Should i throw away my wok?

[Summerrose]

I was just thinking if i should just throw away my cast iron wok. I just bought it and want to love it, but i can't get the bottom of the wok to be black and shiny no matter how i seasoned it. The wok use to had some red rust around the bottom after i seasoned with the salt method, and now i been try to season it and build up the patina with the oil method, but the bottom is still gray and dry while the top layer is dark and shine. Need some help what to do next!!

[kengk]

Whatever you do don't throw it away. Somebody could use it, give it to goodwill if you hate it.

You have gotten good advice on seasoning it that you can try but life is too short to be aggravated with cookware.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Do you have any photos?

"The wok use to had some red rust around the bottom after i seasoned with the salt method"

You should not get red rust if the bottom was seasoned. Did you only put salt without oil?

"now i been try to season it and build up the patina with the oil method, but the bottom is still gray and dry while the top layer is dark and shine"

When you wrote bottom layer is gray and dry, are you talking about the exterior surface (where the food does not touch? Don't worry about the exterior surface.

[Summerrose]

No i don't any photo at the moment. Yes, I only used salt and i didn't know that you can't heat salt in cast iron. I'm talking about the cooking surface, the inside bottom surface.

[Eleanor Hoh]

Thank goodness you're here to set folks straight. I've never understood who advises using salt to season cast iron woks cause it makes them RUST! That's probably what the red dust is? Recently, I found a 'scientific based' site by Sheryl Canter that recommends using food grade flax seed oil for seasoning cast iron pans! WOW, WOW & WOW! I've been 'seasoning' for years but her tip makes a HUGE difference & made my woks look like museum quality. Here's the link to her site: http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/201...

[MikeB3542]

Nobody recommends SEASONING with salt! Quite a few would recommend CLEANSING with salt, using as a mild abrasive. Oxygen alone causes rust, salt does not (neither does water) though water, especially water with chloride ions certainly can facilitate oxidation. My experience with cast iron dutch ovens is that you should simply not expect the same kind of patina that you get on a skillet, especially with a wok. The high temps that you want at the start will break down seasoning rather than build it up. To make matters "worse" you often will finish the dish wet, which steams off the seasoning. Long and short is that the seasoning in the middle will always be something of a work in progress. So focus on how it cooks rather than how it looks. My rec is to clean it well, and then keep it dry and oiled between uses. Good luck!

[Chemicalkinetics]

Some people do advise using pure salt for wok seasoning:

http://www.cookingcute.com/wok_season...

"My experience with cast iron dutch ovens is that you should simply not expect the same kind of patina that you get on a skillet, especially with a wok."

I am not entire sure your view on wok, but wok can build up a pretty good seasoning surface. Definitely better than that of a Dutch Oven, which is mostly used for liquid contents.