re: Flaxseed oil

Found this on an amazon review:

What you will need: Water, 3 potatoes washed well, flax seed oil (organic), sponge, and a spare dry towel(s). *FYI: I use Barlean's Organic Flaxseed Oil. There are other brands you can find in your local Whole Foods or organic markets.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Once you receive your pan, place on burner and fill nearly to the brim (leaving about 1/2" from the top) with water.

2. Next, add peels from approximately 3 potatoes. Make sure the potato is washed really well so that you don't get dirt form around the edge of the water. Let boil for 15-20 minutes. You'll notice the water beginning to darken after about 10 minutes, which is normal. This step helps remove the beeswax that is added before shipment more effectively.

3. Pour out the water. You may notice a black line where the water level was, that's also normal. Use a sponge to lightly scrub the pan under hot running water, focusing on the sides and around the rivets. You are just finishing off the beeswax that was left over after boiling. BTW: If you have dark spots from the potato peels at the bottom of your pan, no worries...it's normal and not necessary to remove completely. Towel dry and return to burner.

4. Turn your burner to high heat, and then place approx 2 tsp. of flax oil in the center of your pan while it's cool. Make sure to turn on your exhaust fan if you have one.

5. Rub a very, very thin layer of the oil around the entire inside of the pan with a towel. Make sure to soak up any excess oil. This is vitally important, because too much oil will ruin the seasoning process. Heat until it smokes oh so slightly.

*Since the timing is so different from one stove to the next, I suggest you allow it to smoke slightly only as a visual to know that it has reached a hot enough temperature.

*Do not leave your pan on the burner without watching it carefully. Again, allowing the oil to smoke a lot is not a good thing and can ruin the seasoning.

You will notice it darkening almost immediately once the oil becomes hot to a dark caramel color, but not yet black.

6. Allow to cool.

7. Repeat steps 4-6 until your pan is nearly black (about 5-7 layers). Finally, begin cooking!

Your first batch of food should be a meat as this will speed up the maturing process. After a while of maturation, there is a possibility that the seasoning will begin to flake off around the edges of your pan. This is normal if you heat your pan to extremely hot temperature often. If this happens, don't panic. Just take a non abrasive sponge under hot water and lightly scrub off the small bits of loosened seasoning. Then, return to the burner and add a few layers of seasoning to keep any rust from forming. This should only happen around the edges of your pan after some prolonged use, however.

IRON AND HEAT:

Remember that iron continues to rise in temperature, thus you can easily burn your food. You will need to get to know your pan in order to find out when to adjust the heat. Ex: If you are wanting to bring it up to a high temperature, turn your fire or heat source to about a MED-HIGH. Once it reaches that temperature, it's wise to drop the heat down to MED about a minute or two after the food has been added so that it doesn't over cook.

Regardless of what I'm cooking, I almost never set my heat to HIGH. It just doesn't drop in temperature fast enough before burning something.

Also, if you add anything cold to your pan it will be stuck initially. You should wait a minute or two until it forms a nice "crust" in which it can be easily removed or flipped. However, once the seasoning is matured, sticking should not be an issue.