Worth restoring very old and neglected cast iron cookware?

[GON]

Came across a guy on the internet who goes by "Cast Iron Chris".

If my hasty research is accurate- people send Chris old and neglected cast iron cookware. Chris restores the cookware to include electrolysis.

Is the "sterilized" cleaning better than having a rusty yest seasoned cast iron cookware?

BTW- not sure if Chris's business is profitable, but if it is profitable- great business idea. Low overhead, minimal costs to setup, no chance of a return after reconditioning, no "gotta get this grill on the road today". Possibly a great old guy business.

 

[Nessism1]

People started cleaning up cast iron pans, because the price of vices shot through the roof.

 

[wwillson]

It's probably pretty satisfying seeing the end results. I just wish he would record video for Youtube in 16:9 rather than 9:16.

 

[Cujet]

I know people swear by cast iron, but I have never been able to get acceptable results with anything other than low heat.

 

[Vercingetorix]

10” skillet from Lodge is $20 on Amazon. I probably can’t ship one out of state for that.

 

[Pablo]

Cast iron can be well worth it.

Well seasoned older lighter stuff cooks awesome

 

[Hall]

It's probably pretty satisfying seeing the end results. I just wish he would record video for Youtube in 16:9 rather than 9:16.

His primary audience is no doubt TikTok or Facebook Reels. Yeap, 300k followers on TikTok vs 27k on YT.

 

[Chris142]

Kent Rollins did a video on restoring old cast iron skillets. I'm sure like most things the older ones are better.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Came across a guy on the internet who goes by "Cast Iron Chris".

If my hasty research is accurate- people send Chris old and neglected cast iron cookware. Chris restores the cookware to include electrolysis.

Is the "sterilized" cleaning better than having a rusty yest seasoned cast iron cookware?

BTW- not sure if Chris's business is profitable, but if it is profitable- great business idea. Low overhead, minimal costs to setup, no chance of a return after reconditioning, no "gotta get this grill on the road today". Possibly a great old guy business.

Looks like he does some really good work on them. Looked brand new when he was done. Nice.

 

[NYEngineer]

I love cooking on cast iron but I gave up. My wife doesn't understand how to take care of them and ruins them. Even when I put them away all dried and oiled, she'll use it when I'm not around and wash it with soap and water and put it away.

 

[nomas]

I love cooking on cast iron but I gave up. My wife doesn't understand how to take care of them and ruins them. Even when I put them away all dried and oiled, she'll use it when I'm not around and wash it with soap and water and put it away.

It's ok to wash with soap and water but you have to dry it well and rub a little oil on it .
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/discover/cleaning-and-care/cast-iron/how-clean-cast-iron

 

[tnt_motorsports]

I clean mine a couple of ways. If it's not too bad I boil water in it and use my brass brush to scrub it. I oil it when done. If they have accumulated too much grime, especially on the sides of the pan, I throw it in a campfire and let it get very hot. I then pull it out and let it cool. Usually, they are white from the ash. I then start the re-seasoning process from there. I've been using cast iron my whole life. My current collection contains 3 skillets, griddle, and a Dutch oven.

Just my $0.02

 

[Pablo]

Wipe the grease and oil out really good.

Scrub with dry rock salt. Wipe out well.

Reheat on burner. Very dry, don’t need too much heat. Rub lightly with oil. Easy!

 

[GON]

I didn't think cast iron cookware was required to be cleaned after the cookware was seasoned.

My understanding that in many cases, after use one uses a cloth or paper towel to remove unwanted material from the cookware. If needed, a wooden spatula works well for removing items remaining after towel or cloth cleaning, then towel or cloth again.

 

[Pablo]

I didn't think cast iron cookware was required to be cleaned after the cookware was seasoned.

My understanding that in many cases, after use one uses a cloth or paper towel to remove unwanted material from the cookware. If needed, a wooden spatula works well for removing items remaining after towel or cloth cleaning, then towel or cloth again.

In some cases this is ok but I don’t use paper towels. Too much fiber left behind. Cotton towels

 

[Al]

Blonged to mom. got it out a while back and rubbed it with olive oil