Food and How you Cook/Eat it (2016)

[tomterp]

A paint scraper will scrape off the most obstinate old coating, as well as scratch the pan.

Enough of the cleaning phase, I've coated them in canola and am baking them at 450 for 30 minutes.

[OldChelsea]

Emirates airlines announces the new luxury condiment: KETCHUP!!

From Skytrax, the world's greatest air travel site: http://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/emirates/ - see post on this forum from M. LaPrairie, posted earlier today (right now at top of forum) - key quote:

'The best was when I asked for ketchup to accompany my breakfast of hash browns and a frittata - exactly the sort of dishes one would eat with ketchup. I was informed that ketchup is only available in business and first class. What? Is ketchup the new Dom Perignon? Give me a break.'

[Dave B]

A paint scraper will scrape off the most obstinate old coating, as well as scratch the pan.

Enough of the cleaning phase, I've coated them in canola and am baking them at 450 for 30 minutes.

The info tag on the new pans say to use steel wool. Maybe a dremel with steel wool like attachment

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

That said, i hear the food in steerage on Emirates isn't bad.  Certainly better than flying the Sysco skies of United.   

The best airline food in economy has to be Thai Airways and Korean Air.  Korean has bibimbap with little pouches of gochujang. 

 

Emirates airlines announces the new luxury condiment: KETCHUP!!

From Skytrax, the world's greatest air travel site: http://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/emirates/ - see post on this forum from M. LaPrairie, posted earlier today (right now at top of forum) - key quote:

'The best was when I asked for ketchup to accompany my breakfast of hash browns and a frittata - exactly the sort of dishes one would eat with ketchup. I was informed that ketchup is only available in business and first class. What? Is ketchup the new Dom Perignon? Give me a break.'

[dracnal]

That said, i hear the food in steerage on Emirates isn't bad.  Certainly better than flying the Sysco skies of United.   

The best airline food in economy has to be Thai Airways and Korean Air.  Korean has bibimbap with little pouches of gochujang.

I know my caffeine isn't working any more to keep me alert when I misread the bolded word as 'garbage' and had to reread.

[tomterp]

The info tag on the new pans say to use steel wool. Maybe a dremel with steel wool like attachment

Well round 1 of seasoning was a failure.  Left too much oil in the pans, it settled in the low areas and baked to a dense sludge.  Other areas of the pans are sticky.  Only one way out of this, bake the s%*# out of them another night and hope it all goes away.  Else, it's back to square one with oven cleaner.

[Mathguy]

Salt is the way to clean cast iron pans

The info tag on the new pans say to use steel wool. Maybe a dremel with steel wool like attachment

[HalfSmokes]

Well round 1 of seasoning was a failure.  Left too much oil in the pans, it settled in the low areas and baked to a dense sludge.  Other areas of the pans are sticky.  Only one way out of this, bake the s%*# out of them another night and hope it all goes away.  Else, it's back to square one with oven cleaner.

That's weird, I season my pans by putting in a 1/4 inch of oil and cooking them for 5 hours at 350- never had a problem

[OldChelsea]

That said, i hear the food in steerage on Emirates isn't bad.  Certainly better than flying the Sysco skies of United.

So I've heard - I'll be trying Emirates sometime next year (it'll be especially nice now that they're flying the A380 from Dulles) and am already booked on the acclaimed Qatar Airways for my Singapore trip in late April.   

The best airline food in economy has to be Thai Airways and Korean Air.  Korean has bibimbap with little pouches of gochujang. 

 

I've heard the Asian carriers absolutely wipe the floor with their American competition when it comes to food and drink (and service generally). Some of the European flag carriers (BA, KLM) are still pretty decent.

[dracnal]

Well round 1 of seasoning was a failure.  Left too much oil in the pans, it settled in the low areas and baked to a dense sludge.  Other areas of the pans are sticky.  Only one way out of this, bake the s%*# out of them another night and hope it all goes away.  Else, it's back to square one with oven cleaner.

Hmm. I don't think oven cleaner is the way I'd go... the iron is porous enough to soak up stuff you don't want. Don't use dish soap on them, even.

[Mathguy]

Terp - please don't use oven cleaner.  Try scrubing salt on pan with paper towels.  The salt will get to the oil and crud on pan.

Well round 1 of seasoning was a failure.  Left too much oil in the pans, it settled in the low areas and baked to a dense sludge.  Other areas of the pans are sticky.  Only one way out of this, bake the s%*# out of them another night and hope it all goes away.  Else, it's back to square one with oven cleaner.

[imref]

i've always used balled up aluminum foil and water to clean a cast iron pan.

[tomterp]

That's weird, I season my pans by putting in a 1/4 inch of oil and cooking them for 5 hours at 350- never had a problem

Interesting, the instructions I followed called for 30 minutes at 450.  I gave them another 30 last night and they improved, though places under-oiled emerged.  Going to lube them up and give them another shot.

