The 4 Foods That Will Absolutely Wreck a Cast-Iron Skillet, According to a Cooking Instructor
The cold is in the air, and your cast iron the pan is ready for its close-up. Even though you know these pans are durable enough to last for generations, you might be surprised to learn that they have a serious vulnerability. You can throw it in the oven or on a campfire all you want, but the food you put in it can absolutely destroy it.
The real danger is not scrubbing; it’s about protecting that precious, hard-earned seasoning. Some common ingredients are actually acidic enough to strip away that nonstick patina, leaving you with a sticky, rusty mess instead of a nicely seasoned pan.
We spoke to Eric Rowse, senior chef instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education, to get the facts straight. Before you ruin a pan you’ve spent years perfecting, find out exactly what foods should never touch your cast iron.
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Highly acidic foods are the biggest enemy of wasting. A quick sear or stir-fry is usually okay, but letting acidic ingredients simmer, roast, or sit in the pan too long will start to destroy the seasoned surface area you’ve built up.
To keep your cast iron skillet smooth and worthy of its place on the stovetop throne, here are four foods you should never cook in a cast iron skillet.
Learn more: Yes, it’s time to reseason your cast iron skillet. Here is the right way
4 foods that can damage cast iron cookware
According to Rowse, you can technically cook anything in cast iron, even fish And eggs. Still, some foods react poorly to melting if not prepared properly, resulting in surface rot or a metallic taste to the food.
1. Tomatoes
It’s OK to cook acidic foods like tomatoes and vinegar in your cast iron skillet, but letting them sit for long periods of time can eat away at the seasoning.
“Highly acidic foods, such as tomatoes and tomato-based dishes, can be a problem on raw cast iron, poorly or insufficiently dried cast iron,” says Rowse.
“Cooking these foods in a neglected cast iron can produce a metallic taste. If the pan is well seasoned and cleaned after each use, this is not a problem.”
To be safe, cook bacon in your pan afterwards to give the seasoning extra protection. As a bonus, you’ll have bacon on hand. What you don’t want to do is leave acidic foods in the pan, which could eat away at the seasoning.
2. Vinegar
Most barbecue sauces contain a fair amount of vinegar which can damage your cast iron cookware.
Vinegar can eat away at a seasoned cast iron skillet for the same reason as tomatoes, putting you back to square one. Vinegar-based foods like adobo or Caroline style barbecue sauce are good examples of acidic foods that should not sit in a cast iron pan for long.
If you use vinegar in a recipe and cook it in cast iron, clean the pan immediately with hot water and salt or a small squirt of mild dish soap.
Learn more: Easily clean your cast iron skillet with this kitchen essential
3. Citrus
Avoid cooking citrus-based sauces in your cast iron cookware for long periods of time.
While there aren’t many reasons to put citrus in a cast iron skillet, some recipes call for a good amount of lemon or lime juice. A squeeze of lemon at the end probably won’t destroy your cast iron skillet, but don’t let the citrus juice simmer inside for long or your precious patina won’t survive the night.
4. Wine-based sauces
Red wine is great to add to stews and red meat dishes.
Cooking with wine is almost always a good idea. In fact, we have a list of recipes which thrive with a few ounces of red or white. But letting high-acid wine braise or simmer too long in a cast iron pot or skillet could cause the smooth patina to erode, leaving you with an unseasoned pan that food will stick to.
Can you cook eggs in cast iron?
A well-seasoned cast iron skillet can cook eggs with no problem.
Although they will not damage your stove, eggs are difficult to pan fry without leaving a sticky mess. Cast iron cookware isn’t as nonstick as chemically coated pans, but it’s still a good candidate for scrambling or frying the morning staple.
“I love cooking cast iron eggs,” Rowse told us. I have a small 5 inch one that I use for fried eggs. Cast iron can get very hot, but precise control is more difficult because it retains heat longer, making it more difficult to make small temperature adjustments. »
Can you cook fish in cast iron?
I reheat my prepared meals in a skillet or air fryer if I’m at home.
Likewise, many varieties of fish are flaky and tend to stick to surfaces if not managed appropriately. If the patina on your cast iron isn’t smoothed out well or is too hot when the fish goes down, you risk scraping half of your halibut from the bottom of the pan.
How to avoid a cast iron cooking conundrum
Properly seasoning your cast iron will prevent foods such as fish and eggs from sticking.
First of all, you will want season correctly so you can cook even the stickiest foods without worry.
Avoid slow braising or simmering on the stovetop for long periods when cooking acidic foods in cast iron. When the food is finished cooking, remove it and immediately wash your cast iron skillet with hot water, a drop of dish soap and a sprinkle with cooking salt for very stuck foods.
And if you’re not sure, choose an acid-free cookware, like a Enameled stewpot or a stainless steel pan.
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