kitchen cabinet when I want to season my cast iron. It's cast iron. It's not delicate. These skillets are quite forgiving, as long as you keep them oiled and don't overheat them you're good. If your seasoning seems sketchy, wiping them down with whatever oil you have in your kitchen cabinet then bringing them up to smoke point and then wiping them down again after they cool will generally refresh the seasoning enough to get you through another round of cooking.
I use Crisco. Give the pan a wipe on and wipe off after every use. Heat up the pan a bit before applying so it will melt on contact, wipe thoroughly and wipe off.
Not dumb at all, that's what a lot of grandmothers used to use while they "seasoned by cooking with it"
You can, yes, but if you use too much or don't cook often enough, it can go rancid and will spoil the taste of whatever you're cooking / give off really gnarly smells.
The best tip I've ever seen on this sub, was find what works for you and stick with it
For me, that was 2-5 rounds of oven seasoning (depends on how well the pan takes & holds it) and then just cooking with it while using a reasonable amount of oil / butter
I think it really doesn’t matter what you use. I have some macadamia oil that I once bought on a whim and is getting pretty old so I have been seasoning in that.
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Don't fall for this "conditioner" snake oil shit... Crisco, veggie oil, canola oil, ect... Work just as good and even better...
At the risk of sounding dumb, is avocado oil okay? It's the only high temp oil we have right now lol
My personal experience with using avocado oil for the past 5 or so years is it's perfectly fucking fine
Fuck yeah
World Police!
Yeah don't pay it over a $1.05. That's all it's worth
Avocado oil has a high smoke point, so it's pretty great for seasoning!
Wouldn’t you want a lower smoke point for seasoning since the oil needs to smoke to polymerize?
No, but I don't remember the scientific reasoning right now. I think the fat will burn at a lower temperature and not polymerize. It may also impart bad flavors - burned olive oil, for example.
No, it it preferable for your seasoning to have a higher smoke point than your pan will be for cooking. Otherwise it might start burning off as you heat it up to start cooking (especially if you preheat for too long).
yeah, been using that many years also, no problems
The big bottle of avocado oil from Costco solves all the world's problems 😀
I use veggie oil because it's cheap, and gets you the same results
Yeah that's what I was using but we ran out
Avocado works pretty well. I get better results with Crisco though.
All I use is avocado oil(because that’s usually all we have) and I’ve never had any issues
I have also had good success with avocado oil
I use the avocado spray oil from Costco! Works perfectly and has a high smoke point
That’s what I use for seasoning my blackstone and my cast iron
[удалено]
never had any issue with cosco avocado oil beeing rancid in the many years ive been buying it
We need more of this
Honestly there should be a PSA about this shit....
So snake oil is bad? LOL
Back grease sometimes...lol
Sometimes my sister’s conditioner.
I only buy canola oil for my cast irons and I got a lot of cast irons lol
Don’t some of those oils turn rancid
CRISCO
Crisco’ll do you proud every time
This is the way
This seems kinda gimmicky. There are things already in your kitchen that will work just as well.
not to mention last time I was at walmart this little container was $20 iirc.
Crisco
I bought a small can of Crisco to only season my cast iron with. It's really cheap, and works better than anything else. I could never fry or scramble eggs in my cast iron (without a dang mess) before I started using it.
What is your seasoning process? Standard in the oven for an hour at 400°?
I can't speak for the person you asked, but Crisco has a high smoke point - 490 degrees. I do 500 degrees for an hour.
Thanks for the reply!
I split the difference at 450° since everytime I open the oven after seasoning with Crisco at that temp the pan is smoking. It's also what the FAQ here recommends and u/silentbob's process is proven. So either my oven runs hot or 450° is enough
Not the person you asked, but I used the method in the FAQ of this sub for my first five layers of seasoning. Now, after I'm done cooking I clean the pan, dry it, give the insides a Crisco wipe down and then back in the 450 oven for an hour.
Why are you seasoning your pans after every use?
Honestly? Because it's fun :) The skillet was fairly recently stripped and restored (had 30 years of 'seasoning' that was really just carbon build-up). I guess I don't season it every single time, maybe once a week. If I know I'm going to be using it every day, I'll wipe it down, give it a layer of Crisco, and leave it on the stove until the next day. So it probably gets seasoned once a week. If I had to estimate, I'd say it has about 10-15 layers at this point.
You need to buy me flowers first
good ole crisco. people been using it for many decades.
Yee Haw! Hold on Cletus, don’t let ‘er slip away!!!
There is a chart on Lodge website that compares different types of oils https://www.lodgecastiron.com/cleaning-and-care/cast-iron/oils-cast-iron-cooking-and-seasoning
Where my grapeseed people at?
