How to Restore and Season a Cast Iron Pan

Still, I gave it a go with some coarse sea salt and a regular-duty green scrubby.

After 5 minutes, I knew I was on the wrong track, so I upgraded my weaponry. This copper scrubby should have the power I required.

A little more salt to help my endeavor.

And after 10 minutes of grueling arm-work that would have made Popeye proud, I was still faced with this.

Worlds better, but still worlds away from being useful for anything other than a photo prop. And really, as a photo prop for a food blog, I don’t think it would work. Who wants to see food perched on or next to a rusty pan?

Whenever I’m stumped with a problem, I usually find the answer in a jug of distilled vinegar. This stuff is pure magic. As a dilute acid, it can work miracles on rust and other nasty buildups around the house.

I set my pan in a baking dish large enough to hold it.

Then I filled the pan and baking dish with vinegar until the pan was completely submerged.

I’ve heard some say to leave a pan for 1 to 2 hours. This pan wasn’t a normal case. I left it all afternoon and overnight.

The next morning, it looked like this.

I pulled it out of its acidic bath, and to my dismay…it looked the same!

Directions at thenavagepatch.com

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