Cooking with cast iron cookware is beneficial for you on many levels. But, it may not be so valuable for your cookware if you miss seasoning cast iron.
Seasoning cast iron is a maintenance procedure you do for your cookware. It helps the cookware retain its qualities and last longer.
If you are serious about cooking with cast iron cookware, then take time to learn more about cast iron seasoning.
Cast Iron Seasoning
Cast iron seasoning is a process that takes a few minutes to complete. You already have all the equipment you need in your kitchen.
For cast iron seasoning, you need soap, a brush, a sponge, and vegetable oil. After you prepare the meal, clean the cast iron cookware. Ensure that you clean leftover food and scrub the pieces with a brush.
Once you do it, leave the cast iron cookware to dry. Then, prepare your stove by heating it to medium heat. Put the cast iron cookware on the hot stove and put vegetable oil on the surface.
Let the oil boil and evaporate. After that, clean the cookware once again, and the seasoning process is over. That is the whole thing you have to do to ensure multiple benefits for your cast iron cookware.
The Cooking Process
There are two primary reasons to season cast iron cookware.
The first is to enhance the cooking process. The second is for better maintenance of the cookware.
Cast iron cookware is all about that specific taste. The secret to that taste is in the materials of the cast iron cookware. But, to retain the taste of the iron, you have to be careful.
Cooking food with lots of acids damages the iron base of the cookware. Even cooking other types of food damages, the cookware.
Once you damage the cookware, you lose the excellent taste and defeat the whole purpose of the cast iron cookware.
a. Better Taste
Cast iron cookware is all about the taste. When you cook with cast iron cookware, food has a fuller taste. Even if you aren’t a gourmet connoisseur, you can enjoy a superior taste.
But you can’t get that taste without seasoning. When you avoid cast iron seasoning, you let the cast iron cookware deteriorate. Cast iron seasoning allows the cookware to give you a pure taste of food, regardless of the dish you prepare.
Whether you are preparing bread or frying meat, season the cookware beforehand.
b. Healthier Meals
Another perk of seasoning your cast iron cookware is that it makes your dishes healthier. Each meal you prepare in a cast-iron skillet gets a dose of iron.
Most people believe that the health perk remains as long as you cook with cast iron cookware. However, that perk weakens over time if you fail to season the cookware on a regular basis.
However, there is another thing about healthy food and cast-iron cookware. Not only does food from the cast iron cookware taste better, but it also has more flavor.
c. More Flavor
Now, you have to discern between taste and flavor if you want to be a master chef. Taste is something any person can experience. But it takes a chef’s palette to discern between flavors.
Seasoning cast iron is similar to clearing the choke board. When there is something before, you clean it, and it is like you have a new board. Cast iron seasoning does the same for the cookware.
As you practice and do more with the cookware, you want the flavor to remain. Even more so when you think about what you can do with your cookware.
d. More Recipes
Keeping your cookware in mint shape allows you to try more recipes. Traditional cookware has a disadvantage. It wears down over time and reduces the taste of anything you cook. With proper seasoning, cast iron cookware does the opposite.
It won’t matter what meal you prepare. The taste remains there like you took out the cast iron cookware from its box for the first time.
Along with the cooking benefits, seasoning cast iron has another benefit you should know.
The Maintenance Process
Cast iron seasoning helps the cookware to last longer. And, when you think of something lasting longer, don’t think about days and years. Think about how cast-iron cookware can last for decades to come.
Even today, you can find cast iron cookware that is over 100 years old. That is due to the proper maintenance of the chefs. With today’s condition and cooking expertise, you can do the same.
Not only can you have a piece of cookware to last you for a lifetime, but you can also pass it down.
a. Durability
The first thing you want to do is to increase the durability of the cookware with seasoning. Remember acidic foods from earlier?
Well, each time you prepare a meal with tomato, you chip your cast iron skillet. The acidic damage stacks on the iron, deteriorating it further. Once you damage the cast iron skillet, you must go through a whole process to repair the cookware.
Instead, protect the cookware with regular seasoning. That way, you can have cookware that can last for a long time.
b. Longevity
It is time to bring all the perks together. The one thing that separates cast iron cookware from other products is the price.
Even a cast iron skillet costs a few hundred dollars. Thus, if you want to master cast-iron cooking, you need cookware that lasts. The only way to ensure the longevity of the cast iron skillet is to season the cookware.
It all comes down to your choice. You have to choose the level of dedication you want to show to your cooking adventure.
Master Cast Iron Seasoning
Mastering recipes from a cast-iron skillet is all about discipline. It is an experience like learning a new instrument.
You have to learn its rules to bend them. So, embark on the journey of mastering cast iron cooking. All it takes is a dedication to make an extra effort and perform cast iron seasoning.
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