New oil, old pans

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/01/2012 (5023 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I’ve recently become a convert to cast iron pans.

It’s not quite as easy to use as a Teflon-based non-stick coating, but I have read too many scare stories recently that link those artifical non-stick coatings to cancer.

And I’m terrible about heating up empty pans and thinking I can get away with the occasional use of a fork — both no-nos with non-stick coating.

So experimenting with cast iron has been liberating. I can scrape with a metal spatula to my heart’s delight, and treated properly, it is just as non-stick as any Teflon.

The trick is to keep the iron properly "seasoned" — which basically means keeping the iron embedded with oil.

There are a million guides to seasoning a cast-iron pan, and a million different theories on the approach, but the basic how-to always involves a hot pan and oil. I’ve tried canola, peanut and olive oils in my pans, but the best (and easiest) approach I’ve found is just adding a lot of bacon to my diet.

We don’t have to talk about the impact on my health, but regularly frying up bacon does get my pans nice and seasoned.

Now, though, I might have to take a Brandon-first approach.

Over the weekend, I read a post on a website call Lifehacker that suggested using flax seed oil for the ultimate cast-iron seasoning sheen.

They link to a full-on how-to on a site called Instructables:

The author of the how-to writes:

Flax seed oil is the edible version of linseed oil, a very durable, hard drying finish that painters and woodworkers have been using for a very long time …. What that translates to in practical terms is a durable finish, that even after just a few coats and short term heating results in a deep glassy black seasoning on the cast iron that has held up to months of my daily usage and cooking abuse. 

Since I do occasionally run into trouble with my cast-iron pans if I cook up a lot things that aren’t oily enough to replenish the finish, I’m quite interested in finding an oil approach that lasts a little longer.

But best of all, as local business boosters may already have guessed, is that Brandon’s own Shape Foods makes flax seed oil.

Though the factory has had its ups and downs, I believe you can buy Brandon-made flax seed oil at a couple of local health-food stores.

You sure can’t find Brandon-made olive oil anywhere, so I’m a little excited to add one more 100-mile element into my diet.

Now — does anyone in Brandon cast their own iron? I have some ideas for custom pans.