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Do you use veg oil on your cast iron???  

post #1 of 14
12/21/06 at 1:34am
Thread Starter 
Another cast iron question.... sorry! The directions for my new cast iron says to use vegetable oil in between washings to keep it seasoned. But I know with TF veg oil is a no, no!!! So do you use it on the pans or something else????
post #2 of 14
12/21/06 at 2:12am
We use coconut oil after washing.

I should add that we don't actually wash our cast iron pans very often, because usually we make things in them like pancakes or quesadillas that don't stick to the pan and actually help to season it, so we just wipe out the pan. We wash the pans every once in a while, or if we make something in them like tomato sauce etc.
post #3 of 14
12/21/06 at 2:20am
Our only cast iron is our wok, and DH does put vegetable (canola, currently) oil in it after washing, and it sits w/ it in when not in use.

Dumping out the veg oil and cleaning it out really quick before using again seems to make sense to me. And since I won't be eating any more of the veg oil (transitioning to TF), using it as a maintenance agent makes sense to me, so it doesn't go to waste. I may use it on my shoes, too.
post #4 of 14
12/21/06 at 2:20am
Oh, I did a bunch of research on this, and apparently the best thing for seasoning is saturated fats (the polyunsaturated ones make a gummy, sticky layer).

Experience proves this. I had been seasoning with olive oil after use for years. Could NOT get my pan to be "nonstick" enough for use with fried eggs. Then we switched to using coconut oil and WOW!!!

ETA: Sorry, I started posting and got called away so I didn't see the PP's until after I posted...
post #5 of 14
12/21/06 at 2:26am
I've found coconut oil to be the best too. I didn't know that about the saturated vs. polyunsaturated, but my experience backs it up 100%!
post #6 of 14
12/21/06 at 4:52am
After years of failing at seasoning cast iron with olive oil, I'm ready to try again! Going for coconut since it's so well recommended. I alreadygot rid of almost all teflon (one stinkin pan left) but I'm really missing the non-stick... Aaaaans I'm pretty sure we could use the iron.

I'm going to use brillo pads to get previous and very bad seasoning attempts off and start over.

I'd love to switch to all cast iron, even stew pots but I don't know how yet. Pans first.
post #7 of 14
12/21/06 at 5:33am
I use whatever i grab, butter, veg. oil, spray oil......bacon grease after we cook bacon!

My pans are fine but I only cook my fried eggs in my "egg" pan. I saved from my job as a chef (before motherhood)
post #8 of 14
12/21/06 at 1:16pm
Quote:
I'd love to switch to all cast iron, even stew pots but I don't know how yet. Pans first.
F.Y.I. - I found Lodge (pre-seas) cast iron at the Walmart store here - all kinds, griddles, stew, pans, etc. and, of course since it's Walmart, it's cheaper than other places !

Like the PP's, I also second the coco oil.

For eggs, I don't use cast iron, but instead use stainless steel with lots oil, then when/if they stick I can really scrub it off.
post #9 of 14
12/21/06 at 1:23pm
I season mine with Spectrum's Organic Vegetable Shortening, which is just refined palm oil with no partially hydrogenated oils. And the oil is humanely harvested, unlike the majority of the non-organic palm oils.

However, I have to add that if your foods stick a LOT, it probably means you're not using enough fats to cook with! I had a hard time cooking with my pans when I was still in my "Fear of Fat" stage (making the transition to traditional foods).

If you use enough butter to cook your eggs, the eggs should slide right out of the pan when they're done. Then all you need to do is just wipe the pan out with a cloth.
post #10 of 14
12/21/06 at 1:32pm
Lately coconut oil, but I have also used butter.
post #11 of 14
12/21/06 at 2:01pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone!! I'm all for using coconut oil but isn't it so expensive to use on pans??? Maybe I'm spending too much on it......
post #12 of 14
12/21/06 at 3:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by knittinclothmama View Post
Thanks everyone!! I'm all for using coconut oil but isn't it so expensive to use on pans??? Maybe I'm spending too much on it......
It is my understanding, from a thread in Nutrition that you only need to use a teeny bit, just barely coating it or else it pools. (It's a mistake I've made before and plan to correct.)
post #13 of 14
12/21/06 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by quietserena View Post
It is my understanding, from a thread in Nutrition that you only need to use a teeny bit, just barely coating it or else it pools. (It's a mistake I've made before and plan to correct.)
Okay... just a little bit!! I used three pans this morning... one for bacon which worked wonderfully of course, lots of fat. One for egg yolks for the baby, used lots of butter in a tiny pan so no sticking there. The third I used for scrambled eggs for the big kids, I used about 3 tbsp of butter and spread it up the sides, it was pooled in the bottom of the pan so I thought it was enough but they still stuck!! We'll see how hard it is to get off.... :
post #14 of 14
12/21/06 at 5:37pm
Thread Starter 
So do you use the coconut oil to re-season your pans also? Or do you use something else? The directions mine came with say to use lard or shortening. Thanks for all of your expertise!!
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Mothering › Forums › Health › Nutrition and Good Eating › Traditional Foods › Do you use veg oil on your cast iron???