There’s nothing cast-iron cookware can’t do. It’s durable and affordable, is stovetop and oven compatible, has amazing heat retention, and even has some nonstick properties if you care for it correctly. That’s why I named a cast-iron Lodge pan the best in my guide to to the very best skillets. Still, cast-iron’s reputation as a high-maintenance material persists, and people often disagree about the best way to care for it. Here, I set out to answer the question once and for all: How do you clean and maintain cast-iron cookware?
So how do I clean my cast-iron cookware?
It’s fairly simple. Once your skillet has cooled down after cooking, wash it as you would anything else: with water, dish soap, and a nonabrasive or lightly abrasive sponge. Contrary to the hard-to-shake urban legend, soap will not damage a well-seasoned skillet (and more on seasoning below). If that doesn’t work and you still have stuck-on food, try a silicone scraper or a chain-mail scrubber. If that doesn’t work, simmer some water in the pan for three to five minutes, let it cool enough to be able to touch it, and scrape or scrub again. Then be sure to dry your skillet thoroughly with a dish towel.
Just note: While it’s fine to clean your skillet with water, do not leave it to soak (or even air dry) and never put your skillet in the dishwasher as this will cause rust and degrade the seasoning.
And how do I season it?
Seasoning — a.k.a. applying a thin coating of oil on the surface of your cast-iron skillet to prevent rust and impart a smooth cooking surface — is the most integral part of keeping cast-iron cookware in good shape. These days, you’ll pretty much only find pre-seasoned pieces on the market, meaning whatever company you buy from has already treated it with oil. But if you’ve inherited an old pan, bought one used, or let your once-new model get worse for wear, you’ll want to season it yourself.
To get the exact how-to of this procedure, I consulted Shannon Van Dusen, associate product and test-kitchen manager at Lodge, which is perhaps the most well-known cast-iron company around. (She also used to work in customer care, so she’s seen it all.) Van Dusen says to start by scraping off any loose surface flakes you see with something rough, like a scouring pad or even steel wool. Wash the skillet with soap and water and towel dry thoroughly. Then, pour a small amount of neutral oil — like canola or vegetable — onto the surface and rub it all over (including the bottom and side walls) with a paper towel. (Olive oil isn’t a hard no, but because its smoke point is lower, you’ll have to be more careful when you heat it.) It should be covered but not thickly glossed. Place the skillet upside down in your oven and bake it at 450-to-500 degrees for an hour. This position allows any excess oil to drip off (some people are more heavy-handed than they realize, Van Dusen says). If you place it upright, it’s likely to pool and create a sticky residue.
Two additional pro tips: Put a baking sheet underneath the skillet to catch drips, and let it cool down inside after you turn the oven off so you’re not handling it while blazing hot.
Okay, but do I need to season regularly, even if everything looks fine?
“The more you use your skillet, the better it gets,” Van Dusen says. “When you brown ground beef, when you bake in it, when you fry in it, you’re seasoning.” For this reason — especially if you use your pan a fair amount — you don’t need to worry about a dedicated seasoning until you start seeing some degradation or discoloration on the surface.
Still, both Van Dusen and I regularly add a very thin layer of oil to the surface after washing and drying, just as a little extra insurance. (This is also helpful to do every once in a while on the bottom, which doesn’t get the benefit of the oil you use for cooking, especially so if you have a gas range where the flame makes direct contact and can burn off seasoning over time without reinforcement.)
What’s the deal with enameled cast iron?
Enameled cast iron — also used to make some skillets I love, and even more famously used to make Dutch ovens — is simply cast iron with one to a few layers of enamel coating over top. The upside: This makes the pieces even more durable and easy to maintain. The downside: This means that for the most part, they’re significantly more expensive than standard cast iron. (And though Joanna Rosenberg, chief sales officer at Staub, says chipping or scratching is very rare, and all enameled cast iron should be able to hold up to stainless-steel utensils, I will add that if the bottom gets damaged somehow, it can’t be reseasoned.)
To learn about the cleaning process, I talked to Rosenberg and Sara Whitaker, director of category marketing at Le Creuset. They both say to start by cleaning the way you would anything else: with soap and a sponge. And they both say that putting pieces in the dishwasher is okay — though Whitaker notes that hand-washing is recommended to preserve the finish over time, as “constant dishwashing may lead to some dulling of the enamel coating,” she says.
If you still have bits that won’t release, Rosenberg says you can graduate to Bar Keeper’s Friend, which is totally safe to use on the surface, and scrub with the more abrasive side of a two-sided sponge or a Scotch-Brite pad — really, “anything that’s a step down from steel wool,” she says. That should take care of it, but if you’re still having trouble, try adding water to the pot or pan, letting it boil for a few minutes and then giving it another go. Soaking is okay and can help here, too.
The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
