— Janet Batchelder

Kinda just depending on the situation, all right? Um, but let's say that, um, generally you're the second part of your, your question here sort of addresses, uh, the ideal way, you know, to, to care for unlined cast iron. So not an enamel cast iron pot, but, um, just a regular cast iron, uh, cookware. Okay? So, uh, it should be dry, ideally, and then, um, as needed, you know, apply some oil. I mean, uh, you know, one might say best practices to apply oil every time. Sure, that could be the case. Um, but also, um, you know, take a look at it and, uh, see if, uh, it might require some oil. And, and, like so many things in the kitchen, uh, your experience, uh, will inform your process as time goes on. Okay? Uh, you know, one thing is the, the cleaning process itself. And, uh, you know, probably many of us, uh, have, have heard, uh, the, the horror story, uh, whether it's a modern one or one dating from a couple of generations back, uh, where somebody, uh, uh, who was, was helping out and solved this blackened skillet and, uh, took the, the scrubby and, uh, strip it clean, um, you know, only to be faced with, uh, this, uh, look of horror, um, you know, by the, the main cook of the house, um, who had spent so much time, um, building up that, uh, wonderful layer, uh, on the cast iron skillet. Um, so, uh, there is some gentleness, uh, that is preferable, right, when cooking cast iron. And so, for example, um, especially when we're dealing with, uh, dry heat cooking methods, for example, uh, saute, uh, it's fairly common, you know, for, uh, little bits of food and, and sauce, uh, to, to dry up and adhere to the surface of that skillet. Uh, you know, in which case, um, after the cooking, after the food is removed from that pan, it's good to put just a little bit of water in the pan just to cover that, that, uh, surface of stuck on stuff. And just let it sit, uh, while you move on with your cooking process and, and your meal, perhaps, uh, and only to come back to that skillet later on, uh, when you'll find that the adhered product has softened, uh, from that warm or even hot water, uh, that's been sitting in that pan for some time. And at that point, the pain is much easier to clean, uh, without the need for aggressive scrubbing. And that's gonna help you preserve and even build up, um, that beautiful layer, um, uh, on the cast iron skillet. Okay? And so I think that part of the bigger picture is important to keep in mind as well. Um, but yeah, you know, otherwise, uh, you know, think about, um, uh, the, the oiling process. And, um, if you see any rusted spots or patches appear, and a lot of times it's not, uh, the inside, but the size of the bottom, uh, which might be, um, exposed to direct heat, um, you know, especially, uh, if it's, if it's a gas range that you're using, or an open flame, let's say. So, uh, in, in which cases it's nice to, uh, um, uh, exercise and maintenance, uh, with a, a light rub of oil, um, you can just put it back over the fire and let that sort of burn on, or, you know, burn off or however you wanna look at that. Um, it doesn't have to be in the oven necessarily to dry. You can also dry it with a towel, uh, to get, uh, you know, most of the moisture out, and then otherwise let it sit and air dry. Okay? And again, some of this may depend on, uh, the, the ambient, uh, sort of conditions in your area. Okay? Uh, if you, if you're in a very dry place, you know, like, um, you know, Colorado or Arizona, um, probably moisture on the surface will dry up very quickly. Um, but if you're in a more humid place, then, uh, a towel will, uh, help that process along. Okay? I hope that's helpful for you, Janet. Thank you.