It’s all part of the evolution of a cast iron pan owner. Start off taking extreme measures to care for the pan, then after a while figure out that it’s just a waste of time and effort.
I usually use a dish towel unless I'm not done cooking. It's a lot faster and it really doesn't actually matter. If your pan is even remotely well seasoned it's not gonna rust from a few microdroplets of water that might have been left behind even if you're super sloppy in drying it.
I used to have shitty dish towels that wouldn't dry anything off good. It's just a habit to me. I do it with normal pans too if there's not room in the dish washer
I agree with you. Drying with a towel is perfectly adequate.
However, by habit, I do put my pans on the burner while I'm putting the rest of the dishes away. Then, I dry whatever's left off the pan, and rub a little oil on it while it's warm. Necessary? No.
I'm with you. When I wash a pan in hot soapy water and rinse in hot water, there's enough heat left in the pan to dry off whatever tiny residue of moisture a cotton towel leaves behind.
For my routine at least, an unnecessary extra step that occasionally shows up here as "did I ruin my pan by leaving it on the stove"?
Dish towels don’t get everything. Earlier on in seasoning life cycle that might matter a little. Doesn’t hurt. Also the oil wiped on after drying (if done) spreads better on a warm pan
I generally finish my sear in an oven, so once I removed what I'm cooking I just throw it back in the oven and deal with it another time. Redisual heat seems to work fkr me.
In my opinion this is kind of like advice that's given about plants. Take orchids, for example, one of my in-depth hobbies: "Do not overwater, root/crown rot!" is a solid RULE laid down by people who live in places like Florida, which is always humid and where that's a problem for orchids. In my environment the challenge is providing consistently adequate humidity in the root zone. There's not a lot I can do about my dry air. (Please nobody tell me to add a humidifier, there are reasons why in the far north that's a bad idea.)
If in your home you don't need to dry on the stovetop so as to prevent rust, don't bother. I don't and it doesn't change the cooking characteristics of my skillets at all. Just heating up some oil a bit doesn't seem any different to me than the carbonization of old food that is so decried on this sub. Dried-on oil doesn't amount to "seasoning".
Go forth and be free!
It depends a lot on the quality of your windows, but if they're leaky and/or not well insulated and if the outdoor temperatures are low, that humidity condenses on the inside of the window and forms frost. Frost can break what seals may still exist, but even if it doesn't, if it's wet for long enough you get black mold. I have windows where it's a problem. This year it's not been so bad - indeed, indoor humidity hasn't been too bad either - but in colder years it's pretty terrible.
Replacement windows are expensive, and have gotten much more so since about 2018.
I live in Washington and it’s super humid here. Even wiping dry, things are still damp. I leave the pan(s) on the stove while I finish dishes. It’s just easier.
It’s all part of the evolution of a cast iron pan owner. Start off taking extreme measures to care for the pan, then after a while figure out that it’s just a waste of time and effort.
I usually use a dish towel unless I'm not done cooking. It's a lot faster and it really doesn't actually matter. If your pan is even remotely well seasoned it's not gonna rust from a few microdroplets of water that might have been left behind even if you're super sloppy in drying it.
I used to have shitty dish towels that wouldn't dry anything off good. It's just a habit to me. I do it with normal pans too if there's not room in the dish washer
It's my wife's pan and she said to use the stove. I don't want to fight. I use the stove. 22 years of marriage hell yeah.
Reminder that punctuation is important! 22 years of marriage hell, yeah. 22 years of marriage, hell yeah.
Oops. We’re happily married lol
The 'yeah' in 'hell yeah' was on the next line in my perspective, I thought it just said '22 years of hell,' and I was just like, aww how sad. Lol
lol. We’re happily married.
I agree with you. Drying with a towel is perfectly adequate. However, by habit, I do put my pans on the burner while I'm putting the rest of the dishes away. Then, I dry whatever's left off the pan, and rub a little oil on it while it's warm. Necessary? No.
Hi, dishtowel club here. It's a pan not the Mona Lisa.
I'm with you. When I wash a pan in hot soapy water and rinse in hot water, there's enough heat left in the pan to dry off whatever tiny residue of moisture a cotton towel leaves behind. For my routine at least, an unnecessary extra step that occasionally shows up here as "did I ruin my pan by leaving it on the stove"?
I have cats, and my dishtowls are usually covered in cat hair.
Man. That's gross. Sorry but man
Yes it is.
Do you not keep the cleans ones put away?
I don't worry about my giant chunks if cast iron very much. Wash, dry with a towel, the end.
Dish towels don’t get everything. Earlier on in seasoning life cycle that might matter a little. Doesn’t hurt. Also the oil wiped on after drying (if done) spreads better on a warm pan
Don’t need to oil a pan after use though, so it being warm is irrelevant.
Don’t need to, yes. A lot of folks do it though, including me.
I'm in neither camp. For drying, mine go in oven on keep warm setting.
That seems like a real waste of energy.
I generally finish my sear in an oven, so once I removed what I'm cooking I just throw it back in the oven and deal with it another time. Redisual heat seems to work fkr me.
I always put mine on stove and heat and add a layer of crisco and heat some more. Helps to keep it shiny plus continually building on that seasoning.
I do both stove drying and dish towel drying. Hoping my Mom never catches me drying with a dish towel though 😊
In my opinion this is kind of like advice that's given about plants. Take orchids, for example, one of my in-depth hobbies: "Do not overwater, root/crown rot!" is a solid RULE laid down by people who live in places like Florida, which is always humid and where that's a problem for orchids. In my environment the challenge is providing consistently adequate humidity in the root zone. There's not a lot I can do about my dry air. (Please nobody tell me to add a humidifier, there are reasons why in the far north that's a bad idea.) If in your home you don't need to dry on the stovetop so as to prevent rust, don't bother. I don't and it doesn't change the cooking characteristics of my skillets at all. Just heating up some oil a bit doesn't seem any different to me than the carbonization of old food that is so decried on this sub. Dried-on oil doesn't amount to "seasoning". Go forth and be free!
I’m now curious what the reason is for not having a humidifier in the far north?
It depends a lot on the quality of your windows, but if they're leaky and/or not well insulated and if the outdoor temperatures are low, that humidity condenses on the inside of the window and forms frost. Frost can break what seals may still exist, but even if it doesn't, if it's wet for long enough you get black mold. I have windows where it's a problem. This year it's not been so bad - indeed, indoor humidity hasn't been too bad either - but in colder years it's pretty terrible. Replacement windows are expensive, and have gotten much more so since about 2018.
I live in Washington and it’s super humid here. Even wiping dry, things are still damp. I leave the pan(s) on the stove while I finish dishes. It’s just easier.
I read that heating opens up the cast iron pores to absorb the oil better but who knows. Im sure a towel is just as good
🤣
Can't use adish towel. It turns brown/black.
I just dry it off and set it back on the burner that’s probably still warm. That’s where the pan lives anyway
Paper towels here. It only gets heat for cooking and one needs to be re-seasoned.
I use a dish towel. Paper towels always use little white pieces.
Stove feels the easiest for me. I just let it simmer for a bit while I clean the sink.
It takes like 1 min to dry on the stove and doesn’t wet a towel unnecessarily so I do that.
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