Cast-iron pans are coated with vegetable oil or protective wax to protect them from rusting after production during transport and storage. Before preparing food in these pans, you should remove this protective layer. It is only a minimal layer.

Om met een schone cast iron pan beginnen, ga je de beschermlaag verwijderen.
For this, you need to heat the pan until the oil or wax can be wiped off with a cotton cloth.
For this, the pan does not need to be very hot, you just want the protective coating to be easier to remove.
The pan can then be roasted. This can be done, for example, in a normal oven in the kitchen at a temperature of 175ºC to 200ºC, but you can also use a hob, cooker or barbecue.
If you use an oven, place the pan in the oven for about half an hour.
Heat causes the pores of the cast iron to open up.
Now rub your cast iron pan with a little vegetable oil (for example: sunflower, peanut or flaxseed oil).
It only needs to be a very thin layer, no drops need to be visible. Take off the excess again.
The oil will close the pores.

Next, place the cast-iron pan back in the oven upside down for at least half an hour or more until it starts to smoke (this should happen at a temperature of > 175ºC).
Then let the cast-iron pan cool down gently.
Note: not under the tap with cold running water!

When you repeat this process three times, the cast iron pan will form a shiny deep black protective layer (called the Patina layer). This layer forms a natural non-stick layer and also provides protection against rusting of the cast iron.

Ontdek de Mesh scrubber van Barebones

Cleaning and maintaining your cast iron pan

It is important to clean your cast iron pan after use!

Maak hiervan een vaste gewoonte zodat het een routine voor je wordt.
Cleaning your cast iron pan should be done immediately after use.
So don't leave these with food leftovers for a while.

Note: Rinse a hot cast iron pan after use and not rinse with cold water.
Remove the food residue and use a plastic spatula or a (putty) knife to scrape clean. I
s the pan burnt heavily you can also use a wire brush.
If you don't have these handy, a good alternative is to sprinkle salt on the dirty surface of your cast-iron pan and then use a spatula to scrape off the food residue.
Then rinse the pan with lukewarm water.
Use of a very small amount of ordinary washing-up liquid is permitted. Do rinse the cast iron well afterwards with sufficient water.However, do not use washing-up or other detergents to which aggressive chemical components have been added (if in doubt, DO NOT use!).
As cast iron is porous, soap residue can be left behind. This can give a foul aftertaste.
Another mortal sin is cleaning your cast-iron pan in a dishwasher.
This automatically causes rusting on the surface (the cast-iron pan can still be restored by redoing the above).
Now let the cast iron pan dry thoroughly (possibly by heating it slightly).Now grease the cast iron with a vegetable.
Now use a clean part of the same cloth to wipe off the excess maintenance product or oil.
The aim is to fill the pores with the maintenance product or oil.
With cast iron pans, not only the surface you are frying on should be treated, but the outside and underside should also be coated in the same way.
Now place the pan upside down and let it cool completely. You can now store your cast-iron pan.
If your pan has a lid, use a piece of wood or cardboard to leave it ajar.
If the pan will be stored for a longer time, you can put some old newspapers in the pan.
These extract moisture from the pan. With regular and proper maintenance, your new cast iron pan will last a lifetime!