janvier's Profile

I had seen on Martha Stewart where she said season the cast iron with veg oil. Well I decided to try it......very sticky.......I was not happy at all. I was raised on a farm in KY, I'm in my 60's and the best way to season a cast iron skillet or pan is always bacon grease. It will soak in and insulate the pan a bit so your food doesn't taste funny. It stays clean and slick, I just wipe mine out with a paper towel after I use it. If stuff sticks you can wash them in soapy water, but be sure to put a little more bacon fat on it. It will never be sticky if you do this. Also, my mom would always burn her pans off, like the above post. She used a big cast iron kettle in the yard to heat water for her laundry. So she would stick the pan in the fire. Works every time. I have not tried lye. Cast iron is pourous, so be sure to wash it very well if you use any substance that might be absorbed into the very iron. Good luck and enjoy your cast iron! Nothing better than corn bread baked in an iron skillet.