Wiping out cast iron pan - Page 2

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by avendesora

It's not a good idea to use vinegar/lemon/tomato in a cast iron pan on a regular basis, as it will remove your seasoning. But if you're trying to remove chemicals and not currently worrying about the seasoning, then you should be fine.

Aven

I cook with acid foods in my cast iron all the time, and it never affects them much. But mine are also 80+years old (belonged to DH's great-grandmother) so I think they've been so well seasoned that it no longer matters so much. I don't think I'd use new cast iron with acidic ingredients very often, until you have a good layer of seasoning built up.

I do brush mine with palm oil after drying them off, though, occasionally. Maybe once out of every ten uses.

Honestly, I wash mine out with a stash of old cotton baby wipes (yes, they've been WELL washed since being used on babies) because it's what I have. If you wash the cloths out under the faucet with some dish soap or castille soap, before you put them in the wash, then the soap will cut a lot of the grease, and you won't have greasy cloths going into the laundry. It becomes a quick routine at night-- wipe out the pans, rinse the cloth under the faucet with a squirt of soap, and then toss it in the pail.

[noobmom]

We scrub ours out with a a scrubbie and hot water. We used to lightly coat it with oil every time after also (while still hot), but ours is seasoned enough now that we don't need to do that anymore.