{"id":7298,"date":"2013-01-16T00:01:15","date_gmt":"2013-01-16T05:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=7298"},"modified":"2013-01-16T00:01:30","modified_gmt":"2013-01-16T05:01:30","slug":"cooking-and-caring-for-cast-iron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/01\/16\/cooking-and-caring-for-cast-iron\/","title":{"rendered":"At Home with GCH: Cooking and Caring for Cast Iron"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center\"><b><a href=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/2013\/01\/16\/cooking-and-caring-for-cast-iron\/cast-iron\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-7361\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-7361\" alt=\"Cast Iron\" src=\"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Cast-Iron.jpg\" width=\"543\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Cast-Iron.jpg 679w, https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Cast-Iron-300x210.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 543px) 100vw, 543px\" \/><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I must admit that I until I met my husband, I never used cast iron; nor did I like it! \u00a0It was heavy, awkward, and everything I cooked in it was burnt to a crisp!\u00a0 It was hard for me to clean afterward, too.\u00a0 I\u2019m definitely no expert in cooking with, or cleaning cast iron, but I have learned a few things over the years from my husband, who I call the Cast Iron Guru! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>After a few lessons in the proper way to cook in and care for cast iron, I have to say today that it\u2019s one of my favorite pieces of cookware!\u00a0 So I would like to share some tips about cast iron that I have learned along the way! \u00a0You can find many other tips on the Internet, but these tips are just a few that I practice in my own kitchen.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0Cast iron needs to be seasoned before you used it.\u00a0 The best way to season cast iron is with canola oil, and then bake it in a warm oven&#8212;around 300 degrees, for 2 hours.\u00a0 Put the cast iron cookware in the oven and let it heat up &#8211; <em><strong>with<\/strong><\/em> the oven. \u00a0To season, you will rub canola oil all over the pan, both inside and out. \u00a0Place it upside down on a cookie sheet, and place in the oven. \u00a0Once you remove it from the oven, wipe the inside of the pan out once again, using paper towels. \u00a0<em><strong>BE CAREFUL! <\/strong><\/em>It will be <em><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000\">HOT<\/span><\/strong><\/em> once it comes out of the oven! \u00a0A properly seasoned cast iron will develop a non-stick surface, and make cooking in cast iron so much more enjoyable!<\/li>\n<li>To remove light rust from cast iron, rub a combination of salt and oil over the areas of rust until the rust is gone. \u00a0Once the rust is removed, you will need to re-season your cast iron. \u00a0If the rust is pretty set in and deep into the cast iron, you will want to begin by scraping the rust off with a stiff wire brush. \u00a0Scrape off all of the loose rust&#8212; anything that will come off of the pan. \u00a0(You can also use a cordless drill with a wire brush attachment to remove the rust if it is really bad!) \u00a0Next, put your cast iron in another container that will allow the cast iron to fit flat in the bottom of the container. \u00a0Cover it with a 1:1 solution of water and white vinegar. \u00a0Make sure you cover your mouth and nose when doing this step, or do this step outside. \u00a0The vinegar will help remove the rust the rest of the way. \u00a0Then you will season the cast iron as you directed above. (Some people suggest you use an oven cleaner for a deeply rusted cast iron. \u00a0I DO NOT recommend using harsh chemicals on cast iron. All natural products are the only way to go, in my opinion!)<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0When cleaning cast iron, never use soap, an SOS pad, or stainless steel.\u00a0 Always use a strong-bristle brush and water.\u00a0 As soon as cast iron is cleaned, put the skillet on the stove burner, and heat it up in order to evaporate the moisture.\u00a0 As soon as the water has evaporated, once again, rub the inside of the cast iron with canola oil to season.<\/li>\n<li>Never try to cool your cast iron by putting it in cold water; doing so could cause the cast iron to crack!<\/li>\n<li>Never cook any acidic ingredients, like tomatoes or tomato sauce, in cast iron.\u00a0 It can damage the seasoned surface, and cause a metallic taste in your food.<\/li>\n<li>Never start cooking with cast iron on a high-heat.\u00a0 Start with low heat, and gradually increase as needed. If you are going to bake with cast iron, use an older piece of cast iron cookware, and keep the newer cast iron for frying and saut\u00e9ing.<\/li>\n<li>Sometimes cast iron will get a gunky, sticky feel to it.\u00a0 The best way to remove this gunky, sticky mess is to put the cast iron cookware on the stove,; adding a couple of quarts of water. \u00a0Bring to a boil.\u00a0 Wash in hot water, using a strong nylon brush.\u00a0 Once you have washed the cast iron, you will heat it up again on the stove until the moisture has evaporated.\u00a0 Remove from the stove and with a thick glove on, season with canola oil, once again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Cast iron can be great cookware to cook with<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 It does take some extra special care, but once you get the hang of it, you won\u2019t want to use any other kind of cookware; take good care of it and it will stick around for years!\u00a0 My father actually still has the cast iron skillet that his mother used to cook with.\u00a0 It\u2019s 60+ years old!!\u00a0 It\u2019s thinned down over the years, but he\u2019s still able to cook with it!!<\/p>\n<p>So, don\u2019t be afraid to try cast iron.\u00a0 It\u2019s not only a great piece of cookware; it\u2019s a great workout tool, too, because of its weight!! LOL<\/p>\n<p><em>Now that your cast iron is all seasoned and nice and clean, it&#8217;s time to make a batch of cornbread in it!! \ud83d\ude42 \u00a0I LOVE Cornbread made in my cast iron skillet! \u00a0I just use a box of Jiffy Cornbread mix. \u00a0Mix milk and eggs into the cornbread mix, and pour it into the cast iron skillet, and follow directions on the package for baking! \u00a0Oh Yummmm&#8230;.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Christi Wilson<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">If you are interested in sending Christi a private email, you may email her at: <span style=\"color: #0000ff\"><strong>Christi@girlfriendscoffeehour.com<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; I must admit that I until I met my husband, I never used cast iron; nor did I like it! \u00a0It was heavy, awkward, and everything I cooked in it was burnt to a crisp!\u00a0 It was hard for me to clean afterward, too.\u00a0 I\u2019m definitely no expert in cooking with, or cleaning cast [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15],"tags":[9296,1408,209,1407,425],"class_list":["post-7298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-at-home-with-gch","tag-at-home-with-gch","tag-caring-for-cast-iron","tag-christi-wilson","tag-cooking-with-cast-iron","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/Cast-Iron2.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-1TI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7298"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7558,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7298\/revisions\/7558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}