FOOD NEWS
The Best Way To Season A Carbon Steel Pan
By Haldan Kirsch
For most people, "seasoning" usually means spices or herbs, but for those who own a carbon steel pan, it will mean building up a non-stick coating on the cookware's surface. Seasoning is done by carbonizing cooking oil onto the metal surface of a pan through a chemical process known as polymerization, and is important to keep your pans in tip-top shape.
Start by washing the pan with a sponge and hot water to remove the protective wax coating placed by manufacturers. Once it is dry, add one-third cup of vegetable oil, two-thirds cup of salt, and some potato peels; the salt will remove any extra grease or wax left behind on the surface, while the potato skin will moderate the heat in the pan and prevent spotty seasoning.
Put the pan over medium heat and stir its contents to cover the entire surface until the pan starts to turn brown, then discard the contents, let the pan cool, clean it gently, and return it to the heat to dry. Cooking fatty foods like bacon in your pan early on can help add to the thin layer of seasoning, but if your food starts to stick, consider repeating the process.