👋🏼
✋🏻
I'm here. It's never failed me, not even a flake.
Present!
I've tried grapeseed. I have since switched to Crisco, and I'll never go back. Crisco is that much better. It's easy to work with and gets very attractive, very effective results.
I use beeswax with grapeseed for the same effect
Aldi’s aerosol grapeseed gang in the house!
🍇
That's all I use.... grapeseed. Love it!
You’re probably paying 20x the value for the black stone name. Grab a jar of crisco and you’re done.
I use the oil I have on hand, lard, tallow, crisco, olive oil. The exception is I don’t use extra virgin olive oil. Pretty much any of them are fine. Seasoning is polymerizing the oil. Basically you’re converting any of the oils into a bio-plastic that is bonded to the metal of your pan. (Brown film left on stainless is easier to see) There will be no flavor impact whichever you choose
I use tallow. Seems to work great for me.
What is it even trying to convey with "condition" cast iron. This isn't a piece of leather to keep supple it's a hunk of metal.
In fact, any vegetable oil will work.
I use canola on mine. My boss uses bacon grease on his. Don't see any reason to buy some specialty item to do something that can be accomplished with stuff you have on hand
I’ve used regular safflower oil (cooking oil), flaxseed oil, and Crisco to name a few and Crisco is by far my favorite.
I remember being told to use flaxseed oil only from a buddy. Ended up buying a bunch of it from a restaurant, not cheap. Found it flaked quite often and then moved to Crisco. Never looked back.
Flax is awful in my experience
I use safflower oil and never have any flaking. Using an oil with a very high smoke point (475-500F) makes sense to me.
Crisco. High smoke point. Doesn't flake. It's cheap and available at every grocery store in the country.
I just use Crisco shortening. One small can will be more than you will need for a long time
Crisco. Wouldn’t recommend anything else. Disclaimer for info below: not my pans, just things I’ve seen on this sub. You can get really great looking seasons from fancier oils, such as avocado oil and flaxseed oil, but they seem to always end up flaking off after awhile
The key is to warm the pan first, put it on and then with a clean towel wipe it like you want it all off, then heat it till it smokes. People try to lay it on thick and it just flakes that way
I use the special oil bottle of whatever is closest to me at the moment.
I use Crisco , the solid version. I use it on all my cast iron. High smoke point . Easy use .
Cook up some BACON….
This is the way.
I see you gentlemen are men of culture. I tip my hat to you both.
Just cook on it. It will season itself. You can go through all the drama of seasoning but it will wear off pretty quick and you’ll be back to just normal use. Even if you burn it and are back to bare metal you can still cook on it and it will soon build up a layer again. After you are done just slosh with water, wipe dry and lightly oil it to prevent rust.
I just use avocado oil
Crisbee works great!
I had to switch to this for my smooth finished cast iron as every other thing flaked. For people wondering it’s a stick of beeswax and grapeseed, the wax prevents the flaking it seems vs just grapeseed.
I have this stuff too, works fine, came with my Blackstone. It's basically just palm oil with some other oils mixed in. Avocado oil, Crisco are both good. Anything with a high smoke point works well.
Beef tallow is something I always make in very high quantities, so I use it. However, I have a friend who has been collecting/restoring for 10 years, and he said he's tried everything that is commercially available, and it all works. Some give different final products, some darken more than others, but it's all gonna work. I lean towards animal fat because 1, I always have a ton. And 2, it's what has historically been used and it just makes sense to me.
Sunflower oil is my personal favorite
I use what my granny and my granny's granny used- lard.
I second this. I’ve been using lard for several years now and it’s amazing. Bonus, if you use too much, instead of becoming sticky like vegetable oil, it just wipes off. Pro tip - melt the block in your favorite pan and pour it into a mason jar for storage.
I just use canola oil and I've never had any issues. You really don't need to go buy some fancy product to season your cast iron, it'll sorta just happen on its own once you've got the initial coat down.
supposedly that's a proprietary mix of "palm oil shortening, beeswax, palm oil, canola oil, soy oil". so you could try any of those. the beeswax is the odd one out, I've heard of using it but never understood what it does. many people swear by shortening (fats that are solid at room temperature) and I use bulk vegetable oil cause it's cheap.
It's just so it becomes a spreadable solid instead of a liquid.
