Using Cast Iron with Acidic Foods

Blues Man

New member
I posted the following pic under my Cajun / Asian Shrimp.

100_0348.jpg


I had someone ask me if using cast iron with acidic foods causes me to lose the seasoning on the cast iron. I have never had any seasoning problems or issues afterwords. I dont do it very often and when I do it is usually on my grill for short time periods.

Your thoughts ................
 

PanchoHambre

New member
I have used with acidic foods but likewise only for short periods and with a well seasoned pan.

If your pan is newly seasoned use caution and long braising in acidic sauce like tomato can give an irony taste and strip some of your seasoning.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Conventional wisdom says yes, it will hurt your seasoning.

But I must say there is a caveat to that. You have to look at what the majority of your cooking is.

If you have a well seasoned pan and you cook 1 acidic dish to 3-4 (or more) fatty/oily dishes (where you use oil to build on your seasoning), then the wear is negligible and can be ignored.

If you use a well seasoned pan and cook tomato or other acidic foods 4 out of 5 times, then yes, there is a possibility you could wear the seasoning off IF you are not cleaning, drying, and seasoning again after the cook.

For the most part, if you follow the basic rules of CI, you won’t have a problem at all.

To tell the truth, more often than not, when I see someone mention this, it’s someone that is new to CI and is just spouting off what they read somewhere and have very little experience in the matter of it.
 

chowhound

New member
To tell the truth, more often than not, when I see someone mention this, it’s someone that is new to CI and is just spouting off what they read somewhere and have very little experience in the matter of it.

Or Le Creuset.... :lol:

I make chile in my CI DO, but it usually gets other stuff made inbetween.
 

joec

New member
Gold Site Supporter
I made my marinara sauce in a cast iron dutch over for about a year till I got some stainless stock pots. I did have to totally scrub down the pot after using it exclusively for a year to make sauce and re season it to get the taste out of the pot. The old season took on a strong tomato taste but came out with soap and hot water followed by a bit of salt then re seasoned in the oven. Now it has become my baked bean pot.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
I made my marinara sauce in a cast iron dutch over for about a year till I got some stainless stock pots. I did have to totally scrub down the pot after using it exclusively for a year to make sauce and re season it to get the taste out of the pot. The old season took on a strong tomato taste but came out with soap and hot water followed by a bit of salt then re seasoned in the oven. Now it has become my baked bean pot.
do you put tomato in your baked beans?
 
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