Some time back I obtained some antique cast iron cookware. Unfortunately the cast iron was horrible neglected and covered in rust. I remembered how beautiful, black and slick my Mother's cast iron cookware appeared; it still looks new to this day and I know it is at least 100 years old. Mother would prepare anything in just one 8 inch skillet. Mom would make bread pudding, hamburgers, hotdogs, pies and even cakes in her skillet. Remembering all the great things I ate that were prepared in that skillet I went to work immediately removing the rust and restoring my "new" cast iron cookware pieces.
After doing inventory I had 6 very nice pieces of varying size for different functions: I had a round smooth griddle and a square smooth griddle, both are very shallow and quite rusted. I also had 2 skillets one about 12 inches in diameter and the other was curiously tiny, it was not much bigger than the palm of my hand but about 3 inches deep. The tiny one looked like it belonged with an old fashioned Easy Bake Oven! Dropping the large one on anyone would most certainly lead to the demise of the poor victim. I remember thinking how perfect the large one would be for frying chicken evenly with its big deep sides. And last but not least I had these neat corn bread pans that looked like stalks of corn had been etched into them; these would make beautiful corn muffins.
After cleaning off the cob webs and surface dirt I began my plan of attack. I started with just the basics; I started scrubbing the rust with a Brillo pad. The layers of rust came off slowly revealing the clean, dry-looking cast iron. I went through about 10 Brillo Pads. A few of the pieces only required a quick scrub with fine and medium fine sand paper but the significantly rusted fry skillet needed something more substantial. I borrowed my husband's electric drill and attached a wire brush attachment to it. The drill was a heavy duty, corded Black and Decker drill. I doubt the lighter weight 7-volt drill would work. I donned my safety goggles, gloves and a mask and went about removing the rust slowly so as not to dig into the surface which would compromise the cast iron's ability to heat evenly.
After the rust was gone I needed to eliminate all the germs and bacteria that must have been collecting on the cast iron cookware. First I applied coarse salt onto the pieces and began to give them a good scrubbing. I used paper towels but a sturdy cloth would do the job, too. This made them look much cleaner and quite smooth. Although it was time consuming the difference was obviously worth it. Finally I placed more salt on the pieces and enough water to cover the bottom and then some antibacterial soap. I heated the water to a rolling boil for 10 minutes and using a long handled nylon brush. I gave each piece another scrubbing just to insure they were germ free. That was the last time soap and water touched my cast iron cookware.
Satisfied with the job I seasoned each piece three times on all surfaces, that is, inside and out. After all of this elbow grease the cast iron pieces all looked as good as new. Every time I use them they look better and perform better than the time before. Although the time investment was great the payoff has been even greater. I know that salvaging this bit of the past will serve me and my family well into the future.
After doing inventory I had 6 very nice pieces of varying size for different functions: I had a round smooth griddle and a square smooth griddle, both are very shallow and quite rusted. I also had 2 skillets one about 12 inches in diameter and the other was curiously tiny, it was not much bigger than the palm of my hand but about 3 inches deep. The tiny one looked like it belonged with an old fashioned Easy Bake Oven! Dropping the large one on anyone would most certainly lead to the demise of the poor victim. I remember thinking how perfect the large one would be for frying chicken evenly with its big deep sides. And last but not least I had these neat corn bread pans that looked like stalks of corn had been etched into them; these would make beautiful corn muffins.
After cleaning off the cob webs and surface dirt I began my plan of attack. I started with just the basics; I started scrubbing the rust with a Brillo pad. The layers of rust came off slowly revealing the clean, dry-looking cast iron. I went through about 10 Brillo Pads. A few of the pieces only required a quick scrub with fine and medium fine sand paper but the significantly rusted fry skillet needed something more substantial. I borrowed my husband's electric drill and attached a wire brush attachment to it. The drill was a heavy duty, corded Black and Decker drill. I doubt the lighter weight 7-volt drill would work. I donned my safety goggles, gloves and a mask and went about removing the rust slowly so as not to dig into the surface which would compromise the cast iron's ability to heat evenly.
After the rust was gone I needed to eliminate all the germs and bacteria that must have been collecting on the cast iron cookware. First I applied coarse salt onto the pieces and began to give them a good scrubbing. I used paper towels but a sturdy cloth would do the job, too. This made them look much cleaner and quite smooth. Although it was time consuming the difference was obviously worth it. Finally I placed more salt on the pieces and enough water to cover the bottom and then some antibacterial soap. I heated the water to a rolling boil for 10 minutes and using a long handled nylon brush. I gave each piece another scrubbing just to insure they were germ free. That was the last time soap and water touched my cast iron cookware.
Satisfied with the job I seasoned each piece three times on all surfaces, that is, inside and out. After all of this elbow grease the cast iron pieces all looked as good as new. Every time I use them they look better and perform better than the time before. Although the time investment was great the payoff has been even greater. I know that salvaging this bit of the past will serve me and my family well into the future.
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Want to find out more about seasoning cast iron cookware, then visit Trella Dutton's site on cast iron skillets .
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