Regardless of what some may claim... I did not have cheese sandwich with that last post.

11:49:31 PM  [] blah blah blah'd on this    

I stopped by Steve's place recently, and he had announced...

For future reference: Caring For You Cast-Iron Cookware. I need to re-season our cast-iron skillet...

A well-seasoned cast-iron cooking utensil is a Very Good Thing™, as Martha might say. With just a little bit of care, you have something that will serve you (heh) well, and can be passed onto your kids and maybe your grandkids, too.

Be certain to never use oil or butter to try to season a cast-iron implement, though. The smoking point (the temperature at which these lipids will begin creating a lot of smoke when heated) of oil or butter is too low -- that's why the Lodge folks recommend using shortening (a solid lipid like Crisco) to season a pan, since shortening has a higher smoke point. If you don't, you risk starting a fire, or at least filling your house with lots of smoke. Also, be very careful to coat the entire pan (or whatever), including the insides, where you cook your food, AND the outside, as well as the handles, if they are cast-iron. Rust, neglect, and salty or acidic foods are the enemies of your cast-iron pans, and careful seasoning keeps all of them at bay. The Lodge folks FAQ covers some of these issues, but could still use more info about the "whys", IMHO...

As part of my IST classwork, we had a team assignment to perform a usability test on a non-computer related instructional product. We decided (against the warning of our instructor -- because of the set-up costs we would incur. See below.) to use the instructions that came with cast-iron skillets. Our announced task (to hide the real intent) was to have the subjects make a grilled cheese sandwich (aka "cheese dream" sandwich. My mom used to make them open-faced, with bacon and sliced tomatos, from those grown in dad's garden.) We gave *each* participant the recipe for making a cheese dream (yes to butter, vague on the smashing, in this recipe), an array of new kitchen utensils, and a new cast-iron skillet, with all tags and such attached to the new stuff. We wanted to see if they would notice, read, understand and be able to follow the instructions for seasoning the cast-iron skillets.

To a person, they did not notice the instructions. Then when we revealed our actual intent, and tried to have them follow the directions for seasoning the skillets, they had problems. The Lodge FAQ does address some of the problems with the instructions we had noted, but still... I guess that's why they are selling electro-statically coated pans now, that can be used right out of the box, without any seasoning required.

We learned a lot about creating better and more explicit instruction, and got to eat the results of the tests. :-) Mmmmmmmm, cheese dreams... And we got to divvy up the new kitchen goodies, so we all got new spatulas and cast-iron skillets. Not a bad class assignment, really.

And a great excuse to hide a cheese sandwich post on my blog. Every blog's gotta have one. It's the law, not just a good idea. Where's yours? :-)

At least grab a pic of your cast-iron ware, and post it on your blog, OK? Of course you can re-season it first, certainly...

7:12:15 PM  [] blah blah blah'd on this