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Cast iron pans are fantastic for your kitchen because they retain their heat incredibly well, making sure your food is cooked well and thoroughly. They are also fantastic for a wide variety of uses without food getting stuck to them. That being said, maintaining this cookware can be tricky because although they can last a long time, it is hard to keep track of everything you need to know about caring for cast iron pans. Over time, your pan can get rusty and develop stains that are tough to get out without ruining the pan itself. To best clean off the rust and stains, you can use a potato and salt to get all the gunk off and have it ready for the next delicious meal.
The reason a potato and salt make the perfect combo for cleaning is their combined properties of acidity and abrasion. Potatoes contain oxalic acid, which will naturally battle rust and deep stains because it is reacting to the iron oxide. This combination makes the rust come right off while being rinsed. Then, the salt's abrasiveness can remove the stains as well, making it a great way to clean without ruining your cast iron pans.
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Cleaning and seasoning your cast iron with potatoes and salt
To get all the tough stains and rust off your cast iron without destroying it, you will just need a normal potato and some coarse salt. To begin, cut a potato in half, exposing the moisture and oxalic acid inside, which will remove the rust. Then, sprinkle the coarse salt over the pan, and start scrubbing it in. You should thoroughly scrub the whole cast iron pan until there is no rust left over, and then lightly rinse it and dry it entirely, not leaving a single drop.
If your cast iron has some tough-to-clean indented branding, you may want to peel the potato so you can get into some of the tougher spots to reach. Often, the only branding on the cast-iron pans is raised or imbedded into the metal, leaving tight corners and cavities that will be tough to reach with a flat edge. To reach these, you can peel your potato so it has a rounded edge that can get into those crevices. Cleaning your pan in this manner will remove some of your hard-earned seasoning, so you will need to know how to season a cast iron skillet to get it ready for your next culinary adventure.
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Read the original article on Hunker.
