Is flaxseed oil the gold standard for seasoning?

[austin87]

I've been using canola oil on my cast irons, or bacon grease when I have it. There is a little Mexican market near me that sells lard and I was going to pick some up, but it seems like everyone here uses flaxseed oil.

Where do you guys get it?

[dwnthehatch]

Vitamin isle at Walmart.

[Erich]

No its not the gold standard.  Any high smoke point oil will work.

Crisco, lard, bacon fat, canola, avocado. and on and on.

[mrbill]

No its not the gold standard.  Any high smoke point oil will work.

Crisco, lard, bacon fat, canola, avocado. and on and on.

this(I've also used regular vegetable oil w/decent results, but it seems the seasoning isn't as durable and I'm guessing it's due to the lower smoke points of the filler oils they use)

[Troy]

Flaxseed for sure.
There's a scientific reason...

And seriously, it works soooooo much better

[Tim in PA]

Yes. Flaxseed is the right answer.

Here is a good article about seasoning:

http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/


FWIW, I found flaxseed oil in the organic section of my grocery store. It  was not refrigerated.

[Winz]

I use both.  Flaxseed works great, but good old Crisco works well also.  This is a great video on seasoning cast iron.   The seasoning portion of the video begins at 10:10:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6Tz3HnnCFs

Winz

[Jammato]

You want an oil that has polymerization properties

On other words use  flaxseed oil

[austin87]

I use both.  Flaxseed works great, but good old Crisco works well also.  This is a great video on seasoning cast iron.   The seasoning portion of the video begins at 10:10:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6Tz3HnnCFs

Winz

That's a great video @Winz - much appreciated. I'm not as anal as that guy but need to upgrade my technique, my cast irons are slightly sticky and have a bit of gunky residue. I used to just cover them heavily in any oil I had and roast the crap out of them in the oven.

Going to use the oven self cleaner to remove them start from scratch.

Crisco seems a lot more affordable than flaxseed oil. And I've never seen a CI pan as beautiful as that guy's in the video, and my grandmother was the cleanest, most uptight, and perfection oriented person I have ever met.

[Winz]

Glad you liked it. I learned from it as well. The key, whether you use flaxseed or Crisco, is to wipe it out very well after it heats up a bit. Do that and you will get a nice, clean seasoning. Ultra thin coats are the way to go!

Winz

[addicted-to-smoke]

You want an oil that has polymerization properties

On other words use  flaxseed oil

And the Sheryl Canter link also explains why the refrigerated kind is best, not the stuff sitting out on a shelf. She also briefly mentions lard but cautions that pigs aren't typically fed the same diet as they were 100 years ago ... and that typical bacon has nitrates and other stuff added you're better off not ingesting. Go preservative-free there.

[mike.stavlund]

I use flaxseed oil, and buy it from Amazon.  6 or more very thin coats.  The first time I tossed a piece of butter into my Griswold griddle, it skidded right across the surface and onto the stovetop (which cast iron grates I also seasoned with flaxseed oil). 

[Troy]

I use flaxseed oil, and buy it from Amazon.  6 or more very thin coats.  The first time I tossed a piece of butter into my Griswold griddle, it skidded right across the surface and onto the stovetop (which cast iron grates I also seasoned with flaxseed oil).

nice!

i rinsed mine today, the water beaded off so easily that I didn't even need to use a towel.
(i still did though, just to make sure it was dry)

[austin87]

Alright - into the self cleaning oven they go, probably some time this week. I'll take some before and afters and do a fresh posting on them. Thanks for all the info!