Care and Feeding of a Cazuela

[weinoo]

I recently purchased a few cazuelas of different sizes - they look like this. They were seasoned correctly, or at least the way I was told to.

So, after cooking some artichoke hearts with olive oil and parmesan cheese in one last night, I popped it into the dishwasher, and this morning, when I opened the dishwasher I noticed an off-smell - that of rancid oil. Sure enough, it was coming from the cazuela. Bad.

So, I'm wondering if the oil soaks into the pores and then turns rancid, or did it have something to do with the dishwasher? Any one else have this problem?

And what exactly is the best way to care for this unique cooking vessel?

[slkinsey]

I wouldn't think that washing a cazuela in the dishwasher is such a hot idea.

My understanding is that they should be cleaned more or less the same way you might clean cast iron. This is echoed in La Tienda's instructions, which they say came from Paula Wolfert.

[andiesenji]

I have several ancient cazuelas and they have never been in the dishwasher.

As noted above, clean them as you would cast iron. If you run warm water into them as soon as you remove whatever you have cooked, anything that sticks should loosen and be easy to remove.

I use a nylon scrubber for any stubborn bits but this is rarely needed.

Same directions for cleaning tagines.