TIL I was ruining my cast iron skillet for years by doing one thing

Was scrubbing my skillet with soap every night like a normal person until my buddy Dave from work saw me at his place and nearly had a heart attack. He showed me this crusty old Lodge he's had since 2008 that looks brand new because he just scrapes it clean and wipes it down with oil. Turns out all that soap was stripping my seasoning and that's why everything kept sticking. Anybody else make this mistake or am I the only one that missed this?

2 comments

2 Comments

laura_allen12d ago

Oh come on, you're not ruining anything by using soap. That whole "never use soap on cast iron" thing is basically a myth that's been passed down like some kind of kitchen urban legend. Modern dish soap isn't going to strip your seasoning unless you're soaking it for hours or using some industrial strength degreaser. I've been washing my cast iron with a little soap and a stiff brush every single time I cook for like 10 years now and my pans are still perfectly seasoned and nothing sticks. The real issue is people don't build up enough layers of seasoning in the first place, or they cook too many acidic things like tomatoes without enough oil down first. Your buddy Dave's method sounds gross honestly, you're just leaving leftover food particles and bacteria on there.

joel_butler12d ago

laura_allen, you sound like you know your stuff but I've got to say that "urban legend" comment hit different because my wife went through this exact soap vs no soap crisis when we got our first cast iron. She scrubbed it with soap for a year, then stopped for a year, and honestly the non-soap year was way better for sticking until I accidentally left chili in the pan overnight and lost all my seasoning anyway. Now I just hit it with salt and a paper towel and call it good, which probably horrifies actual chefs but it works for my scrambled eggs.