5

I have 3 new pre-seasoned cast iron pots as gifts I cleaned as instructed before using. But when I tried simmering a nice pot of beans in one the broth turned really black. I had to throw away everything now I am afraid to use them what can I do

rumtscho
  • 141,844
  • 47
  • 316
  • 579
Wanda Hudler DeVore
  • 51
  • 1
  • 1
  • 2

3 Answers3

1

My best guess is that the factory pre-seasoning just wasn't very good. When the seasoning (essentially cooked‐on oil or fat) is bad or weak, it's a lot more likely to flake off and wind up in your food, which is not particularly dangerous but may be unappetizing.

In his book The Food Lab, J. Kenji López-Alt notes that preseasoned pans have "a mediocre level of seasoning at best", and advises cast-iron users to "[a]void making liquid-based dishes in the pan until it has acquired a reasonably good layer of seasoning." He defines "perfectly seasoned" as "nonstick enough to cook eggs in", which is presumably a bit beyond "reasonably good".

You can give your pots a good initial seasoning with the techniques described in this other answer: What's the best way to season a cast iron skillet? They will acquire even more seasoning as you cook with them, if you cook with oil or fats. (While a good seasoning should be able to withstand a slow-simmering pot of beans from time to time, boiling water is never going to add anything to the seasoning.)

MJ713
  • 141
  • 7
0

It sounds you ended up with magnetite in your broth. That is the black stuff you want to use to season cast iron pans by binding it with fats. Sounds like that went wrong with your pans. If you really want to use them for boiling, you need to season them again, and test if that was successful...(water with a drop of lemon juice or two or three as a test). It is not poisonous.

If you don't know how to season a pan, this is the method I like to use: guide for seasoning a pan

Community
  • 1
Marc Luxen
  • 1,522
  • 1
  • 13
  • 23
-1

It is best not to boil anything in a cast-iron pan or pot. The boiling water lifts the oil seasoning off the iron and exposes the raw metal again, leading to oxidation. Starchy foods, such as beans or potatoes, increase the reaction.

Shalryn
  • 2,348
  • 1
  • 11
  • 19