Can You Use Cast Iron Right After Seasoning?

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The process of seasoning is usually finished by baking the excess oil in the oven, over the campfire, or stovetop. That being said, there is nothing that says there will be a reason not to cook with your freshly seasoned piece of cast iron.

The sooner you use the cast iron piece of cookery, the sooner you begin the process of building a flavor base which leads to collecting the right seasonings to make the skillet pan a truly unique item.

So, in simple words, yes, a chef can use cast iron after the seasoning process is completed.

How Long After Seasoning Cast Iron can you Use it?

As mentioned above, there will be a period when the seasoning needs to settle or get baked (cooked) into the cast iron. This will require a session in the oven, over a campfire, and will be the step that creates the flavor barrier that seals the seasonings in.

Once this process is complete and the cast iron has been dried, there will be an immediate opportunity to use the freshly seasoned cookware for the meal needing to be prepared. Just be sure that the cast iron has been given time to re-season and reseal the flavors within.

 

Do You Wipe the Cast Iron After Seasoning?

Seasoning requires a rag or piece of material that can spread the oil or grease onto the surface of the cast iron, but there is no need to ‘wipe up’ after the seasoning process.

The final step for seasoning requires cooking, firing, or another form of baking the seasoning into the cast iron and burning the excess oils off.

When beginning to cook, or after cooking with the cast iron, there will be a step in which a layer of oil needs to be applied to the kitchenware that can be described as a wiping action, but that is just semantics.

 

Is There Anything Else to Do Before You Start Using it?

The first thing to examine when getting a new cast iron piece of cookery would be rusting, which can easily be remedied and becomes the first step before use.

There will be a need for good scrubbing and cleaning; then the process, as mentioned earlier in this article, of seasoning will take place, creating the first layer of flavor.

If you are taking a well-maintained piece off a kitchen rack, the first step will be to oil the cast iron, add the meal seasonings, and heat the skillet, unlocking the additional flavors within.

 

Should You Cook on Low heat Then?

This will depend on the dish being prepared, there are going to be certain meats that will require a low-temperature cooking technique, but the wonderful thing about cast iron is that these pieces of cookery can take the heat.

Cast iron cookware can be used on open flames and brick ovens and has even been crafted for forges to handle melted metals.

The most important thing to remember about cast iron is that it will need to be looked after with care because even the slightest amount of moisture left on the surface can cause rusting.

 

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Most people make the mistake of leaving food or water on their cast iron cookware after use in the kitchen, which then turns into rust.

This is easily avoided by following the cast iron user’s procedure after every meal, which includes a water cleaning followed by a towel dry, then the application of a thick layer of oil, or grease, to create a flavor seal.

Another common mistake that is made, which is devastating in the world of cooking, is when a person uses soap to clean a piece of cast iron that has been perfectly seasoned for years.

The soap will remove the flavor seal along with the seasonings that have been built up over time.

 

Final Thoughts on Can you use Cast Iron Right after Seasoning

Cast iron pieces of cookware are timeless and can last a lifetime if taken care of properly. Suppose a chef can maintain a consistent routine of cooking and resealing the flavor barrier.

In that case, the result is a piece of cast iron that cooks amazingly flavorful dishes time and time again.

Once the initial layers of seasoning are on the cast iron, it is like a fun game of creating different skillets and pans for different dishes.

The challenge lies in the maintaining and potential generation passing down of cast iron cookery, to which seasonings could be literally passed down from generation to generation.