I've been cooking exclusively with Le Creuset cast iron pans. I use to care about seasoning and never using soap to clean but I've gotten way more relaxed as of late. I still take care of the pans and "season them" when it looks pretty bare, but I haven't really noticed much of a difference between seasoned and nonseasoned as an amateur chef.
I make up for the lack of seasoning by using more butter or oil.
The true reason why I use these cast iron pans is that they have a very long lifecycle (going 12 years now for some of my pans) and they sear way better than other cookware.
Worth pointing out that this is also true of the Le Creuset "cast iron" skillets and frying pans with the black cooking surface. That surface is (annoyingly) enamelled too.
huh, TIL. There's a Le Creuset outlet store near me and when I bought 2 more it never really clicked how different they were from my Lodge pans (outside of the enamel bottom).
Just another plus one for cast-iron pans and wooden spatulas. We’ve been using those for over a decade, 20 bucks each, never needs replacing, works for everything.
We switched from gas stove to induction and now they work even better since the handle doesn’t get as hot and it’s easier to control the temperature.
The whole seasoning thing is extra credit, the only failure mode I’ve seen is trying to fry an egg on a completely unseasoned pan, which just means some extra soaking and scrubbing is needed. The pan seasons itself after a few uses. Hand wash the pan instead of sticking it in the dishwasher, done.
Yeah, eggs can be hard. What I do is have a smaller cast iron pan strictly for a single egg. I just make sure to use more butter and clean after right after.
I think it is healthy. There is basically nothing to be worried about that dealt killed by water or heat. A hot pan is twice the temperature of a medical autoclave.
Soap is more of a cleaning aid for removing flavor than a safety control.
A little mentioned downside to cast iron is that it's porous enough that it will absolutely absorb certain things like turmeric that will only come out once you cook something else in it, no amount of washing or soap seems to make a difference past a certain point. Kind of a non issue to me, just a quirk of the tool.
You hear this sometimes from cast iron owners that think using some soap will "ruin" the seasoning. It's a myth, you can absolutely use soap. My preferred method is chainmail + coarse salt + small drop of dawn.
Yes, I use a little bit of Dawn when the pan is really greasy or crusty. Hot water in the pan, a little bit of Dawn, let it sit for a few minutes, scrub. Dawn is not agressive enough to remove the seasoning, it will just emulsify the liquid grease/oil in the pan.
Do not put them in the dishwasher though, or you'll have to re-season them.
Dawn kinda smells tho, especially when the pan is heated again for the first time. Whatever it pyrolyzes to, I'm not sure I want to smell or eat it. The store brand dishwasher detergent seems to not smell as much but if there's no debris from the food I avoid soap or use it very sparingly.
Good tip with the coarse salt, I'll have to try that sometime.
I make up for the lack of seasoning by using more butter or oil.
The true reason why I use these cast iron pans is that they have a very long lifecycle (going 12 years now for some of my pans) and they sear way better than other cookware.