Docb
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
One of the things that always made sense to me was if you want to learn to do something, it is a good idea watch a professional doing it. So, if you watch a professional working in a kitchen, be it the bloke in your local Indian or Chinese takeaway or a top chef in a top kitchen, you will not find them using the sort of cook ware you buy down at your cookery shop. You will most likely find them using simple iron pans with long, simple metal handles. No aluminium, no non-stick coatings, just simple pans.
The other day, whilst scratting around in a barn I came across the crockery and cookware rescued from a local, and well respected, pub/restaurant that had closed down. In amongst all the stuff covered in dust and droppings were the pans they had used in the kitchen. There were a dozen or so of asssorted iron sauté and frying pans. All were filthy, covered in black gunge and I thought, I wonder.....
Anyway I selected a small sauté pan to see what could be done with it. First was to clean it. After an hour or so of work with a wire brush on an angle grinder followed by more work with my Dremill I managed to get rid of the encrusted grot and what emerged was slightly dinged but none the less nice little sauté pan.
A bit of digging tells me that the key to using cast iron pans is to get them seasoned. The principle is simple. You get them very clean, coat them with oil and bake then at around 200C for an hour. That leaves a coating of polymerised oil on the surface which makes them "non stick" requiring little more than a wipe round with a wipe round after use. To keep them working properly, you just need to keep them away from water and dishwashers and re-season if and when needed.
My oil coated rescued pan is now in the oven being baked to season it. We shall see if it works and I will report back.
Anybody else use this type of pan for cooking?
The other day, whilst scratting around in a barn I came across the crockery and cookware rescued from a local, and well respected, pub/restaurant that had closed down. In amongst all the stuff covered in dust and droppings were the pans they had used in the kitchen. There were a dozen or so of asssorted iron sauté and frying pans. All were filthy, covered in black gunge and I thought, I wonder.....
Anyway I selected a small sauté pan to see what could be done with it. First was to clean it. After an hour or so of work with a wire brush on an angle grinder followed by more work with my Dremill I managed to get rid of the encrusted grot and what emerged was slightly dinged but none the less nice little sauté pan.
A bit of digging tells me that the key to using cast iron pans is to get them seasoned. The principle is simple. You get them very clean, coat them with oil and bake then at around 200C for an hour. That leaves a coating of polymerised oil on the surface which makes them "non stick" requiring little more than a wipe round with a wipe round after use. To keep them working properly, you just need to keep them away from water and dishwashers and re-season if and when needed.
My oil coated rescued pan is now in the oven being baked to season it. We shall see if it works and I will report back.
Anybody else use this type of pan for cooking?
