How gross is cast iron cooking?

I had a real hard time trying to season my cast iron pan using the "scientific" methods of wiping on the perfect amount of fat and leaving it in the oven at a perfect temperature for a perfect amount of time. Eventually I just said screw it and started cooking on it... after a week or so I had an amazing non-stick seasoning that eggs just slide off of. Convinced me that a lot of people just overthink this stuff way too much. I can't imagine my great grandma carefully pre-seasoning these pans in the 1920s, she'd just cook on the damn things.

My first exposure to cast iron pans was when I was asked to do the dishes after a meal at stranger's house and when I started to apply the soapy sponge to a cast iron pan someone freaked out at me. That has made me think "well fuck these prissy pans that get ruined by ordinary washing!" ever since. This video helpfully clears up that that person was just overreacting.

Y'all are so good at answering practical questions using clear language and staying focused on the most important ideas.

I had no idea modern soaps wouldn't instantly strip the seasoning! Good to know :)

The only truly important tips are "don't scrape too much or too hard" and "keep it dry". If you cook normally, clean it normally, and just do a good job of drying it, then it will be fine. I do usually heat my cast iron and carbon steel after I clean to dry it though, my climate isn't dry enough to leave them out. Doubly so for carbon steel pans (my wok) which tend to have a thinner layer of seasoning, get scraped more, and which often have various joints or rivets for handles and stuff which can get water trapped in them. When I dry my wok over the fire, I tilt it towards the handles and there's always a bit of fizzing from them. Although, it is admittedly a fairly cheap wok, so your mileage may vary.

Counselor Troi: You mean you're older... more experienced... a little more... seasoned. Commander Riker: Seasoned? That's a horrible thing to say to a man.

my teacher sent our class one of your videos and from the start of the year, the videos really helped me out as a food and nutrition student. I've subbed ever since. love your vids, keep it on❤❤

3:38 Lye-Less Minnelli for the dish brand name is CRIMINAL lmao

It's like those "Forever Stew" or Forever Soups. Where the same dish has been cooked and served and restocked for decades. So long as you don't get chemical contaminants in, and so long as the heat is high enough, no germs can propagate in it.

It's nice to see folks correcting misconceptions about cast iron pans. I've met some people who insist that their sticky or outright greasy pans are "properly" seasoned, pay no mind to the residue they were leaving on other surfaces. I also dated a guy who never considered that the soap issue could be related to how the soap is formulated (he had taken a lot of chemical engineering classes so I'm still a bit surprised by that). In a similar vein, people mistakenly think you need to use unsalted butter when you're baking. The biggest reason that advice existed was because butter was heavily salted for preservation before we figured out refrigeration. Like it straight up had to be soaked before use to draw out the excess salt, and you could be left with a variable amount of salt depending on soak time. These days, the salt is just enough for flavor, and the package tells you /exactly/ how much salt is in the butter, so you can adjust if needed. (Learned some of that from another of Adam Ragusea's videos 😂).

Super cool to see an Adam Ragusea shout-out, especially that episode. One of his best science explainers, I think

My 12" cast iron skillet was my grandmother's. Had to do a bit of restoration due to poor storage, but now it's my most treasured piece of cookware. Everything you said here is spot on, and I would add, if you treat it well, it will treat you well for a lifetime. Maybe longer.

One of the best things about cast iron pans is that it's really, really difficult to do any permanent damage to them. Sure, if you don't take good care of them you could strip away the layers of seasoning, or worst case scenario you expose the iron underneath and let it rust. But again, it's not permanent: with some iron wool you can scrape off the layer of rust, and re-season afterwards. Sure it's a hassle but nothing that you can't resolve with a little time, oil and heat; no permanent harm done.

Your first cast iron video answered so many of my questions, but this video really rounded it all out and answered my core question of cleaning them and what "seasoned" actually meant.

Could you please make a video on Wooden spoons, Wooden cutting boards, etc.? I hear some people with allergies worry about their ability to cross-contaminate from previous uses. Others just feel they can't get clean enough so its gross. I don't have allergies & don't get grossed out so I use them often - but im curious about whether I should stop!

this was really helpful and insightful. thanks for the content!

It is always amazing how on the internet there are entire forums dedicated to OCD seasoning and make cast iron and carbon steel seem extremely difficult. Meanwhile at any restaurant, whether western carbon steel or asian woks, grandmother cooks - you just cook. Wash the pan as one would then dry it with a kitchen towel. Meanwhile some bro who only cooks steak and eggs will go around telling everyone how soap never touches his pan, he bakes it in the oven to reduce moisture and treats a hunk of steel like it is more fragile than a Teflon coating.

The title of this video really should be "Cast Iron Cooking Is Not Gross".

THANK YOU!! Finally a well explained video on this subject.

All the content you’ve made on cast iron has taught me so much!