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recently inherited these cast irons that are at least 40 years old. they were sitting in a cabinet for a few years and nasty with rust and crusty, old seasoning. i scrubbed the shit out of them with steel wool and lots of soap, then applied 4 coats of new seasoning! feel free to roast my seasoning, i have no idea if it’s good since it’s my first cast iron and would like to know.
for each coat of seasoning i just wiped the pan with peanut oil then set the oven at 435F for 20 minutes, then 460F for 10 minutes
ive been using only stainless steel for a couple months and im abt to give away my nonstick cookware. nonstick cookware is counter-revolutionary
Are you sure you haven't just built up a seasoning layer by using it? Are you actually scrubbing it down to bare grey iron every time? Are you using actual steel wool and not just one of those brass/copper/chainmail kitchen scrubbers? Even then, I think you'd be hard pressed to get into all the pores of the iron if you're not using a pretty intense degreaser. It's probably more seasoned than you think.
But cast iron is almost indestructible so do whatever works for you.
I mean maybe? I definitely scrub it with real steel wool each time, but I do rarely use soap. I am also careful never to go past smoking point so I'm definitely not seasoning it as in the way people recommend.
If I am accidentally seasoning it, then even more argument that it's not necessary for me to actually season them I guess. But I struggle to see how anyone wouldn't be doing the same unless they're never using oil to cook with.
A good seasoning layer is nice to prevent sticking but the most important function of it, as far as I know, is just to keep a barrier between the iron and the air so you don't get rust. If you're not having problems with rust then I guess it doesn't really matter. Worst case, you end up using a bit more oil to prevent sticking than you otherwise would need.
The true point is cast iron is great.