Beeswax on New Lodge DO

Are there any apiaries in your area? They would be the best and cheapest source.

Farmer's markets are a good place to look. Any place that sells honey will most likely have it.

If purchasing from any other source (especially a craft supply store), be careful to buy only pure beeswax.

Have fun!

:cool:
 
Are there differences between different DO manufacturers?

The local Academy store has Lodge and their house brand. Are there meaningful differences between different DO of the same size?

Is a 10" Lodge somehow better than the 10" House brand?

I would think cast iron is cast iron but I don't know for sure.
 
Amazon certainly has them
I did a quick search for "Bees Wax in kitchen"

and you don't need an oven etc....
The Master at the CICO, apologies, I can't remember his name, but I believe he has a posting on it in here somewhere. Search Seasoning pans/iron or something like that...

Works like a charm...
41OOTfbE5HL.jpg
 
Jay_n_Valerie said:
Are there differences between different DO manufacturers?

The local Academy store has Lodge and their house brand. Are there meaningful differences between different DO of the same size?

Is a 10" Lodge somehow better than the 10" House brand?

I would think cast iron is cast iron but I don't know for sure.
Click to expand...

Lodge is the only AMERICAN MADE brand. Who knows what it in the off brand metals?
Yes it is more expensive but the lids fit tight and the sides are more consistent thickness. And oh yah American jobs.
 
Just bought our Lodge Dutch oven and rectangular griddle that flips over to a grill! My husband, is the chef of the family and even though it says no seasoning is needed, uses an oil blend of 75% canola oil and 25% olive oil. He then bakes it at 450 degrees for an hour. He does this a few times wiping it down between each baking. He also recommends 100 % peanut oil as it doesn't smoke as much but this oil is more expensive.
 
Diane_Michael said:
Just bought our Lodge Dutch oven and rectangular griddle that flips over to a grill! My husband, is the chef of the family and even though it says no seasoning is needed, uses an oil blend of 75% canola oil and 25% olive oil. but this oil is more expensive.
Click to expand...

Not sure how to do the quote thing, If you are happy with the mix, then go with it. I personally would use only Crisco shortening if I didn't prefer Bees Wax.
450 deg. if temp is accurate, may be a little high. I shoot for 425 tops by my oven thermometer. If You get around 500 deg. you take a chance of being to high and then you burn your seasoning off.
I stay away from peanut oil, as it has a high degree of turning rancid. That is another benefit of Bees wax. The pure Beeswax will not turn on you. also you can carry a nice little "seasoning package" and do seasoning on the road if it is needed.
 
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George, do you have a recommended type of Bee's was and a supplier that we, I, can use for online???

Brand name and/or supplier?
I use it all the time and am getting a little short on it.

thanks much and the part that "It doesn't turn" is what's happened to me in the past when trying the oils...

Thanks again for all your help in the past...

Cook on.... heheh

fun..

fpoole_SaltCrkOct2013-179.jpg
 
wow Frank, judging from the pic above you are rather tough on your cleaning of your cast iron. LOL

Pure beeswax is the only kind to use. I am not particular if it is European bees, African Bees etc.
I have been using Tennessee Bees wax.

Betsey has been selling it at the CICO, and I now have it available in bar soap size blocks. I lucked out with a bee keeper getting out of the bizness, and was able to pick up 40 lbs at a very reasonable price.
 
I didn't get wax at the 2013 CICO and regretted it later.

Frank,

If you can spot a listing for Honey in the yellow pages their beeswax would definitely be pure.

The Whole Foods Market groceries carry Beeswax which may be overpriced, but works fine for me.
Looks like Whole Foods has over a half dozen stores in Washington including Seattle and Bellevue, Frank.

Another thought would be to look for pure beeswax (pale gold) tapers at a good candle store.
Tapers like for dinner table holders and candelabras are seldom scented unlike the blockier candles.
You could just use the candle like a crayon on the hot pan.

Frank, I agree with George, my daughter cringed when she saw the steel wool in your photo.
I only use it to strip a bumpy screwed up cast pan bare the day I reseason it.
I don't think rust is a good base to build new seasoning on.
 
I'm seeing cast iron cook ware everywhere for sale. A lot that I see has a very rough finish so be careful what you spend your money on. I never looked close enough to see brand names or where it was made.
I have some old, old stuff that has a very smooth finish. Years ago my Mom asked me what I wanted for a wedding present and I told her I wanted a cast iron skillet like hers. I was shocked when I got it and it was not black. It is black now and nicely seasoned with a very smooth finish.
 
Heheh, Yah, to all....

This was the pan, out of two, that I showed George and he just smiled, laughed and shook his head saying ".... YOU'll have fun with that one...".

The two pans were actually the "French Steel" pans, Omelet and I'm not sure what the other one is "Called", but they were crusty with rust and it was more out of love for the pans that I bothered to re-season them. "Tough Love" but it worked.

I used them for Camping/cooking and they will sit for a while, thus the bad rust from my lack of seasoning knowledge, now improved thanks the George...

Here's the full gallery pics
and they were bad as I say, Shaking MY head.. heheh..

fpoole_SaltCrkOct2013-149.jpg


Pat, I'm not sure that the "Rough" surface means much as the seasoning will smooth it all over, assuming I understand the process as they wax/seasoning fills up the rough spots to make them glassy smooth.

Fun eh??

.
 
Woo-Hoo! Just came back from an estate sale where I picked up 2 Griswold #8. Totally crusted, both of them. Now, where is that thread with the info on cleaning?

What do you suggest, George?

Sue
 
Sue, if they are to be totally brought to bare metal, put them in you house oven and put in the self clean mode and let that burn off the seasoning. there may still be some crusties on the pans, so you can scrape them with anything that wont gouge the cast iron. Once clean of the crusties, warm them up and get some bees wax coating on them, just as if you were going to season them. once coated, you can the season them at you convenience by just burning what is on there with a 1 hour bake @ roughly 400 degrees. When you can handle the pans but still warm, add another lite coat of the bees wax. You can do the same thing with Crisco shortening, but I prefer the bees wax.

hope this helps sorry for the late reply have not been up on site in quite a while.
 
I love that nice black crust on the outside as long as the inside is smooth and black. This really keeps them from getting rusty. When I got married years ago my mom asked me what I wanted for a wedding present. I told her a cast iron skillet. She got me a number 8. I was really disappointed that it was shiny and new. It is black now and a little crusty on the outside just the way I wanted it. I still use my cast iron skillets in the kitchen and love them. I put one in my self clean oven and it really cleaned it up beautifully. I then decided I don't want mine clean. It will take years to get back the deep seasoning that I had. I don't cook as much as I used to.
I was given a number 14 completely rusted and soaked it in vinegar for a few days. Scrubbed and more soaking etc, etc. Finally got down to bare metal and see it has a fairly deep gouge in the bottom. don't know what to do about the gouge. Sanding will take forever. I tried to sand my new griddle and still have a long way to go to smooth. They don't finish them at the factory any more. The old ones were sand blasted or something when they came out of the sand mold but the new ones aren't.
 
"They don't finish them at the factory any more. The old ones were sand blasted or something when they came out of the sand mold but the new ones aren't."

Pat,

So glad you mentioned that about new cast iron; I bought a Lodge skillet the other day and didn't notice how rough and bumpy it was until I got it home. I thought it was defective or something like that. Now I'm wondering should I sand it first then season it, or will use over time take care of it?

Deb
 
That's why I bought the cast iron skillet I have for camping from Goodwill. It's not a Griswold or anything cool, but it was clearly old and crusty; so it was old. Reseasoned it, and it's smooth as glass on the inside bottom.
 
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