Last month my dad told me to "just use the dishwasher" for my cast iron pan

I was over at my parents' place for dinner last week helping clean up. I grabbed my dad's old cast iron skillet and started scrubbing it with salt and a paper towel like I always do. He looked at me and said why don't you just throw it in the dishwasher like a normal person. I was shocked but he was dead serious. He said he's been doing that for 10 years and the pan is still fine. I tried it once with my own cheap cast iron and the rust was brutal, had to reseason it from scratch. Now I'm wondering if he secretly just doesn't care about his pans or if I'm being too precious with mine. Has anyone else's parent given them kitchen advice that just seems like sabotage?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_fiona13d ago

Your dad is probably just one of those people who doesn't notice or care if his pan gets rusty because he'll reseason it and move on. Some folks treat cast iron like it's indestructible, which it kinda is, but not if you want it to be nonstick. Honestly, if his pan works for him after a decade of dishwashers, more power to him, but salt scrubbing is definitely the way to go for keeping that seasoning intact.

laura18913d ago

Oh I feel this so much. My uncle is exactly the same way with his cast iron, he's had it for like 15 years and he's run it through the dishwasher more times than I can count. He just wipes it down and keeps cooking like nothing happened. It drives me crazy because I'm over here babying my pan with salt scrubs and careful drying. But you're right, if it works for them who am I to judge. I just know I'd rather put in the extra work to keep that nonstick surface nice and smooth.

king.andrew12d ago

That salt scrub trick is legit, I've saved a few pans that way after family members got too aggressive with soap. Just a little chainmail scrubber and some oil after and they're back to being better than nonstick.