My new cast-iron pot: Don't wash with soap?

[Graybeard]

It's a 5qt. Dutch oven and I love the way it cooks. However, in my kitchen all pots are scrubbed in hot soapy water. I'm sorry but that's the way it is.

So what will be the worst consequences? Will I lose some of the "seasoning"? Will my food soon start to taste soapy?

(And I ask the purists; will washing without soap really get it clean?)

[eShirl]

1. it just won't build up the protective, semi-nonstick "seasoning" layer

it might have more tendency to rust

From what I understand, restaurants have to wash their cast iron, too, to comply with health regulations

[Chan790]

11. yes, but NEVER with soap.

Not even one time. Rinse, salt-scrub and throw it back on the burner. We also re-season weekly.

Point blank, if the OP ever washes that pan with soap, she just wasted her money. Send it off for scrap, you can't repair that...you can try and maybe half-assed repair it with a re-season but end-all you've ruined the pan.

[HopeHoops]

2. If you season it correctly, you can wash it with soap and water every time - just be sure to dry it.

I've got a bunch of cast iron (almost all of it is at 20 years or older). None of it has any rust and I wash it well each time. It works as well if not better than teflon.

[hobbit709]

3. After I wash mine, I put them on the burner and dry them out.

[rocktivity]

16. DING DING DING! HopeHoops, you're our grand prize winner!

If you season(ed) it correctly, you can wash it with soap and water...

I've gone through a grand total of TWO cast iron skillets in THIRTY years! What you shouldn't use is scouring powder--either use salt, or soften the stuck-on food by soaking it in water.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Arkansas Granny]

23. My daughter refers to my cast iron skillets as "Mom's teflon". She has

already inherited my biggest skillet (a twelve inch) and won't use anything else for fried potatoes.

[xchrom]

4. i just scrub mine out with salt.

never been washed.

[lunatica]

5. It'll rust and you can never season it correctly after that

You'll end up throwing it away.

[hobbit709]

6. I've restored more than one rusty old skillet.

[Arkansas Granny]

24. I restored a couple for a friend a couple of years ago that he found.

They were so rusty that I wound up taking sandpaper to them to get them clean enough to season. They are now just as good as any other cast iron he owns.

[Kali]

8. sure you can

you just have to start over - depending on how deep it is, sand lightly or just scrub real good with a steel scouring pad and bar soap, coat with grease and bake for an hour or so, keep working it like a new pan and it will be fine

the more you use cast iron the better it works and the more washing it can take

[Kali]

7. compromise

use soap if you have to for something sticky, but in general a well seasoned cast iron pan can either be wiped out with a paper towel or soaked for a short while with plain hot (as you can get it) water

if I cook something particularly stinky - say curry - I will go ahead and use detergent, but otherwise wipe or hot water

and don't forget to wipe with a thin layer of shortening or oil before putting away - especially after using water or soap!

if you are afraid of germs remember that heating the thing sanitizes it better than any soap is going to

[surrealAmerican]

9. Not only will washing without soap really get it clean, ...

... it will actually keep it from getting dirty.
I use hot water and a stiff-bristled brush to clean mine, then dry with high heat on the stove-top. Cast iron is actually better than "non-stick" coatings for keeping food from sticking to the pots (and safer, and more durable too).

[struggle4progress]

10. I've done both what's suggested in #3 and #4 above

[Chan790]

12. Do you like wasting money?

If not, no on soap.

It'll come clean just-fine without it, but soaping cast-iron ruins it and is not fixable with a re-season despite what people will tell you. I've restored a lot of pans over the years that started to spot with rust, but never one that has been soaped. Not for lack of effort.

Soap equals trashed pan. End-of-story.

[hobbit709]

13. Gee! I wonder what I did wrong with two of mine.

They were washed with soap more than once and have an almost mirror like finish on them now.

[Chan790]

14. I don't know but if you figure it out, let me know.

I have an family heirloom of sorts left to me by my grandmother, a genuine 150 year old cast-iron skillet, that the morons in my apartment washed. Short of a miracle, I'm murderous.

[Graybeard]

15. Thanks to all for your input!

I am going to stock up on salt and lard and try the

no-soap method for a while. But if my pot fails my sniff test

(and I detect any onion or garlic on it after it's been put up)

then I go back to washing with soap and being careful to dry it

well and season. Thank you all again.

[rocktivity]

17. Seasoning recipie

1. Heat the oven to 250° - 300°

2. Coat the pan with a solid vegetable shortening, bacon grease or lard. Do not use a liquid vegetable oil because it will leave a sticky surface and the pan will not be properly seasoned.

3. Put the pan in the oven. In 15 minutes, remove the pan & pour out any excess grease. Place the pan back in the oven and bake for 2 hours.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[hayu_lol]

18. Just google cast iron pan+care of...

most sites have instructions that should be followed. It is a fact that cooking with cast iron does deliver a minute amount of iron with the food.

With care, cast iron lasts practically forever.

[grace0418]

19. I've slow-roasted very garlicky carnitas many times in my cast-iron pot, and when I clean

it (never with soap), it cleans up just fine with no odor. I've got a really good season on it now, it's better non-stick than my non-stick pans.

[FloridaJudy]

20. In my experience hot water and baking soda

Will clean anything, including dishes so encrusted with baked-on crud I was ready to toss them in the trash. Just leave the hot water/baking soda mix on overnight, and the next day the crud will peel off like a post-it. I'd re-season it after this treatment.

[Paper Roses]

21. Get thee to the cooking & baking group and do a search for

cast iron pans. Tons of postings on this very subject.

I am the second or 3rd generation user of my pans and I always lightly wash then in the dishpan with dish soap.

There are so many schools of thought. It is, I think for everyone, a case of trial and error.
If I have something that did stuck, I soak in hot water and use a plastic scrubber to get it off with soap from the dishwater. I do not have a dishwasher. Not sure of the protocol there. Rinse and dry well. They are beautifully seasoned and look like new.

[Arkansas Granny]

22. Whenever I can, I just wipe mine out with a paper towel or rinse it in

hot water and then wipe it out. However, I have washed mine with soap and water when I felt like it needed it and it hasn't done it any harm. I don't use any abrasives on it because that would really mess up the finish. If there is food that doesn't come off easily, just let it soak for a few minutes.

I always dry my cast iron over low heat, regardless how I've cleaned it. If I've washed it, I rub the inside with a little vegetable shortening on a paper towel while it is still warm. I've never had a problem with rust after washing my cast iron, nor have I had problem with food sticking afterwards.

Many people disagree with ever letting any water touch the surface of their cast iron, but the methods above have always worked for me.

[AngryAmish]

25. Lemmie join the no-soap pile-on

I have one small frying pan from my mother (50+ years old). No soap ever. Perfect.

I bought one twenty years ago for like 6 or 7 bucks at WalMart. No soap. Ever. NO smell. Kosher salt after soaking and boiling.

The pan just sucks if it loses the seasoning.