victoria (cast iron maker that’s a above lodge but below others,) recommends using a little dish soap.
even if the soaps do remove some seasoning, you should have enough on there, and cooking with enough oil that it regenerates. That’s the secret to cast iron’s longevity, in point of fact. Every time you cook with it, you add some more to the seasoning. (it also can develop some marvelous flavors if you’re intentional in how you cook with it.)
krakenfury@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
This is not the case for modern detergents, but is held over from when soaps were all made from lye. The polymerized layers of oil that you have will stay mostly in tact with some dish detergent and a light scrub sponge. After washing and drying mine off with a towel, I apply some oil and heat it on the stove for a few minutes to maintain the seasoning.
But absolutely mortar and pestle should never ever get soap, particularly something like a molcajete made from volcanic rock. I just wipe mine really thoroughly with a clean, damp cloth.
GreenCrunch@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
Yep. My pan gets hand washing with a few drops of soap after every use and it's fine.
Lye, or sodium hydroxide, strips the seasoning layers. It used to be used in soap.
People use it when restoring cast iron in the modern day to strip old seasoning off. Then they can start againt and re-seaaon!
CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 2 months ago
I run my mortar and pestle through the dishwasher. It’s glazed stoneware, and is virtually non porous. Molcajete are an exception, but there’s not much good to be gained by having old spice and herb residue in cooking gear.
krakenfury@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
Interesting thanks for chiming in. I’ve only ever had a molcajete.
Dasus@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I have a marble one. Also can be washed, as it’s non-porous.
What’s the benefit of a molcajete, I wonder? Seasoning, obviously, but any others?