eli5 how does a cast iron pan get clean?

Question

without touching soap and water 🤔

In: 72

Answer 1

Cast iron pans are supposed to have a coating of oil that has been baked at very high temperatures into a smooth non-stick layer on top of the metal. You can rinse stuff off it with water and/or gentle abrasives like salt. If you use strong soap on it or wash it with soap often, it can dissolve the coating layer. But a lot of the time people are re-seasoning it (re-applying oil and baking it on) from time to time anyway, so it’s not the worst thing in the world if you use a little soap on a cast iron pan.