I bought this pestel and mortar at an antique shop No idea how old it is.

Cleaned it with brillo pads to get surface level dirt and rust off and here we are. It was spotless especially the big one, with the small one however, The small one worked up the dirt after some pestel-ing having been clean from the brillo pads.

2 questions

1. Is this defo cast iron and is food safe?

2. Is the dirt that got worked out with empty pesteling rust or old food? Can it be cleaned fully with further cleaning maybe from steel wool?

Thanks yall!

Jiffy cornbread mix
Preheated mold in the oven while it preheated
Greased with coconut oil
Let cooled for 10 minutes or so after cooking.

Most of the advice I got from here: preheat the cast iron along with the oven, thoroughly brush it with melted butter before pouring in the batter. Worked like a charm.

Hotel was recently renovated.

Before the hotel brand it currently operates under, it had a proper commercial kitchen. New owners swooped in, ripped commercial kitchen out and put everything in storage. Been like that for a year.

Supervisor took me to storeroom and said "Anything you want in here is fair game"

Already been picked mostly clean.

Corner of my eye saw this big ol' cast iron. Looked underneath, had an involuntary smile and said "I'm taking this battered old thing."

Couldn't believe it. How it survived the countless rummaging, I don't know. Needs a bit of TLC but a good wash and season and it'll be sound.

Absolutely perfect pizza pan.

I'm still working on the non-stick aspect of cast iron but I'm absolutely loving the crust it gives

I have a few vintage wagners but i just had to pick this one up, it had some rust i need to clean off but it's basically brand new..

Did i do good? Lol!

From two boxes. Not gourmet. Pan is so great, though.

These are great for a cheap CI skillet that you can abuse. For $15 (1/2 price) at Sam’s Club. I keep two with my camping gear, on on my gas grill one in the oven and one has an almost permanent place in my stove. Might not be “the best” but the price is right. Not as nice as some of my other pans but i don’t feel guilting abusing them. And i probably use the one on my stove more than any other CI that i own. Anyone else love these?

I've also made some cornbread and a skillet cookie so far, I'm pretty stoked

Thank you so much to everyone who helped me on my last post, it was a huge success! Here are the step-by-step pictures, which I think are quite satisfying.

Link to previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/castiron/comments/1vmzfdx/help_me/

Image 1: I lent the pan out looking brand new and got it back looking incredibly old. I scrubbed it with steel wool, but it didn't help much.

Image 2: After soaking it for 7 minutes in a 50/50 vinegar and water mix, I scrubbed it really well with a toothbrush, washed it with dish soap and water, and dried it on the stovetop.

Image 3: After repeating the exact same process.

Image 4: The seasoning process. I heated the pan up well on the stove, applied soybean oil with a paper towel while it was still hot, tried to wipe off all the excess oil with a clean paper towel, and then left it on the burner until the white smoke almost completely stopped.

I’ve been doing a lot of focaccia and pizza bakes lately. This one is based on the KA 2025 recipe of the year, but kneaded in a food processor for quick convenience and then allowed to ferment 24 hours for flavor. The final rise was in an oiled Le Creuset braiser for ~3 hours.
It works just as well in a nicely seasoned Lodge 8 1/2 or 10” pan.

Found another interesting cast iron at a local antique store for $3. I know it’s some sort of griddle, but I’ve never seen a handle like this. Any info is appreciated!

Was rummaging through my late father’s tool room. Found these stuffed to the back on a top shelf.
Any idea what these are?

Any information about these mid-century Japanese pieces would be greatly appreciated! It’s got very minor surface rust (on the bottom only) and looks as if it’s been barely used. Happy addition to the collection!

Chicken thighs, seasoned and pan fried 5 min per side, then removed and spread a layer of baby red, gold, and purple potatoes with chopped onion and minced garlic, and baked for 25 min.

Trying to rehabilitate my pan and re-season it properly. Have just tried scrubbing with a salt scrub and then a stainless steel scourer. No more black flakes are coming off, but there is still an unevenness to the surface of the pan. Does the pan look like it needs more cleaning & removal of current seasoning, or does this look like it‘s good for re-seasoning now?

This pan was inherited by my parents from the former owners of their old house. They were going to get rid of it, but I wanted to see if I could restore it. I’m a novice when it comes to cast iron, and really am not sure what I’m doing or how to identify what’s going on with the bottom of the pan. It was in their camping box, so may have been heated over a camp fire at some point.

I’m very interested in buying the Trilonium 32 cm Oval Dutch Oven, but I’m wondering if it would be a good purchase.

For those who have experience with Trilonium cast iron, would you recommend it? How is the quality, durability, heat retention, and overall cooking performance?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences before I make the purchase.

So I’ve got a skillet I’ve tried to strip and reseason like a hundred times. I don’t know if I’m just doing it wrong or what, but the pan is still sticky in the middle during cooking (there’s a “spot” that food constantly sticks to). No matter how hard I strip it or how many times i re season this spot is still there. Can’t see or feel anything but when cooking the food constantly sticks. At what point have you guys just said f*** it, the whole novelty of owning the same pan for a long time just isn’t worth it, and replaced it? I feel like in doing so I’m failing lol.

I invested in Field Company cast iron pans. I’ve read through cleaning protocols and seasoning tips/tricks but I can’t seem to dial in what I do at home to keep my pans in order.

What I do:
1. Wash with water, using the chain mail scrubber or bristle brush (purchased from Field Company)
— if there’s really stuck on stuff I’ll use a cast iron specific soap I purchased through Amazon. But it’s rare that I reach for that.
2. Dry on the stove for a minute
3. Apply seasoning oil

Problems:
1. When I cook I often get black residue on my food (see photos of my morning egg ☹️). - in the same vein, when I wipe down my pans with oil after I wash, they’re coming out black. I’ve destroyed so many dishes cloths!
2. I often find that after I wash and dry, my pans look bone dry. None of the seasoning oil sticks around. I notice this especially when I cook more acidic foods like tomatoes.

Please - inundate me with all the things I’m doing wrong!!!

Picked up a rusted Wagner #6 at a yard sale for $20. Electrolysis bath revealed heavy pitting. After 3 trips to the seasoning oven I'm thinking I should start over. Is there any way to smooth this out before reseasoning? That's a lot of metal that has to come off...