All Things Prepping, Simple Living, Back to the Basics [Survival Today, an on going thread]

vanity | 2/26/18 | CottonBall

[CottonBall]

Who here cooks with cast iron? Raise your hands.

Ok, me too! Who here finds seasoning and maintaining cast iron a mystery?

ok, me too!

But I found this website and I think I'm finally on the right path. My ci pans look better than ever, and after using them, they actually look better than before - which wasn't always the case.

https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/09/how-to-season-cast-iron-pans-skillets-cookware.html

Here's a summary of what they recommend - I'm copying my favorite parts from their website because I can't compact it enough and have it make sense...

Seasoning describes a hard, protective coating that's formed by heating incredibly thin layers of fat (like oil) on the cast iron. As the fat is heated, it bonds to the metal and to itself in a process called polymerization, as the fat converts into a form of plastic. After enough layers of seasoning have been applied, what you end up with is not a greasy coating but a hard, blackened skin that protects the metal. Fortunately for us cooks, it also has nonstick properties that make even the most stick-prone foods (think: fried eggs) a pleasure when using cast iron. When you buy a new cast iron skillet, it almost always comes from the factory with some degree of pre-seasoning on it, but you'll generally want to lay down a few more on top of that to make sure it's good. It's hard to say exactly what happened to that skillet between the time it came off the factory line and when it arrived in your kitchen, so you'll want to wash it before starting to season. Give the pan a good scrub with warm, soapy water, then dry it thoroughly. Even after towel-drying, some surface moisture may remain, so your best bet is to put the pan on a stovetop flame for a minute or two to drive off any lingering water.

Seasoning Now that your pan is clean and dry, rub it all over, inside and out—including the handle—with cooking oil. Here at Serious Eats, we're fans of unsaturated cooking fats, like vegetable, canola, and corn oil, for seasoning our pans. Not only do we always have them on hand, but they work well and are easier to spread than saturated fats, like shortening or lard. There's no need to go out and buy any special oils just for seasoning!*

* For the record, we've found that the often-suggested flaxseed oil produces a fast layer of seasoning, but it has a tendency to flake off with use. We don't recommend it.

The key here is to rub the oil all over, but then buff it so thoroughly that the pan no longer looks even the slightest bit greasy. Even a small amount of excess oil on the pan can pool during seasoning, forming little hardened droplets on your cooking surface, or turn sticky if left unused for a few days.

Put the oiled pan in a preheated 450°F oven, and leave it there for 30 minutes. It may get a little smoky, so keep your kitchen well ventilated. It's during this time that the oil will polymerize and form the first of several hard, plastic-like coatings you'll be laying down. The reason we're using the oven here is because it provides an even heat that will more effectively set the oil all over the pan. Even the best stovetop burners will produce hot and cool spots, which can lead to uneven initial seasoning. When the half hour is up, take the pan out. (Remember: It's hot!) Now rub it once more all over with the oil, buffing it out as before. Then put it back in the oven for another 30-minute spell. All in all, you'll want to do this oiling-and-heating process three to four times, to set down a good initial layer of your own seasoning. Once you're done, just let the pan cool down. It's now ready for cooking.

Maintenance Some people are under the impression that cast iron is high-maintenance, requiring the above seasoning process again and again to keep the pans in great working condition. Not so! All you need to do from here on out is use your pan. Each time you cook in it with some type of fat, you'll be laying down more seasoning.

Water is the enemy of cast iron, so the last thing you want to do is leave it dripping wet post-wash. Sure, the seasoning will prevent any rust from forming right away, but if the pan is left to stand with water in it, even those tough layers of polymerized oil won't be enough to stop the relentless oxidative skirmish between iron and H2O. So make sure to dry the pan thoroughly with towels right after washing. Even better, once you've hand-dried the pan as best you can, set it over a high flame. The heat will speed evaporation, driving off any last bit of moisture and guaranteeing that the pan is totally dry. The last step is to prime the pan for its next use by laying down one bonus layer of protective seasoning before putting it away. To do that, just rub the pan very lightly all over with an unsaturated cooking fat, like canola, vegetable, or corn oil, making sure to buff away any visible greasiness so that the cast iron almost doesn't look like you've oiled it at all.

Then put the pan back over a burner set to high heat, and leave it for a couple of minutes, until the pan is heated through all over and lightly smoking. You could do this in your oven for more even heating, à la the initial seasoning process, but I find that too cumbersome as part of a daily ritual; for just one quick final seasoning step, the stovetop works fine. (Note that if you rub the pan with oil and put it away without heating it, the oil can become sticky and rancid before the pan's next use, which is a real bummer. If you've accidentally let this happen, just wash out the pan with soap and water to get rid of the gunk, then dry it and heat it, and you should be good to go.)

