Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Robb Wolf recommends various Lodge Logic products on his site (http://astore.amazon.com/robwol-20?node=8&page=1).

Lodge Logic products do come pre-seasoned though.

"What type oil is used to season Lodge Seasoned Cast Iron?

We use a proprietary soy-based vegetable oil to season our cookware. This oil has been Orthodox Union Kosher certified. The oil contains no animal fat or peanut oil. The seasoning is functional application and slight inconsistencies may appear in the seasoning finish. The inconsistencies will not affect cooking performance" (http://www.lodgemfg.com/use-care-help.asp#4)

Should I a) forget about this, b) scrub it vigorously or c) search for an unseasoned pan since I'll never be able to get the evil out of the skillet's pores ?

flag	asked Jul 27 2011 at 14:00 NotPaleoMark 51●5

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You could definitely buy vintage/used cast iron - they're on Ebay and I've seen in thrift stores. Unseasoned cast iron is so rare nowadays, damn you Lodge!, so I wish you luck! The only other thing I can think of is get the Lodge and strip it down as if you were stripping one that is full of rust, then re-season. – jesuisjuba - paleorepublic.com Jul 27 2011 at 14:11

That makes me mad as a hornet! I am super allergic to soy, and have two of those pans. No wonder my intestinal inflammation won't die down completely, no matter what foods I avoid. I hope my own cooking has cooked most of it off, but I am not supporting their company with any more purchases!! Thanks for the info!! – Senneth Jul 27 2011 at 16:18

I don't like soy for the same reason I dislike flax. It makes a cooking surface sticky. I'd suggest buying a USA-made Lodge pan of whatever type (pass on Wally brand of dubious metal origin). Throw it in the fireplace and give it a good burn. Then reoil it with whatever you like. Lard would be good, but do would duck. And remember that about all the seasoning does is keep the pan from rusting. You still have to cook with a lot of fat using cast iron. – thhq Jul 27 2011 at 20:41

Bryson · Answer 1 · 2011-07-28 06:24:48Z UTC

The type of oil used to season is irrelevant. A season is made up mostly of burnt oil turned to carbon, and there's no paleo/non-paleo carbon. The oil burns off, leaving carbon in the uneven parts of the surface making it smooth.

Adding to the season that comes from the factory will only get "more paleo" (and much better) as you cook on it with healthy fats.

JansSushiBar · Answer 2 · 2011-07-27 14:05:35Z UTC

You know, I hate the fact you can no longer purchase unseasoned Lodge cast iron - I don't like the job they do, for one. The stuff I seasoned myself performs much better a lot sooner than the pre-seasoned pieces. You may not have much luck finding unseasoned cast iron - at least not the high-quality pieces made by Lodge - so I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you just can't stand the idea of the soy oil, scrub it with a wire brush in hot, soapy water and season it yourself. I'd recommend tallow as the fat of choice.

Carl_Stawicki · Answer 3 · 2011-07-27 14:04:01Z UTC

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I LOVE Lodge, but my experience has been their pre-seasoning isn't that great, regardless of what type of oil they use. I never bothered scrubbing it, though, I just let my own seasoning build up.

answered Jul 27 2011 at 14:04

Carl_Stawicki
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I bought my Lodge cast iron pans before I knew any better, but now I figure after all the coconut oil and pastured lard I've slathered on them since then, the soybean oil is all gone. – Lizzish Jul 27 2011 at 15:05

The pre-seasoning is only to make the pan more buyer friendly. Its not fully seasoned - as you well know - and only gets better. – Daniel Jan 2 at 22:21

wjones3044 · Answer 4 · 2011-07-27 15:22:11Z UTC

I have a Lodge with a porcelain finish. Big Dutch oven. Love it.

I won't touch anything with soy, not because of orthorexic purity but because I'm horribly allergic.

EDIT: Note that unseasoned cast iron cookware does not appear impossible to find. A Google search returned this hit--http://www.bakertowne.com/servlet/the-621/Cast-Iron-Pans,-Cast/Detail

Also, there are some expensive nickel-plated cast-iron varieties. I wonder what the downside is, if any. Other than being very, very expensive of course.

Jan · Answer 5 · 2011-07-27 16:29:18Z UTC

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Drop it into a lye bath for a day. Seasoning gone. And re-season with lard.

answered Jul 27 2011 at 16:29

Jan
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Matt · Answer 6 · 2011-07-27 20:59:54Z UTC

I'm a bit of a cast iron connoisseur... and I hate lodge. Lodge stuff has that pebbly sandy texture which is a pain to clean. Get on ebay and find yourself a really old cast iron skillet with a smooth surface, scrub it and reseason it yourself. I have two made by "Sydney" that are awesome. If you grease it down a bit you can see your reflection in the surface. Try that with lodge...

Adam Crafter · Answer 7 · 2011-07-27 21:28:59Z UTC

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Whenever i get new or used cast iron ware, i run it through the oven cleaning cycle to cleanse all evil and rust from it. I have it in there inverted, and then reseason with whatever coating you would prefer.

answered Jul 27 2011 at 21:28

Adam Crafter
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air_hadoken · Answer 8 · 2011-07-27 19:28:51Z UTC

I have a few Lodge products, and the pre-seasoning won't stand up to a couple of scrubs in the sink with hot soapy water. However, once the seasoning is off, use flax oil to reseason it, unless you have a known sensitivity which may be an issue. This is not for any Paleo reason (being a seed oil and all, I'm not advocating eating it in quantity), but because it creates a nigh-indestructible base coat. From there, build up your normal polymerized layers of clarified butter, tallow, and coconut oil.

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Answer 9 · 2011-07-27 20:53:15Z UTC

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You take some steel wool and scour the surface real nice, then you have to wash out and re-season with lard. Annoying, but cheap cookware is for people with more time than money...

answered Jul 27 2011 at 20:53

Bread-Eating Beelzebub
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HeatherC · Answer 10 · 2011-07-27 15:13:32Z UTC

Not really on topic but, my parents have several pieces of cast iron that belonged to their parents - I suspect my brother and I will have to throw down for who gets those eventually.

I do agree with others though, I wouldn't worry too much about it just season it yourself with good fats and what little soy was there will be gone pretty quick I bet.

Soy pre-seasoned cast iron. Trouble ?

10 Answers