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deodorizing cast iron


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I am pretty much 100% converted to cast iron these days for all the well-known reasons.

I know (I think) that I am supposed "clean" cast iron as little as possible to help it keep its seasoning.

Problem is, I seem to always have the lingering essence of my last use in whatever I am cooking. Last time it was a fish odor, today my apples for tarte tatin have the mysterious aroma of Cumin from a recent chile dish.

Short of having one skillet for each type of food -- fish, other savoury, sweet -- are there any tips on rendering my skillet neutral smelling without scrubbing it ruthlessly?

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I really don't think you have to "scrub ruthlessly."

I treat my cast-iron pretty similarly to how I treat my stainless steel and non-stick. That is, a scrubbie with a tiny bit of liquid soap on it and a light hand. Doesn't affect the seasoning one bit, and if you have a well-seasoned pan it won't affect your's either.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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A bicarb. paste might work... in Cook's Illustrated, they did find it effective fore removing residual odours from cutting boards, and those are even more porous than iron.

I've known a few people who had designated cast iron pans for various things, however.

Yeah! My chicken fryer is never used for anything else. It was my grandmothers and has an 80-year build up of fried chicken "essence" which I am not about to disturb. People rave about my fried chicken and I am not going to do anything to "jinx" it. :biggrin:

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I bought my cast iron skillet unfinished six years ago. In a few years, I didn't worry about damaging its patina. And now, there is no sponge that could even put a chink in its armor. Short of rigorous work with a steel scouring pad or maybe coarse sandpaper, that patina isn't going anywhere. That said, I treat my cast iron wok's patina a bit more gingerly. Then again, its only about a year old.

nunc est bibendum...

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I am pretty much 100% converted to cast iron these days for all the well-known reasons.

I know (I think) that I am supposed "clean" cast iron as little as possible to help it keep its seasoning.

Problem is, I seem to always have the lingering essence of my last use in whatever I am cooking. Last time it was a fish odor, today my apples for tarte tatin have the mysterious aroma of Cumin from a recent chile dish.

Short of having one skillet for each type of food -- fish, other savoury, sweet -- are there any tips on rendering my skillet neutral smelling without scrubbing it ruthlessly?

I know a lot of people have taken to using soap on their cast iron but I think the lore is a big part of CI's charm.

Anyway!

Boiling water for a few minutes in the skillet (while scraping up any stuck-on junk with a metal spatula) followed by air-drying and a good scrubbing with a handful of salt has kept my skillets neutral. Then again I don't prepare sweets in my skillets, so maybe a dedicated one is the way to go. CI is pretty cheap.

This is my skillet. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My skillet is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it, as I must master my life. Without me my skillet is useless. Without my skillet, I am useless. I must season my skillet well. I will. Before God I swear this creed. My skillet and myself are the makers of my meal. We are the masters of our kitchen. So be it, until there are no ingredients, but dinner. Amen.

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Make a dilute vinegar solution and put in spray bottle. After pot is wiped out, spray with solution and wipe again. Allow to air dry. Should take care of most odors. While I try really hard to not use soap in my CI, when making something tomato based, it is hard to get out the residual color and odor. I will use a small squirt of detergent and rinse out immediately and dry with paper towel or over heat. Some of my iron is 25 years old and has a wonderful patina.

Ruth Kendrick

Chocolot
Artisan Chocolates and Toffees
www.chocolot.com

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Scrub sponge and detergent. The lore is wrong; if you're not cleaning the pan then it will just be dirty. A properly formed seasoning will not be harmed by normal scrubbing. You'd be surprised what it would take to damage it.

That said, the seasoning is porous, and it will hang on to some odors. This is why it's traditional to have a separate spun steel pan for omelettes. Eggs are especially susceptible to absorbing odors from their environment.

Cast iron is a wonderful material, but it has many limitations. Retained odors is one of them. Poor conduction and very slow response to temperature changes are others. It doesn't make sense to use it for everything. Use it for its strenghts, and avoid its weaknesses by using something else.

Notes from the underbelly

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