Please share if you have a method that works well for you. Or if you like/don't like this method. Or if you even like cast iron....that reminds me, there was a Cook's Illustrated article about the best nonstick cookware sometime back. They were skeptical about the new ceramic skillets (this was some time ago), but guess what the BEST nonstick cookware they found was? Yup, cast iron!

[Jamestown1630]

She was quite something.

I thoroughly understand her ‘illogical’ dedication to home and place; and I’m sure she is now somewhere that’s full of hills and cows - but hopefully no Winters ;-)

[little jeremiah]

I will read some of this thread tomorrow. I need a respite from news.

(I have NOT forgotten my proposed nutrition/vegetarian prep thread.)

[V K Lee]

A video library found on learning Self Reliance, various subjects
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCng5u6ASda3LNRXJN0JCQJA

SELF-RELIANCE BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON | ANIMATED BOOK SUMMARY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33QDZiu6p7E

MY SELF RELIANCE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIMXKin1fXXCeq2UJePJEog

HOW TO BE SELF SUFFICIENT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9xYPkSjpco

THE WILD YAM
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeUAscvZbpGk5QkKYdP6m4g

BECKY’S HOMESTEAD
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMAeSYIjnPm4xqdtxQju71A

[CottonBall]

“(I have NOT forgotten my proposed nutrition/vegetarian prep thread.)”

That’s OK, when it happens it happens!

[Aliska]

Thanks, CB, will get back to you eventually; things are really moving fast last few days.

No doubt it's already been discussed multiple times and from multiple angles, but in my years of prepping in my head, I am doctor-pharma dependent. That would be a problem for tons of people. Also healthy ones going in to TEOTWAWKI hits, if it does, may develop anything the mind and flesh are heir to.

Can't stockpile certain drugs. So what to do? Prepare to die? Live on faith?

[CottonBall]

“Can’t stockpile certain drugs. So what to do? Prepare to die? Live on faith?”

Very true, plus as you said not everything can be prepared for. All we can do is the best we can.

My husband is on cholesterol medication. I keep trying to get him to try natural remedies, such as ones that VK Lee has suggested. Things that we could store. But he doesn’t even have a 30 day supply, something he should’ve done when we switched insurances and could’ve gotten an extra 30 days. Or just pay out-of-pocket for it. That is one option. But that’ll only get you one month.

I’ll tell you what I did with my Synthroid and xiidra. I was annoyed when I was told to try Synthroid, because I knew it would be difficult to prep for it. Well, that is one drug that they start with a low-dose and then constantly test your blood to see where you need to be. I took half the dose I was supposed to be taking, and the dosage was increased so that my prescription is double what I need. I cut the pills in half and save the rest. It is a super cheap medication anyway, especially the generic which is what I get. it is only four dollars a month so really didn’t need to go through all that manipulation. But I didn’t know it at the time. For 50 bucks I could get a years supply, and that’s what I would do if I didn’t already have a years supply handy.

The same thing appears to be happening with the xiidra I am using. They are eyedrops. They are fantastic! Who knew dry eyes could be so incredibly painful? People have actually torn cornea is from having dry eyes. Mine were getting to that point. Anyway, you’re supposed to use one little vial a day. Or maybe it’s an application. But they hold so much that each one lasts me about two, 2 1/2 days. I already have tons extra. Totally by accident, but it worked out pretty good.

Now the thing I’m concerned about is the fish oil and borage oil, which is helping my eyes a lot. I seem to need all of it. I am inland so there is no fish for me to squeeze around here to get oil. lol! OK there are lakes and streams. I would have to figure out what foods to eat and how much of it to get the quantity that works for me. And I wouldn’t know how to grow a borage if I needed to. so for me, it is the supplements that would be difficult. But I do have enough for about six months put away.

I think there’s always going to be something that will be difficult for each one of us. I don’t think that means we just give up, we just do the best we can.

And I really do like your idea! Yes, faith and prayer. Perhaps at that time God will see fit to take the trials I am having with my eyes away.

[CottonBall]

Aliska brought up a really great topic – medications and medical needs.

There are some things that are difficult to stockpile. There are some that are impossible. And there are certainly situations that would come up that would be difficult to deal with.

In the post I replied to, I explain what worked out for me to have a supply of medications put away.

Does anyone else have some ideas How to handle prescription medication and any ongoing medical needs?

[CottonBall]

Wow, you are our local encyclopedia :-)

I look forward to reading the one on Emerson. I should say watching.

