Heart to Hearth Cookery

Seasoning cast iron

I feel the workout yesterday of the care of the hearth cook’s tool-cast iron.  Cast iron is a wonderful cooking medium for both the historic cook, like myself, and the modern cook.  But it does require good care!  And when it is located in a historic site and has not been used during the winter season, rust can be a problem.  USE is the best means to keep cast iron from its enemy of rust.  The picture shows the results of re-seasoning cast iron.  The system that has worked for me to keep cast iron rust free when it has limited use at the hearth is a very thin coating of mineral oil after each use and once a year any sign of rust is removed, the piece washed, dried thoroughly, re-seasoned with mineral oil and thoroughly heated for over an hour.  For pieces of cast iron that are used regularly I use vegetable oil but have found that a VERY LIGHT coating of mineral oil is the best for those pieces that are seen more than used!