Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I have a very old Griswold(#8) cast iron skillet that I got from ebay maybe 10 years ago. When bought - it was totally unseasoned - looked much like the way a brushed stainless steel pan would look - just felt a lot heavier.

Inspired by CI's cast iron cookbook and finally willing to try it out on a glass top stove, I decided I'd try seasoning it the way CI recommended. That meant rubbing it with Flax Seed oil and then putting it in a very hot stove (500 degrees) upside down for an hour, letting it rest for 30 minutes, and repeating the procedure about 6 times.

I did this over 2-3 days because I didn't have nine hours to watch the stove!

Over time, the cast iron pan did indeed get black, with the exception of a patch on the bottom of the pan itself (the cooking surface) - but even that was a mahogany brown. There were little specks of silver showing through the rim and the bottom (underside) was a patchwork of black and brown.

I put it through two more cycles (now a total of 8), without much change so I was ready to go.

First, I made fried eggs. They cooked beautifully but when I lifted them out of pan with a spatula (without digging into the pan), some of the seasoning came off.

Next, I made a reverse sear steak. The sear on the steak was beautiful, better than what I normally get with AC. However, when I washed the pan later on (yellow scrubbie, just water), I noticed that even more of the surface was exposed at the bottom of the pan.

Now in both cases, the food slipped out when removed as if it were non-stick. But nonetheless, I am concerned why my baked in flax seasoning is coming off.

Did I do something wrong here or is there something else I can do to get a more permanent coat of seasoning? Is it just a matter of cooking more in it? What about all the little black specks that came off when cleaning? Can they come off when cooking and are they in any way a health issue?

Thanks in advance!

Gerard

Okay -- did you clean the pan thoroughly before you started? If the pan was unseasoned, but not rusty, it had a coating of something or other to keep it from oxidizing. It sounds like that coating may have prevented the flax coat from adhering properly. I've never had a pan season to anything but uniform blackness with this method.

That said, I've found the flax oil to be a little brittle. I've had the best luck cooking on it if it has a softer layer over it. I do the final layer of seasoning with a highly saturated fat like coconut or avocado oil. I continue using those fats between washings. Also, treat it like non-stick -- only nylon or wooden implements.

G - I did what you did but my results are like JB's. I follow her procedure as well with excellent results! Not sure if my comments help you...