Cast-iron pans take a beating and we love them for it. Searing beef and pork loins at high heat and slow-cooking chili can leave a crusty mess on your pan. Those penetrating oils, while a pain to clean, are actually helping to season and slicken the pan’s surface, keeping it nonstick and full of flavor. That’s why you want to deep-clean cast iron carefully — and that means using very little dish soap, or ideally, none at all.
Dish soap is designed to lift grease, but it can also strip the patina from a seasoned pan. Hot water alone isn’t always enough. If you’ve been avoiding a cleaning agent altogether and only using water for those caramelized, caked-on foods, you could be building up a layer of carbonized food and that spells bad things for your pan and the food you cook inside.
Beyond limiting soap, you’ll want to
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