why does my cast iron pan make some foods taste funny?

Question

i've been taking very good care of the pan (ie seasoned it, wipe it clean, wash it, dry it on the burner, all that good stuff) what can i do to get the funny taste gone

Answer 1

Cast iron tends to be a very porous and it may have picked up the essence of whatever you used to clean it last time or it may retain the ghost of the last foods you cooked. This is why I hate using any abrasives, certainly any chemical abrasives, although it might be necessary if you burn something on it. If you do need to give it a heavy scrub, try naked steel wool or a steel brush from your grill. Despite your best instincts, do NOT wash it with any soap! Water only, please. Also, if you didn't really season properly, then some of the old grease in these pores may be a bit rancid. It sounds like you have taken good care of it, though. As the other posts state, you take a big risk with high acid foods until the pan is very well seasoned, which might take months. Besides tomatoes, using lemon, to make a sauce for a fried fish, for example, can eat a bit of the iron away as can anything with vinegar. When you season the pan, don't use oils as they are too thin and their smoke point is too low. Use solid shortening or lard and bake the pan for at least an hour. Never leave the pan wet. I heat mine up until it is bone dry before I store it. Any time the pan has lost its sheen and looks dry, season it again. My suggestion is to use 000 steel wool with some dry baking soda and a little salt. Put your elbows into it and scrub off all the old seasoning and a bit of the pan, too! Rinse the pan and fill it with some salt water. Simmer the water for a half hour or so, then rinse and re-season with a good coating of plain crisco. On the other hand, what you are tasting might just be the natural iron from the pan itself. I have heard that some people are hyper-sensitive to certain tastes and you might find the iron objectionable. Is this some recent thing? Does anyone else in your family taste it, too?

If seasoned properly, cast iron has non-stick talents that make Teflon ashamed! And it will last for generations and can take all sorts of abuse that would ruin your expensive18/10 stainless steel and aluminum and fussy copper. And, there is good news for your family's health: people who use cast iron cookware exclusively tend to never get anemic! I am not kidding. The few molecules of iron that enter the food you cook will keep your red blood cells and hemoglobin carriers very happy and healthy! I love cast iron but I don't work for the industry. But I did inherit the cast iron skillet and dutch oven used by my mom, and her mom before us. It is blackened by good use and nothing has stuck to it since the thirties!

Answer 2

I sometimes use my deep cast iron skillet to cook high acid foods. Specifically, I would not consider cooking spaghetti sauce in anything else. Maybe it is my imagination, but I think the cast iron adds flavor to my sauce. I do, however, have to reseason my skillet periodically.

A long time ago, I let vegetable oil get a little too hot in my skillet. Okay. I nearly set the house on fire. My skillet had an "off" taste after that, and the handle felt gummy. I scrubbed it down with Comet and an SOS pad. Basically, I scrubbed it back to almost store new and reseasoned it.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

If you cook high-acid foods (like tomato-based sauces) in cast iron, some of the iron is etched away by the acid. This will cause the food to "taste funny." If you are cooking high-acid foods, stainless steel is the best metal to use.

Answer 4

get some vanilla essence and mix with a bit of water and boil this in your pan for a couple of minutes. The vanilla essence should get rid of the metal taste, don't wash the pan after, just dry it.

Answer 5

any acid foods cause this.....