6
My buddy in Dallas told me I was washing my cast iron pan all wrong
So I've been cooking with this cast iron skillet for like 5 years now. I always scrubbed it with soap and a green sponge, thought that was normal. Last week my friend Mike came over while I was cleaning up after making bacon. He literally grabbed my arm and was like "dude stop you're stripping the seasoning. Just use hot water and a chainmail scrubber, no soap ever." I felt so dumb. He showed me his pan which he's had for 12 years and it's like glass smooth. Now I'm wondering what other basic kitchen stuff I've been messing up. Has anyone else had a friend call them out on a habit they thought was fine?
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
the_jamie27d ago
Chainmail scrubber changed my life honestly. Picked one up after a YouTube deep dive and its night and day difference on egg release. About soap though - I'm with Mike on this one. Even if modern soap is gentler, why risk it when hot water does the trick just fine. Mike's 12 year pan sounds like he's on to something.
3
the_paul27d ago
Honestly the chainmail thing is a total game changer I got one with a wooden handle so it doesn't scratch my fingers and it fixed my eggs overnight. But I read somewhere that the real trick is using a thin metal spatula to scrape first then hit it with the chainmail, cuts the scrubbing way down. Been doing that for a month now and my seasoning actually looks better than before, less patchy.
-1
jana88127d ago
Wait until Mike finds out that modern soap is totally different from old school lye soap and won't hurt seasoning. My cousin is a chemist and she told me the whole "no soap ever" thing is a myth people still believe from like the 1800s. What actually ruins pans is leaving them wet or cooking super acidic stuff for too long. Maybe think about getting a cheap chainmail scrubber if you want that smooth feel, but don't let him make you feel bad about using soap with your 5 year old pan.
0