My dear mother-in-law introduced me to the 'joys' of cooking with good old cast iron cookware back when I was a dumb, young bride. How dumb was I (and a citygirl to boot)? She sent some fresh picked corn on the cob to me via hubby and Iboiled it for 40 mins. Had no clue how long to cook it since I had never, ever fixedfresh corn before. Anyhow, she showed me how to season a cast iron skillet. Used to... you would slather up the skillet up real good with Crisco (this was back before trans-fats were frowned upon) and put it in a 200 - 250 degree oven for 4 - 6 hours. You wouldwipe out any excess, unabsorbed Crisco and you would be good to go. You never wanted that skillet to 'dry out' during that baking time and would add extra Criscoif need be. As Jerry said, you never, ever used soap or abrasives except very sparingly and onlyas necessary. If soap or abrasives were used by some weird circumstance, you wouldhave to reseason the skillet in the oven again. Always dry it very well before puttingthe skillet/pan up because it can rust. I have an iron skillet that is dedicated to baking cornbread and cornbread only. Youmelt a good blob of lard/butter/coconut oil (the times have changed..lol) in a hot oven inyour iron skillet, pull it out of the oven, pour in your batter. Let it bake for 20 - 25 mins til set, remove from oven. Cover the pan with a plate, invert the cake of cornbread onto the plate and slip the cornbread back into the skillet, bottom-side up now. Continue to bake for another 10 - 15 mins. Slide the cornbread out of the skillet onto the serving plate. Brush any crumbs out of the skillet and let cool before putting the skillet up. I usually let it cool completely and then store it in a large Ziploc bag. AndI just dare anybody to use that skillet for anything but cornbread...lol.. After 30 years, it is perfect.Lola ----- Original Message ----- From: Jerry Durand <jdur...@interstellar.com> To: silver-list@eskimo.com Sent: Tue, 31 May 2016 22:17:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: CS>Non Stick Cookware
I thought I should expand on this since the concept of cast iron seems foreign to many modern people. Never, ever use soap/detergent! You clean with a stainless scrubby ball (get from most grocery or hardware stores for $1 or two) and warm to hot water. Dry completely and put away. New cast iron (even pre-seasoned) needs to be fully seasoned, you can either do this by just using it with a little extra oil/fat in it or do it all at once by baking in oil. You can find instructions on the web. No soap! On 05/31/2016 09:08 AM, Jerry Durand wrote: Seasoned cast iron. Best non-stick ever if you take care of it (like not washing the seasoning off). -- Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc. www.interstellar.com tel: +1 408 356-3886, USA toll free: 1 866 356-3886 Skype: jerrydurand
