I have cooked with cast iron as long as I've been cooking, and so did my mother and grandmother, who taught me to cook. I had never used any products for cleaning and seasoning other than hot water, mild soap if really needed, and cooking oil. That has worked okay for these many years, but for some spur of the moment reason I purchased a bottle of Clark's Cast Iron Soap and a bottle of Clark's Cast Iron Seasoning Oil. Not cheap, but I wanted to try it. I wish I had found this a long time ago. It only takes a tiny bit of soap and the cast iron is clean without stripping the seasoning. The oil is light as a feather. Just a little of that makes a nice slick coat without any residual oily feel. After a few months of using these my cast iron is in better condition than ever. And using just a little bit at a time makes the price seem not so bad.
I know there are cast iron cooks here and thought I'd share the experience.

Thank you for the review. I use my cast irons frequently, and I enjoy it. I'll be looking forward to the upcoming comments.

Interesting as I'd never heard of that stuff.
"Organic Castile Based Coconut Soap
All natural cast iron soap containing NO parabens, phosphates, or synthetic foaming agents."
Rather reminds me of the Kirk's Cold Water Castile premium coconut oil soap we use to shower with.


My routine is to use a little hot water poured into a hot pan to loosen and remove cooked bits. Chain mall if necessary to dislodge the stubborn stuff. Rinse with hot water. Completely dry and then very lightly apply some grapeseed oil and put back on the burner to "cure." Yields a clean, slick, non-stick surface for the next use.

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Clark's Cast Iron Soap

Better than Dawn and Crisco?

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Clark's cast iron soap and oil

Link

In case anyone wants to view the kit online..

I've avoided purchasing 'unique' items, cast-iron is pretty easy to care for, lots of items being marketed now given the popularity of cooking with cast-iron.

Kosher salt and warm water work best to scrub the pan. Heat up to evaporate moisture, use towel and wipe a thin coat of oil while hot.

Interesting. I'll check it out.

I've been using Crisbee, after cleaning, to re season the cast. It works quite well but I'm always interested in something new and possibly better.
.

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Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Clark's Cast Iron Soap

Better than Dawn and Crisco?

In my experience Dawn takes the seasoning off over time. Too good at cutting grease I guess. I used to use Crisco but unless I paid close attention to a through wipedown a little residue remained. I switched to grapeseed oil and liked it better. I use it on carbon steel, too. The Clark's soap doesn't affect the seasoning at all. And the oil is better than grapeseed oil IMHO.

quote:

Originally posted by gocatgo:
I used to use Crisco but unless I paid close attention to a through wipedown a little residue remained. I switched to grapeseed oil and liked it better. I use it on carbon steel, too. The Clark's soap doesn't affect the seasoning at all. And the oil is better than grapeseed oil IMHO.

Interesting as I tried coconut oil in the past, which is what Clark's appears to basically be, and found it wanting compared to grapeseed oil.

FWIW I'm a big Stargazer cast iron fan and they season their pans with a blend of canola, grapeseed, and sunflower oils. I tried a DIY mix of GMO-free canola and grapeseed but the extra effort wasn't worth it to me so I stayed with just grapeseed for my daily maintenance.

As an aside I cook with either extra virgin olive or avocado oil depending on what I'm preparing in cast iron.

Looks interesting but I'll stick with what I know works.
Grapeseed oil and the Field method for seasoning.
Hot pan and hot water with a brush for cleaning.