Caring for a Cast Iron Skillet: Beauty or Beast?

[Langrco]

I have been using the one from my kit at home a lot and it is starting to season and getting the brown spots and color that we all know is part of the seasonings process, but will it look bad or actually be good for me to use at my shows

 

[janetupnorth]

I think it is good to show them how the stone seasons so:

1. They know how it will look for them.
2. They know YOU use your stoneware - just don't sell it.

 

[dianevill]

I completely agree w/ Janet. Additionally, I have a cranberry mini-baker that I only use for toasting nuts in the microwave, so it's not seasoned at all. I bring that to my shows to show what the "buff" looks like versus almost all my other well-seasoned stones. It also shows off the cranberry color if I'm using an unglazed stone (or no stone ) in my recipe.

 

[Langrco]

Thanks to both of you and don't worry I would never sale it a lot of love went into seasoning that stone and I would be lost without it. Have either of you ever made pancakes in it and then cut it out in squares. I had heard about that on a tape but never tried it. Guess I should. I have a lot of friends with grand kids and it sounds like a good way to feed a crowd at once.

 

[Paula R. Lewis]

Yep, use it, show it, love it!! lol I tell them, "the uglier it looks, the better it cooks"!!

It sometimes reassures a customer, too, if they were having the same thing happen at home, to find out that "it's supposed to be that way"!!

Blessings,
Paula

 

[dianevill]

Thanks to both of you and don't worry I would never sale it a lot of love went into seasoning that stone and I would be lost without it. Have either of you ever made pancakes in it and then cut it out in squares. I had heard about that on a tape but never tried it. Guess I should. I have a lot of friends with grand kids and it sounds like a good way to feed a crowd at once.

I have made the pancakes, but not recently. I do a lot of the ham and cheese brunch squares (I use the medium pan when it's just the four of us, and prepare half the recipe). I love my large bar pan. I use it at least 5 times a week, usually more!

 

[chefann]

My bar pan is 7 years old, and is VERY dark. It looks like a metal pan, it's that dark. I used it at a show this week and several guests commented on it. They didn't know that it was a stone. It was a great opportunity to talk about how stones season and how often I use that one (several times a week).

 

[climbercanoe3]

I had a show Friday night and the host had a small bar pan. Hers was black too. It was great to show people how seasoned it gets.

 

[janetupnorth]

Thanks to both of you and don't worry I would never sale it a lot of love went into seasoning that stone and I would be lost without it. Have either of you ever made pancakes in it and then cut it out in squares. I had heard about that on a tape but never tried it. Guess I should. I have a lot of friends with grand kids and it sounds like a good way to feed a crowd at once.

He-he - just saw this - didn't mean you selling THAT stone, meant it shows your customers that you actually use the products, don't just give them a sales pitch and keep your stuff in your kit.

 

[DebbieJ]

I love showing my seasoned stones.I was at my sister's house this weekend and her large round stone is more seasoned than mine. The race is on.... LOL

 

[stefani2]

Ugly Duckling:love: Showing this stone at your Shows would tell people how it is SUPPOSED to look as it goes through the Seasoning Process (aka Ugly Duckling Stage). I phoned my D when mine started to get brown and spotty when I first started with PC and told her that I thought something was wrong! If it had been explained to me that it WILL and is SUPPOSED to look like this - I wouldn't have freaked out!

The darker the color - the more loved the stone is!

 

[wadesgirl]

I just got a new bar pan and thought how funny it looked new. Couldn't even remember what my other bar pan had once looked like. It's just a great way to show how the stone seasons. I cooked asparagus in it one night and it seasoned in parts were the asparagus was so I have there weird looking lines on my stone. My last show, the host had her stoneware stored on her counter top and one of the ladies couldn't believe it was the same pan because of how BLACK her's was!

 

[mpkegley]

I agree - you want them to see how it looks when it is seasoned and that you actually use yours at home. I use bar pan at least once per day and it is pretty dark. It is funny how you have guests at a show that have never even seen a stone before and how they react when they see how dark they become.

 

[chefann]

Isn't it a good feeling when the guests look at your well-seasoned stone and say, "Oooh... look at how seasoned that is!" That's when you know they've been listening to the stoneware talks at all those shows.

 

[wadesgirl]

I carry my large round stone with handles and usually use my bar pan for the recipe. I haven't used the large round stone with handles very much so I can point out to them that this is what your stone looks like new and my bar pan is what it looks like after alot of use.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Isn't it a good feeling when the guests look at your well-seasoned stone and say, "Oooh... look at how seasoned that is!" That's when you know they've been listening to the stoneware talks at all those shows.

Or when they say "Oooh, mine is darker than yours!" Then you know you have someone else there to sell the stoneware for you.