The Dutch Oven Doctor
I’m a cook, not a chemist
or so I thought……
Copyright © 2019 William Bruce Bonnett
Over the years I have been asked, “How do you get your Dutch oven pots so black and shiny?” The answer is simple – True Value High Temperature Semi-gloss Black Spray Paint… just kiddin’ folks, please don’t paint your pots.
But seriously,…understanding that black shiny finish on a cast iron pot, affectionately known as seasoning, is a study in kitchen chemistry.
KITCHEN CHEMISTRY
The seasoning on a cast iron pot is a chemical compound made of tightly bonded carbon atoms. These carbon atoms come from cooking oils, shortening and meat fats that were cooked in the pot. The oils and fats are chemically attracted to each other. They stick to the oven’s surface and to each other. This chemical attraction is called molecular adhesion. When the pot is heated to the smoke point or the oils or fats, the carbon compound is left on the surface through the process of heating.
Bare metal cast iron pot with no seasoning
Can something as simple as carbon protect a pot and provide that non-stick surface we all strive for? The answer is – yes. The heat shield that protects the N.A.S.A. space shuttle is made of carbon. Carbon fishing rods and golf clubs are well known for their strength and durability. The hardest substance known to man, diamonds, are made from it.
Imagine! Space age technology used around campfires centuries ago.
A well seasoned cast iron pot will last forever. It has an airtight slick surface that protects it from rusting. A well season pot can be as easy to clean as a wipe with a damp cloth. Your grandmother’s cast iron pots had non-stick surfaces years before DuPont tried to improve on it by coating pots with TEFLONTM. A principle ingredient in TEFLONTM is … you guessed it… carbon. I would say the jury is still out on how well DuPont accomplished that goal. After all, where are your TEFLONTM pots and pans you or your mother used in the 1960’s and 1970’s? In landfill I’m sure. I still cook in the Dutch oven my grandfather handed down to me 40 years ago. One pot I cook in regularly is over 90 years old. In my opinion, the most truly dependable long lasting cook surface is the cast iron cook surface….but I digress.
A Dutch Oven after the seasoning process is applied
Getting back to how to season your pot.
You are probably familiar with the various manufacturers’ seasoning recommendation. Those generally recommend coating the pot with vegetable shortening and heating it in a oven set at a moderate temperature. The result is a brown waxy finish that peals off. I would like to share with you the seasoning method I use that will give that black shiny non-stick surface that adheres well to the pot.
I must first warn you that this is a very high temperature method that makes a lot of smoke. It will create dense clouds in your kitchen and will set off your smoke detectors. I use this method only on breezy days that I can leave the doors and windows open or do it outdoors in my enclosed gas grill. Care must be taken to avoid being burned because of the high temperature used.
This seasoning method was passed on to me from that Higher Authority – yep you got it – a sales clerk working in a Lodge Factory Store. I received the communication in a vision on a pilgrimage to that Mecca for cast iron enthusiasts at the factory store located in what is now Sevierville, Tennessee…but I digress.
Getting back to seasoning your pot.
If I start with a new unseasoned pot, I follow manufactures instruction for removing casting release and the light waxy substance that is used to protect the pot during shipping and storage. I then remove excess water with a cloth and thoroughly dry by warming the pot to between 100 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a temperature whereby I can handle the pot safely with a hot pad …BUT MUCH CARE IS TAKEN to make sure I didn’t get it hotter so I won’t burn myself when handling.
I lightly coat the surface with canola oil. Why canola oil? Canola oil has a fairly high temperature smoke point of about 400 degrees Fahrenheit while the smoke point of shortening or vegetable oil is around 350. The smoke point of corn oil is even lower and animal fats such as butter or lard lower still. The advantages of the higher temperature smoke point oils are they are thinner and have less hydrogen atoms (the kitchen chemistry lesson continues). You’ve probably heard the term “hydrogenated vegetable shortening” or “saturated fats” and have you ever wondered what the fats are saturated with? The answer is: HYDROGEN atoms.
The idea behind the seasoning process is to remove all the non-carbon components in the oil while leaving only carbon behind in such a manner that the carbon-carbon bond I mention earlier is formed. The non-carbon components are hydrogen and oxygen based compounds. During seasoning not all of the carbon stays on the pot. The majority of the carbon boils off the surface along with the oxygen and hydrogen, this is called “smoke” and carbon dioxide. But enough is left behind to do the job. When you start with an oil that has less of the non-carbon components, the higher the carbon density of the oil and the harder the finished carbon-carbon bond surface will become. That is why I use Canola oil.
With a dry dish towel – that my wife bought me special because I kept ruining all her other dish towels, but that’s another story – I wipe the excess oil so that there is a thin uniform coating on the entire pot and lid. I preheat the oven to 475 degrees. After the oven reaches temperature, I very very carefully place the pot and lid in the oven on separate racks and close the oven door. I then quickly run and open all the doors and windows to the house and turn on the exhaust fans. After 30 minutes, I turn off the oven and leave the pot in the oven until the oven, pot and lid are cool. When I remove it – it’s black. So black you would think I painted it with True Value High Temperature Semi-gloss Black Spray Paint…..but seriously folks,…..don’t paint your pots.
The Doctor
