De Buyer Mineral B seasoning

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.

FIRST BATCH OF EGGS:

Eggs are a great example of what can happen if you remove or flip your food too early before it has had a chance to form a "crust", and if you set your heat too high they will burn super fast. So, you definitely want to follow the above tips during the maturing process when cooking eggs. Otherwise, you'll end up with a mess. So again, I highly suggest cooking at a very low temperature for eggs, as they will burn or dry out very quickly in iron pans regardless of maturation.

CLEANING AND COOKING UTENSILS:

Wait for several batches of food before you use a metal spatula. If you notice small scratches in your layer of seasoning after cooking from your cooking utensils...don't worry. It will darken over rather quickly and should not cause any issues. Flax oil seasoning isn't real soft, but it isn't indestructible either. So, just be graceful initially.

If stubborn food is stuck to your pan after cooking; add HOT water, bring to a boil for no more than a minute, scrub with a wooden utensil, dispose of the liquid, rinse and then towel dry. Afterwards you'll need to place a light layer of oil in your pan and heat the pan just before it smokes. OR, you should be able to use a non-abrasive sponge under hot running water to clean up any stubborn messes without any worries. However, it's not a good idea to boil water often as it will slow the maturing process.

Additionally, one tip suggests to place course salt in the pan to sanitize it. However, this can scratch your surface rather quickly if it's the beginning stages of your seasoning, so use that tip cautiously.

BTW: You'll know when your pan has matured when hardly anything sticks to the pan, and you don't have to clean it with anything other than a paper towel after cooking.

***Always remember to oil your pan after each use, regardless***

You can repeat one layer of seasoning after each batch of food in the first month or so, or intermittently. This will ensure a nonstick surface that is sure to last through just about anything. The more you use your pan, the more the non-stick surface becomes. Your pan should be broke in within a three months, depending on use.

~ If you noticed that there is a large area of what looks like a "smudge" after seasoning, then you added too much oil OR allowed it to get too hot. That's okay..if your first attempt failed, you can start the process over by scrubbing with a scouring pad and removing the layers of seasoning. Then proceeding to repeat the step using much less oil.

~ If your pan is really sticky after seasoning, you have added too much oil, the pan didn't get hot enough, or you need to repeat the process. You may have a slight stickiness after seasoning is finished, but that's fine. It's the thick residue you don't want.

***Do not bake your pan using this oil during the initial seasoning process, unless you know exactly how to do it. It can be used in the oven for cooking once you have finished your seasoning however.

Using any other oil or lard to season your pan will/can cause a thick residue because the burning point is lower for one, which is why I strongly suggest not using any other oil. The seasoning will be much "softer" with other oils, and does not work for me in the least bit, nor will it for you I don't believe. The surface becomes much less even and there are simply too many issues with other oils that I don't want to get into here.

And lastly, do not switch out oils during your seasoning process as some tips may suggest, it's not necessary when you use flax-seed oil especially. You have to take into consideration that each oil will have a different burning point, or smoking point, therefore mixing the oils is not a good idea...period.

So, bottom line is that I do not find seasoning by baking is a good idea unless you are experienced in doing it. For most that aren't, it ends up leaving residue because too much oil was added, which is awful to have on your pan. It will scrape off too easily causing a mess! This can cause a lot of frustration and wasted time. I really want people to have the easiest experience and not be discouraged, thereby switching to non-stick inferior pans for sake of ease ;0)

I really hope this helps you. Good luck, and happy cooking!



From Amazon reviews of the pan

It's really not that difficult.

I love my pans.

Ok, so I will admit, I didn't boil the potato skins. I went with scrub under very hot water, then start seasoning process. I applied a very thin layer of flaxseed oil and went with the 500F oven for 45 min, cool, repeat. Have done this six times over a few days. Pan has acquired a dark patina, and surface feels slick, not sticky. I'm giving at go tonight.

Main advantage I see over cast iron is weight (less for the stamped Mineral B) and texture of pan surface - its actually smoother that even my well-seasoned cast iron pans. Don't let the stamped metal fool you - these pans are quite substantial, though I think significantly easier to maneuver than cast iron - combination on weight and handle length and angle. Handle with a bar towel is perfect.