How do you store your cast iron/carbon steel??
Hey there,
I am wanting to pick up some carbon steel cookware and since it needs to be stored seasoned (slightly oiled? I've read that it shouldn't look dry), I am wondering how most people store this type of cookware?
Normally my cookware is stored stacked/nested in the cabinet (depending on what it is, sometimes with paper towel or some other barrier between them), but this doesn't seem ideal for seasoned cookware.... If I were to nest seasoned cookware then it would seem that grease would get on the outside of the pans, no?
So...how do people neatly store these so that grease doesn't get all over other cookware and/or a cabinet? I don't have space for hanging them.
Thank you!
-
-
-
I hang all my carbon steel and s/s skillets, crepe and saute pans. I have a very old house that came with built in cabinetry. I took the small pantry cabinet (around 30 inch wide) and gutted the first top couple shelves. I hung a track inside and, with hooks, I can hang them all up. The door keeps the dust off, but the air moves around just fine. The bottom shelves keep extra stuff.
-
SanityRemoved
Apr 13, 2012 04:30 PM
Daily use CS and cast iron stays on the stove. As cabinet space is filled with stainless steel and sheet pans, peel, etc. all the other cookware, appliances and assorted gadgets go on a chrome plated steel 6 shelf rack 72"x48"x18" downstairs. The wire racks let the air circulate and I don't have any moisture problems. I do use a light enough coat of oil to leave a slight sheen. I do what Kaleo described with the folded paper towel on my dutch oven.
-
-
Thanks for all the replies! I guess I'm being really dense because this is apparently a non-issue to everyone else, haha.
If you stack them without anything in between, then doesn't a bit of the grease from the inside of the bottom pan get on the outside of the upper pan (even if excess is wiped out) and then burn on the outside when you put it on the heat?
Perhaps I will understand this better when I actually own one of these pans and am able to see the seasoning properties of it.
›5 Replies-
-
re: ziltoid
Not for me. I have never worried about this issue. Mr. Sueatmo who is clean up person, tends to put the pans away a little oily for my taste, but I've never had the problem you are concerned about. I use a glass cooktop.
This is just a recommendation: use your pan. Scrape it if necessary until it is seasoned. Don't baby it, but don't abuse it. It will work for you. Cast iron wants to be used daily, or at least several times a week. A lot of the advice you get here which sounds so dogmatic is really personal experience and preference. Just use it, even if you don't feel you know how at first. You can't really ruin it unless you let it totally rust.
-
re: ziltoid
sherrib
Apr 16, 2012 07:31 AM
I worried about that too. Which is why I make sure to wipe away the grease after oiling them and then I put paper towels in between my nested pans when I want to store them. I have three pans nested in each other. Two cast iron and a carbon steel. Sometimes I even forget to oil them and I don't always use them often. Nothing adverse has ever happened. There's a reason these pans last for generations.
-
re: ziltoid
>If you stack them without anything in between, then doesn't a bit of the grease from the inside of the bottom pan get on the outside of the upper pan (even if excess is wiped out) and then burn on the outside when you put it on the heat?<
If your pans have seasoning coats on them, it is not necassary to put them away with oil on them. IF you do oil them, then store them, make sure you use them often or the oil will go rancid and get sticky and gummy. Been there, done that.
As for the oil from one pan getting on another. No problem. The standard proceedure is to wipe down all surfaces of the pan anyway.
Once those seasoning layers are baked on the pan, it does not rust easily. I have some cast iron in the back of my cabinet and hanging on the wall that was put away dry (no oil) that have been untouched for years (except to move out of the way), they look just like they did when I first put them there. All they need is a quick rinse, dry and they are ready to use.-
re: dixiegal
scubadoo97
Apr 18, 2012 11:42 AM
I use to oil mine after use prior to storage but not any more. After cleaning they are wiped dry and then heated on the stove to dry completely.
-
-
-
-
You should not have that much oil on the pans, firstly I use lard not oil and secondly I always wipe the pan well once the lard has melted, so when I put the cooled pan away you basically don't feel anything at all on it. I stack mine without issue. And I've lived in both the desert and in the humid coastal South.
-
Chemicalkinetics
Apr 11, 2012 02:55 PM
I don't store my cast iron cookware with oil, but that is probably I don't store them for long. I get to use them fairly often.
That being said, a little of oil does help preventing rust, so it is useful for long term storage especially in a humid area. In that case, I would put a piece of paper towel in between the cookware.
-
Hi, ziltoid:
If you don't live or store your pans in a high-humidity environment, you should have no problem.
A little air circulation and not much metal-on-metal contact are keys. An old horse packer's trick with lidded Dutch ovens and spiders is to fold a paper towel over itself several times and lay it between the pan and the lid. Slows the seasoning wipe going rancid, too.If you live in a moist environment and you must stack/nest in a cupboard, you might want to think about installing a GoldenRod. http://www.goldenroddehumidifiers.com...
With respect, I think the grease pick-up from the insides of your pans will be more of a help than a hassle.
Have Fun,
Aloha,
Kaleo -
-