[tomterp]

Hmm. I don't think oven cleaner is the way I'd go... the iron is porous enough to soak up stuff you don't want. Don't use dish soap on them, even.

Terp - please don't use oven cleaner.  Try scrubing salt on pan with paper towels.  The salt will get to the oil and crud on pan.

Oven cleaner is primarily composed of lye, it's the best solvent to remove the old seasoning.  I'm talking about stripping out the 50 year old seasoning and starting anew.

[GburgNatsFan]

Why remove it at all? You heat the thing to 300+ degrees. It's not like there's anything that can live through that.

Oven cleaner is primarily composed of lye, it's the best solvent to remove the old seasoning.  I'm talking about stripping out the 50 year old seasoning and starting anew.

[tomterp]

Why remove it at all? You heat the thing to 300+ degrees. It's not like there's anything that can live through that.

They looked filthy, I looked up what people do with old cast iron and this what they do to restore them.   

I think old seasonings degrade over time.  I wanted a fresh start with all of them. 

[dcpatti]

So I've heard - I'll be trying Emirates sometime next year (it'll be especially nice now that they're flying the A380 from Dulles) and am already booked on the acclaimed Qatar Airways for my Singapore trip in late April.   

I've heard the Asian carriers absolutely wipe the floor with their American competition when it comes to food and drink (and service generally). Some of the European flag carriers (BA, KLM) are still pretty decent.

BA is pretty grim in all cabins; Virgin in economy equally grim but PE is pretty good and Upper is great.
The Asian carriers are generally quite good but the best globally is Air New Zealand; their Economy is on par with other carriers' Economy Plus and their Business is close to the level of a non-suite First (but at business class prices, which puts them at #1 in my book).  In a true First Class, Singapore wins but really, Emirates, Qatar, RJ, JAL, etc are all pretty amazing.

But all the Asian and Middle Eastern carriers are state subsidized and by deregulating, the US pretty much ensured that our airline standards would never be as high as they were before, despite the taxpayers still subsidizing the industry in the form of all those bankruptcies, bailouts and pension write-offs. Anyway, it's no real surprise that JAL or Singapore makes United look like an old shoe.

[GburgNatsFan]

I'm sure your right. Old seasoning might be the best kind, but not when the pans have been allowed to get filthy.

They looked filthy, I looked up what people do with old cast iron and this what they do to restore them.   

I think old seasonings degrade over time.  I wanted a fresh start with all of them.

[Mathguy]

http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/inside-our-kitchen/article/how-to-wash-your-cast-iron-skillet

They looked filthy, I looked up what people do with old cast iron and this what they do to restore them.   

I think old seasonings degrade over time.  I wanted a fresh start with all of them. 

[dcpatti]

Over time and especially if improperly stored, the oils can go rancid. You can tell a rancid pan by the smell. Certain oils are more prone to that than others but if you're suspicious about the oil coating, strip it off with heat, elbow grease and patience, then reseason.

Don't use oven cleaner; it can cause pitting. +1 to the salt-and-paper-towels method. Or make a paste of salt and a little bit of dishwashing detergent (the stuff that goes in the machine), but just enough detergent to wet the salt. Salt plus lemon juice works too.

 Be prepared to reseason immediately once it's clean.

[PC]

 Kumatoes?   Yes or no?

[tomterp]

These are cast iron skillet, pot and lid that had not been used in at least 30 years (how long we've had them) and probably not for 20 years before that, so 50 years of disuse.  No amount of elbow grease can remove the old polymerized seasoned surface.

WIth respect to lye, the assertion in the restoration guide I've been following indicates -

The good news is lye won't harm the metal at all, so there's no fear of soaking the cookware for too long in the lye.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/how-to-restore-vintage-cast-iron-cookware.html

Vinegar used to remove any residual rust however is a different matter: 

Nick lets his pans soak in the pure distilled white vinegar for six to twelve hours, then scrubs it. But he warns not to ever let this step go longer than 24 hours—vinegar may not present much of a problem to our skin, but it will erode and pit the cast iron if left on for too long.

I wish I had my battery charger at home, I would have tried the electrolysis method described instead.

[dcpatti]

Oh yeah, lye is probably the ticket. Forgot all about it. Just be really  careful with it. Lots of cool running water if you get it on your skin.

[tomterp]

Oh yeah, lye is probably the ticket. Forgot all about it. Just be really  careful with it. Lots of cool running water if you get it on your skin.

Oh yeah, it's nasty.  I have some heavy duty gloves for such purposes but errors can happen.  I would also recommend wearing a mitten when moving pans around a very shallow oven set at 450.    Cause those red hot coils are right there at knuckle height.   

[HalfSmokes]

At what point do you just use a grinder? (Or buy a new lodge)