Pro tip: A sous chef told me to stop rinsing my cast iron with soap, but after 3 months of stubborn seasoning that's worse than before, I'm going back to soap.

My friend Paul, who runs a line in Charlotte, said soap ruins the seasoning and it's been flaking off my pan ever since, has anyone else found that not all cast iron advice is universal?

2 comments

2 Comments

white.alex1mo ago

Yeah the lye thing is correct but actually the issue with flaking is more about heat than oil thickness most of the time. If you're not getting the pan hot enough during seasoning the oil won't fully polymerize into that hard plastic-like layer. I aim for 475-500 degrees for an hour with grapeseed oil and that's what finally fixed my flaking problem. Thin layers matter too but the temp is what actually bonds it.

the_jason1mo ago

Man that's rough but here's the thing - soap is totally fine for cast iron lol. The whole "never use soap" thing is from back when soap had lye in it which would eat the seasoning. Modern dish soap is totally safe. The flaking you're dealing with is probably from using too much oil when seasoning, that creates a thick layer that just chips off instead of bonding. I'd strip it down with some oven cleaner or a chainmail scrubber and start over with super thin layers of oil. Like wipe the oil on then try to wipe it all off again before you bake it. That thin layer is what actually polymerizes and sticks.