Why does cast iron cookware rust and how to clean it

Cast iron cookware has many advantages. In it you can cook tasty and healthy food, because the material does not emit any harmful impurities when heated. Sometimes housewives are interested in whether cast iron rusts, whether a frying pan or a cauldron can go bad, or does the dishes serve forever? In order to preserve the products in their original form for a long time, you need to properly care for them, and then you will not need to regularly change kitchen utensils.

Content:

• Causes of Rust
• Preparation for use
• How to clean cast iron from rust?
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Vinegar
• Strong cleaning products
• Pemolux
• Sandpaper
• Digestion
• Coca Cola
• Fish fat
• Features of the care of cast iron utensils

Causes of Rust

Cast iron, despite its high strength, can also rust, because this material belongs to ferrous metals, which means it is subject to corrosion. Rust is a metal oxidation product that appears when the latter reacts with oxygen with the participation of water or aggressive chemicals. Only ordinary carbon steel rusts easily, other metals suffer less from corrosion.

If rust spots are found on cast iron, the causes of this phenomenon may be as follows:

1. Low quality material. Unscrupulous manufacturers to reduce costs do not make dishes from pure metal, but add various cheap impurities.
2. Violation of the rules of care. If after washing the dishes are left wet for natural drying or they are constantly stored in a room with very high humidity, in an unheated room, rust will appear quickly. The same problem can occur with regular washing of the pan with cold water immediately after cooking.
3. Rare use. A cast-iron frying pan or other utensils require at least periodic use, when simple it starts to deteriorate.
4. No oil film. Oil, grease reliably protect products from rust, so they must be regularly applied to the bottom and walls of the dishes. For the same reason, new utensils must be treated with vegetable oil before first use.

Preparation for use

In order for the new product to serve the hostess for a long time, after the purchase you need to pay attention to its preparation for cooking. First, a cauldron, pot, pan are washed with laundry soap or any dishwashing detergent. After wiping the cast iron with a soft towel, put on the stove, pour a small amount of vegetable oil. Ignite the dishes, evenly distributing the oil on the surface. This procedure will help close the pores in the new material and will serve as a prevention of corrosion.

Products without plastic handles can be conveniently calcined in the oven, pouring oil in and leaving to warm until light smoke appears. You can slightly heat an empty pan in the oven, and then immediately grease it with vegetable oil using a silicone brush.

How to clean cast iron from rust?

Stains of rust can negatively affect health, because their particles enter the food.Therefore, cooking in dishes with corrosion elements is not possible, first you need to completely get rid of them. In order to reliably clean rust of cast-iron cookware and prevent the appearance of new defects, first they are treated chemically or mechanically, and then a protective coating is created. For cleaning, you can use alternative methods and various detergents.

Baking soda

Ordinary soda can remove rust from a cast-iron cauldron if it occupies a small area and does not completely capture the product. Corrosion is especially well cleaned with a thin layer, since soda is a fairly mild abrasive. To clean the dishes do this:

• 1-2 tablespoons of soda are poured into the dishes, add a drop of water;
• rubbing the area of ​​rust with a washcloth, removing its particles;
• leave the product for 10 minutes;
• wipe the walls again, the bottom, wash off the pollution with running water.

Salt

Salt is also used for local damage to cast iron products by rust. You can mechanically clean the utensils with salt, moisten them a little, or do this:

• pour salt into the pan;
• put in the oven, calcine over medium heat;
• turn off the appliance, leaving the dishes in it for 2 hours;
• wipe off contamination mechanically.

After that, it is recommended to mix coarse salt evenly with sunflower oil, carefully process the pan thoroughly with the inside, then rinse.

Vinegar

When rust has a thick layer, vinegar is recommended. Combine table vinegar and water equally, pour into the dishes to the top, leave for 3 hours. If the cauldron is rusted outside, you will have to immerse it in a larger container with the same solution. In the absence of effect, you can boil the utensils in a vinegar solution with the addition of a small amount of salt for 2 hours over low heat, and then clean off any residual contaminants.

Strong cleaning products

When simple abrasives do not help, you can use cleaning products based on hydrochloric acid, it causes the transition of rust into a state of powder. They put on gloves, put the product on the walls of the dishes, leave for 30 minutes. After the product is washed with laundry soap, wiped dry.

Pemolux

Wet dishes are sprinkled with ordinary cleaning powder for the kitchen, then the walls are cleaned of rust with a brush and a washcloth. Do not use such a tool for the inside of pans, cauldrons, so you can only process utensils from the outside.

Sandpaper

When a thick layer of rust appears, sandpaper gives an excellent cleaning result. Sandpaper with grain No. 5 is suitable for removing the toughest contaminants, as well as finer for fine polishing. It is necessary to gently, consistently wipe the rusty coating until it completely disappears, then rinse the product well.

Digestion

This cleaning method will immediately remove not only rust, but also carbon deposits, soot, other types of contaminants, including sticky food. In water, it is necessary to dissolve 100 g of grated laundry soap, 100 g of stationery glue. Heat the composition by placing dishes in it, cook for 4 hours over low heat. Then you can remove any dirt with a simple sponge.

Coca Cola

Coca-Cola or Pepsi drinks contain phosphoric acid, which dissolves rust. Pour enough drink into the container, immerse the cast-iron product, bring to a boil on the stove. After boiling the liquid, turn off the fire, hold the utensils until the drink cools down, then clean the carbon deposits and rust.

Fish fat

Grease the pan thoroughly with fat, leave for 4 hours. After they treat the cast iron with a metal brush, easily removing rust, wash it with water and laundry soap.

Features of the care of cast iron utensils

After any type of cleaning, it is necessary to take measures to create a protective layer on cast iron in order to prevent future corrosion:

• turn on the oven 180 degrees, warm it;
• grease the pan with oil (any other than olive), applying a thin layer;
• put the product in the oven upside down, leave for 60 minutes;
• turn off the cabinet, do not get the utensils for another hour;
• remove the pan, rinse, wipe dry, remove for storage.

Cast iron should always remain a little greasy - this will allow it to maintain corrosion protection for a long time. In the future, you must follow these care tips:

• always wait for the product to cool, and only then proceed to wash it;
• after each wash, grease the item with vegetable oil and calcine for 1-2 minutes;
• Do not leave the pan with ready-made liquid food for a long time - after cooking, pour it into another dish;
• do not use aggressive detergents, brushes, abrasives on an ongoing basis, they wash off the protective layer, and cast iron rusts faster;
• to remove burnt food, soak the dishes in warm water, then easily remove the remains with a washcloth;
• do not forget to regularly use dishes so that they do not stand idle;
• do not wash in a dishwasher;
• Do not cook acidic foods that corrode the protective layer.

High-quality care of cast iron will help keep the product in excellent condition, eliminate the appearance of rust, while maintaining non-stick qualities and the ability to retain heat.