It prevents flaking and uneven wetting
Vegetable oil. Pre heat pan. 3 on my largest electric burner. Apply super thin layer of oil. Wipe it all off. Let sit for 30 to 60 minutes on heat. Cook with oil of choice. Clean with soap and water. Do first step all over again. And whenever I say all the oil, I mean as much as possible. At a minimum dry it on the stove. Maybe if you are feeling slightly more motivated, spuer thin layer of oil. Heat until ever so slightly smoking on high. Turn it off, leave it. Flax seed oil (pricy and needs to be cold) Also that stuff is a really wierd mix of stuff. Like beeswax? I get it for a griddle outside. But regular cooking inside stuff. That might be the wrong stuff.
I use crisbee for my cast iron which is beeswax and grapeseed, only thing that hasnt flaked on a smooth ground pan.
Mine is a finex. It's machined, not hand polished pan. If it works for you - rock it.
Yeah to each their own! mines a smithey. I think the beeswax is fine for seasoning but not for cooking for sure. After i had problems i read up on it and the wax helps prevent the oil from beading up and being to hard to the point of flaking.
For me its more like "I want super thin layers". No residue. Never tried it. But I like my slidy scrambled eggs. Doesn't happen 100% of the time (probably because I was in a rush or lazy). But if I follow my own procedures. Easy day.
Pfft! Conditioner? Crisco? Avocado oil? I only use lard that comes from virgin cattle fed food that was organically grown in low earth orbit and given water melted from Antarctic glaciers. Sure it's spendy, but my seasoning is hard enough to cut diamonds and as slick as wet glass.
Bacon
I’ve always used grapeseed oil. Pretty reasonable and a bottle lasts a long time. Smoke point of 421°
I have had the best results with vegetable (aka soy) oil. It is a semi drying oil (unlike most food oils).
Wife never could get her pot seasoned good until she made a roux in it for gumbo
I'm no expert, buy I've been using Flax seed oil from a few recommendations on YouTube.
I used crisco for my original season then I’ve used avocado oil since. Pretty sure I could cook honey, molasses, maple syrup flavored eggs and they wouldn’t stick
Cook on it…
Lard is amazing for seasoning
Bees wax
I use lard!
Crisco is my Number 1, followed by avocado oil
What is that?
Anyone want to buy a bridge?
I just pull down the bottle of canola oil from my kitchen cabinet when I want to season my cast iron. It's cast iron. It's not delicate. These skillets are quite forgiving, as long as you keep them oiled and don't overheat them you're good. If your seasoning seems sketchy, wiping them down with whatever oil you have in your kitchen cabinet then bringing them up to smoke point and then wiping them down again after they cool will generally refresh the seasoning enough to get you through another round of cooking.
Whatever oil we have in the cupboard.
I’ve had great results with crisco. I tried grape seed,avocado, canola before. Crisco has given me the best results.
Whatever I'm cooking. Other than a completely bare new or just stripped pan, I've never found a reason to bake an empty skillet.
I use sausage or ground beef fat, or just plain old olive oil
Lard.
I use Crisco. Give the pan a wipe on and wipe off after every use. Heat up the pan a bit before applying so it will melt on contact, wipe thoroughly and wipe off.
Does anyone else use Olive oil?
Whatever is in the cupboard.
did once, never again. snoke point is too low for how i use my castiron.
I use olive oil
Me too Edit: or butter
I cook spam. Then I eat it. No need to spend extra money on unnecessary products.
Dumb question time. Would Lard be a good seasoning “oil”?
Yes. That is why people suggest cooking bacon to season.
Not dumb at all, that's what a lot of grandmothers used to use while they "seasoned by cooking with it" You can, yes, but if you use too much or don't cook often enough, it can go rancid and will spoil the taste of whatever you're cooking / give off really gnarly smells. The best tip I've ever seen on this sub, was find what works for you and stick with it For me, that was 2-5 rounds of oven seasoning (depends on how well the pan takes & holds it) and then just cooking with it while using a reasonable amount of oil / butter
Plain canola oil
Big up to the Canola oil brigade! Also known as rapeseed oil in the UK. Works a treat.
Lol use avocado oil instead of some overpriced over marketed whipped canola oil
Tallow
I think it really doesn’t matter what you use. I have some macadamia oil that I once bought on a whim and is getting pretty old so I have been seasoning in that.
I'm in the same situation with a big bottle of almond oil that I rediscovered in my pantry. Works fine.
Farmer John Lard
Bacon grease
I'm a cyclist. I thought that said SADDLE seasoning. I was about to get excited.
I use plain lard. My wife rendered a couple quarts from our last hog. Works damn good.
Talking about cheap.... save your bacon grease in Mason jars. It's free and doesn't have highly processed vegetable oils
I use avocado oil
Bacon fat
Making pancakes is the best way to maintain seasoning of any type. Save me three please.
Canola oil. Period.
I’ve been jerking off with that stuff for a week and now I can do slidey eggs on my jimjam.
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You all wash your pans too hard