Saw a guy at the Portland flea market restore a 1950s cast iron skillet with sandpaper instead of seasoning - felt like watching a horror movie

He was grinding down the factory patina on a vintage Wagner pan, and half the crowd was cheering him on while the other half looked ready to fight. Which side is right for this - does that old seasoning really matter or is it just sentimental?

2 comments

2 Comments

jenny_jackson8d ago

Drove home that a lot of that old seasoning isn't really about flavor anymore, it's more like a protective layer that's been building up since the 1950s. My buddy Mark tried restoring an old Griswold he found at a garage sale, went at it with a wire brush and it turned out great, but his grandma nearly had a heart attack when she saw it. She told him he scrubbed off seventy years of family meals and good luck getting that back. She did help him re-season it with lard on the stove, and six months later he said it cooks even better than before. So I guess the sandpaper crowd isn't wrong if you know what you're doing, but stripping off that old patina is like throwing away a journal that was written in butter and bacon grease.

taylorm898d ago

Told your buddy to keep reseasoning that Griswold every few months and it'll only get better. I've stripped and redone a few old pans myself, and the trick is to cook a ton of bacon and cornbread right after to build that new layer fast. The old seasoning did add some flavor but it also had grit and burnt bits stuck in there, so starting fresh with clean lard is worth it. Just gotta be patient and let the pan work for you.

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