How to clean cast-iron cookware....?

You can absolutely use dish washing soap on your cast iron cookware, and you should. I do on mine. Just wash the pans like you would anything else you hand wash. Don't let it sit in soapy water, just wash it with and dry it. Then set it on a hot burner until it's dry and hot. Put a very little oil (canola oil or even a bit of crisco) in it and then take it off the burner and wipe it out. This is how my mother always does hers and it's how I wash and care for mine. No problems.

While you can clean cast iron cookware with modern dish detergents, this deprives the pan of it's natural nonstickproperties. If you must clean with a detergent you should then coat the inside and outside of the pan with cooking oil and place in a warm oven to cure, this wil not only prevent rust but will return some of the pan's ability to cook without food sticking to it.

I always try not to get them to the point that i need to scrub them but when i do i wash them then put them in the oven at 325 and pour some oil in and spread it with a paper towel wait 30 min then spread some more around and do this a few more times. if you don't re-season it, it will rust. if a health inspector ever told me i needed to wash the season out on my cast iron he would probably find himself on the receiving end of the bottom of one of them

I use cast iron pans quite a bit .. I usually have to use dish soap and then use heat to dry them ! I usually use a tiny bit of some kinda oil ( cooking oil ) to keep them greased up ! Mine always get this dingy color to them after washing , So the oil prevents that :)

I never heard not to use dish soap. I always use it. I wash my cast iron that way everytime I use it. I have been using cast itron for years. My grandmother gave me her old dutch oven years ago and it was her mothers....and this is the way she washed it and it's the way I wash it as well. I bet the thing is 100 years old. anyway...yeah go ahead and wash it in hot sopy water.

well I have heard of a couple different ways but this is what I do for my cast iron griddle, I put a little oil on it heat it back up on the stove so the the stuff on it softens, take some kind of scrupper, brush it and then take a rag wipe it offf and put then put a little more oil on and wipe again repeat the oil and rag wipeing untill clean.

when you go to cook the next time and heat it up that will kill any germs on it.

cast iron will last forever if you take care of it right. dont take care of it right and wont last you long and will make your food not tastes so good.

wash you cast iron pans with regular dish water. dry them and then use a paper towel and apply a light coating of cooking oil to prevent rust. you could also spray them with pam.

I use liquid detergent never ever put them in the dishwasher though

this removes the season

and you have to reseason them

kristy is right. the oil keeps the pan seasoned to prevent rusting and keep the finish you want.

here are the basics from my cook book. Yes you must use soap in commercial applications.

Cast Iron Basics

(Some of the most important things you need to know!)

Seasoning: Cast iron may be heavy, but with a proper seasoning, is the greatest type of metal to cook in. But, you need to keep your cast iron free from rust and well seasoned to make it “stick free”.

When someone buys cast iron from the store, the foundry (manufacturer) coats the pot or pan with a coating of some sort to keep the item from rusting. This is done by spraying with a type of varnish or dipping it into hot paraffin wax. This protective coating must be cleaned off before seasoning your cast iron.

If your Dutch oven is made by LODGE, the protective coating is a sprayed varnish coating, which must be scrubbed off. Heat the Dutch oven inside your home oven to 225oF. then with a hot pad, lower the oven into hot soapy water, and scrub the Dutch oven with a S.O.S. pad. Scrub the inside and outside of the Dutch oven very well, rinse well, and towel dry. Then place the Dutch oven back into your oven at 225° to dry for about 10 to 15 minutes. The only way to dry cast iron is to dry it completely. I do mine in the oven because; the heat is not concentrated in one spot, as it is on the stove top, which can cause minute cracks.

If your Dutch oven is made by any of the other companies that make outdoor Dutch ovens, the protective coating is dipped paraffin wax, which can be burned off. Do this outdoors in your gas B.B.Q. or, a kettle type charcoal B.B.Q. like a Webber. In a charcoal B.B.Q., use Mesquite charcoal for fuel because it burns much hotter than briquettes. Start the charcoal or light the gas B.B.Q., set on high and pre-heat the B.B.Q. When the charcoal is white, spread it out a little so that is not to close to the cooking grate. Place the oven onto the cooking grate, upside down, and close the lid on the B.B.Q.

Heat the oven to 500° to 550° for 15 minutes. Close the B.B.Q. and cook the Dutch oven for about 1 hour at 500° to 550°, or until the oven stops smoking. Cool the scrub the oven and dry as directed above.

To season the Dutch oven, place the oven upside down on the cooking grate and warm the oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 500° to 550°. With hot pads, remove the D.O. and rub a light coat of lard, bacon grease, white Crisco, or vegetable oil, using a paper towel

Coat the inside and outside of the D.O. and lid. You only need a light coat of oil; you don’t want the grease to be dripping off the oven. Place the Dutch oven back onto the cooking grate and cook the Dutch oven for about 1 hour at 450° to 500°, or until the oven stops smoking. Remove the oven from the B.B.Q. with hot pads to cool. If the D.O. is a glossy brown color, not black, return to B.B.Q. to cook about thirty more minutes. By doing this outside in the B.B.Q., you don’t have to fill the house with smoke and set off the smoke detectors.

Cleaning: Cleaning cast iron is really quite easy and simple. As the same principal with seasoning, there are as many opinions as there are cooks. The methods I have found to work for me are written hereto share with you. However, as you cook more with cast iron and outdoor Dutch ovens, you will find a method that works best for you and your style of cooking.

Right after I am finished cooking in my Dutch ovens, I like to a spray bottle filled with a solution of 4 parts of water to 1 part of apple cider vinegar to clean and sanitize with. Scrape out all the extra bits of food with a spatula then spray the solution into the hot Dutch oven and wipe it out with paper towels. Sometimes, I need to spray and wipe out the oven several times to get it clean. But, it works well and the vinegar has other uses as well.

Many people will tell you to never clean cast iron with soap and water. I have found this to be an excellent way to clean cast iron and use soap and water frequently myself. Be sure that cast iron is warm, to free the food from the pores easily, and to rinse the cast iron with hot water very well to remove all of the soap.

The last and most important thing to do after cleaning your cast iron is not applying more oil to the iron. But, is to dry it completely over or in a heat source, to keep it from rusting. When drying cast iron, don’t get it to hot. It only needs to be about 225o for the moisture to evaporate and dry out. Once the pot, pan, or Dutch oven is cleaned and dried, place a paper towel inside with a little of the paper towel going to the outside to “wick” out any moisture from inside the pot and lid. Be sure to store your cast iron dry, without oil to keep it from turning rancid.

Storing: As mentioned before, cast iron needs to be stored absolutely dry, free of any water, or oil. The water will rust the cast iron. The oil may turn rancid, especially if stored for a long period of time. Personally, I dry my cast iron in the oven at 225o for 30 minutes, after towel drying. So that I don’t burn my han