[Aliska]

Good idea to stockpile what you can. And look for credible advosprs for supplements, minerals, vitamins, etc. I'm going to present an article to whatever caregiver applies (not here) by a regular doctor of supplements for anxiety/depression.

My relative got pneumonia a couple winters ago. The med left him with terrible anxiety and unable to eat hardly anything. A doc in a city some miles away prescribed some supplement which got him back to normal. He (and I) think it would be good to have our medical people open to both pharma and supplements.

Regardless, it's no excuse for not prepping what you can and bugging out if need be.

Fish oil doesn't have a very stable shelf life but is excellent. Research if canned fish, oysters, sardines will supply the necessary amounts.

There may be some professional people forced to do the same thing. And a black market which would be very dangerous. But in the old days they bartered for a doctor with commodities.

When I get time, I'll check on borage. Charming true-blue star-shaped nodding flowers in clusters on fairly big plants. An annual. Places to get seeds.

Stockpile animal drugs if they are legal to purchase and not controlled.

There are lots of people who in desperation found their own remedies like giving up sugar for MRSA, alkaline water and food to get your system ph below 6 or 7. Stuff like that.

And sometimes a few things just clear up for no discernible reason.

[Jamestown1630]

The Patriot Nurse has a website and a YouTube channel; I don’t know how much she addresses prescription drugs, but she gives a lot of good information:

https://www.thepatriotnurse.com

https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePatriotNurse

[Jamestown1630]

I have been wanting to buy a Lodge pre-seasoned Dutch oven. I had bought my husband one of the Lodge enameled ones (poor man’s Le Creuset) and I promptly destroyed the finish by trying no-knead bread in it without using parchment.

The last time I looked, there were Lodge pre-seasoned cast iron items that they claim can be put in the dishwasher (!)

What on Earth do they do to it, to make that possible; and has anyone bought it?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001DJVGU/?coliid=I36P5HBYHMK1QG&colid=21PJYO6PGW6HV&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[Mrs. Yuleeyahoo]

Add coffee grounds to it and it will heat up the pile.

I really like David the Good on YouTube. He has some videos on composting. He also has a book all about composting.

[CottonBall]

VERY interesting!

I found this website that explains a bit about it: https://www.homeworldbusiness.com/lodge-touts-rust-resistance-of-new-cast-iron-cookware-line/

According to the company, the designs are said to be rust-resistant. The heat-treating process also enables the new line of cast iron cookware to be occasionally cleaned in residential dishwashers without creating rust, removing the number one concern consumers have about cast iron cookware, the company said. The cast iron line is also already seasoned.

Heat-treated cast iron is an extension of the company’s newly-expanded factory-seasoned line of cast iron cookware. The iron is heated in a special oven at high temperatures, changing the molecular structure of the iron. It is not a coating.

[Mrs. Yuleeyahoo]

Ping Please. Thank you.

[CottonBall]

“Stockpile animal drugs if they are legal to purchase and not controlled.”

In the past, I had bought a bunch of fish antibiotics, both for humans and for the pets. I had researched which ones would work for what critters and for what ailments. (Since I’m not 150% sure on any of it, I don’t want to post it here! I’d rather people make sure what they are giving their own pets.)

I think it’s time to purchase some more, since it’s been a few years.

[CottonBall]

gotcha!

[V K Lee]

They remove the oxygen from the surface replacing it with nitrogen.
https://www.katom.com/vendor/lodge/lodge-heat-treated-cast-iron-dishwasher-safe.html
Our grandmother’s would roll their eyes in disbelief!

[CottonBall]

“Our grandmother’s would roll their eyes in disbelief!”

LOL, my grandmother would wonder why they are bothering to replace the oxygen with nitrogen. I inherited a lovely ci skillet from her, smooth and shiny with a perfect polymer coating (seasoning).

I suppose Lodge is saying that you don’t need to create and maintain the classic seasoning now? Once that polymer is created and added to, it wouldn’t matter if there was nitrogen or oyxgen in the pan, would it?

They also say their pans are ‘pre-seasoned’, but when I look at a new lodge pan, I see a pathetic attempt at seasoning ;) It needs 4 or 5 more coats to actually be seasoned! (I just bought 2 pans at the Lodge outlet near us, and spent a day with them in my oven - and they are now beautifully black and shiny and ready to go!)

I guess I’m saying I don’t see the point. I wouldn’t put ci in my dishwasher any more than I would my wooden-handled knives. I don’t put pots in there either - they take up too much room; it’s just not efficient. I’m a bit weird when it comes to using the dishwasher. It only runs maybe once every 2 weeks.

[Jamestown1630]

Well, I guess I’ll buy the 7 qt dutch oven, and ‘spend a day with it’ ;-)

We don’t do big pots in the dishwasher, either.