On not washing cast iron pans

Are there any food safety concerns with cast iron pans? I’m sure the heat kills any bacteria but it just weirds me out that you can’t use soap...

Once every few years I find a cast iron pan in the trash room of my building. For a few days, I will become ensorcelled with this old-world nonstick technology. I imagine that my eggs will flip easier and my steaks will sizzle louder. Mostly, I am excited about the prospect of restoring a piece of antique cookware.

Me scavenging a cast iron skillet from the trash room

First, I set upon it with steel wool and Clorox just in case the previous owner was using it as a cat box or something. I like to pretend that I’m preparing a corpse for mummification — first I scrub it clean, then I layer on various oils with loving care.  Just like making a mummy, it’s a lot of work up front...but if you do it right, it will last an eternity.

Once the pot is in use, you’re not supposed to wash it with soap. (Think of it like APC jeans.) The heat from cooking will kill any bacteria and there’s not much risk of anything growing on the residual layer of oil in the pan. It sounds counterintuitive, but it’s safe. Cooking with a seasoned pan is truly magic: imagine golden grilled cheeses and the slipperiest fried eggs you ever flipped. 

Unfortunately, I’m cursed withan insatiable urge to de-season the pan between uses. For me, the most fun part about having medieval cookware is really laying into it with a rough scrub brush and the brute bicep strength of a scullery maid. Of course this removes the oily magic of a seasoned pan so my grilled cheeses blacken and my fried eggs stick. I don’t have room in my kitchen for duplicate pans so inevitably I’ll repurpose it as a catbox and then return it to the trash room. Thus, the cycle continues.

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