Comments for Sheryl's Blog

Comment on Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To by C. Jack

C. Jack — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:47:56 +0000

Been reading this page and all the comments and have only come to one conclusion: this is way too complicated for a cooking device that can put up with more abuse than any other. Seasoning it with something like Crisco or bacon grease will not end your life or anyone else’s. It works just fine. If it worked for our ancestors it will work for us. And just cook a ton of bacon in it to *really* season it. We basically did this with our Lodge and we’ve only re-seasoned it once in about the 6 years since we started using it. Even then we didn’t strip it down, just a re-season.

It’s pretty much non-stick at this point and is an absolute, indestructible workhorse. Have used metal utensils on it, including spatulas, and we haven’t lost any of the seasoning. It’s cast IRON, not a Fabergé egg.

Comment on Another Installation Already in Progress (But it’s Not) by Kris

Kris — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:21:14 +0000

Amazing! The article is dated sometime back in 2008, yet many people find it very useful. Just stumbled upon this and fixed my problem.

VirtualBox-4.1.14-77440-Win.exe throws the same error while installing it on Windows 7 and following the instructions in this blog, I was able to save several precious hours. Thanks a ton!!

Comment on Another Installation Already in Progress (But it’s Not) by Robin

Robin — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:17:17 +0000

Worked for me in Windows Server 2003 R2!

Comment on Recipe for Authentic English Muffins with Natural Nooks and Crannies by Elizabeth White

Elizabeth White — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:53:22 +0000

I always failed trying to cook actual English muffins. But fortunately I found your blog and this recipe. Last Friday I tried and finally I managed to do them. Thank you a lot! My family enjoyed it a lot!

Comment on Easy Way to Cut Your Own Hair in a Curly Bob by PJ

PJ — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:40:58 +0000

Sheryl, THANK YOU for your posts here in the WWW! I cut my hair today and love it! I have NEVER done this before! But we recently moved to the middle of the rain forest in Africa from America and needless to say, there are no salons here! My longer hair was making me sooooo hot, as we live right on the equator. I googled “how to cut my own curly bob” and walla! I found you! I video taped the whole thing today in small segments and will try to figure out how to post. In the mean time, thank you!!!!!

Comment on Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To by Jeff

Jeff — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:18:32 +0000

Sheryl – thank you for the interesting read.

I am concerned about the free radicals, however. You say that they will be gone by the time the seasoning process is done, but can you elaborate on this? I’m concerned that this process leaves dangerous free radicals and carcinogens in the coating that can leach into the food I cook. However I have no scientific basis on which to say why this is or isn’t true.

I too am trying the avocado oil because of its high smoke point but clearly you state that this is the exact opposite!

Safety is #1 though.

Comment on Another Installation Already in Progress (But it’s Not) by Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:05:57 +0000

Thank you!!! I am soo thankful I’ve been having issue after issue trying to install things and this was such an easy fix!

You are amazing!

Comment on Perfect Popovers (& How to Clean & Reseason Cast Iron) by Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 10 May 2012 02:21:20 +0000

Ammonia will remove old seasoning from cast iron. Wrap in something like an old sheet soaked with the ammonia, put in plastic bag or covered pail to contain fumes and minimize evaporation. If possible leave the whole thing outdoors. The oil/grease comes off in a gelatinous gloppy layer. Might have to repeat.

Comment on “Black Rust” and Cast Iron Seasoning by AddiB

AddiB — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:23:50 +0000

Hi Sheryl,
is there a way to use your seasoning technique without the use of an oven (maybe a campfire) and get similar results, as we don’t want to smoke our house out?

Comment on Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To by Gordon

Gordon — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:33:19 +0000

I just did a first layer on seasoning on a new de buyer carbon steel fry pan I purchased (their carbone plus line), and after a first bake the entire pan turned a very bright blue, except for the spots where it’s starting to develop the darker patina. I’m really curious about this. Does anyone have any insight on how that happened and what it means? I’ve never had that happen before with any of the iron pans I’ve had… Is that normal with carbon steel? Is the pan still safe to cook in?

Thanks for any insight