Saw this on another thread and wanted to pile on w/o threadjacking the OP:
I have seasoned and cooked with cast iron for over 20 years. All my stuff is (was) perfect. Last year, I started reading about the flax seed oil method. It sounded good and the pans looked fantastic in the pictures. I read Cheryl Canto and Cooks Illustrated's write ups on the process. I took two of my Griswolds and ran them through a self cleaning oven and cleaned them up further with steel wool. I spent $10 on an 8oz bottle of organic FSO and followed the Cooks Illustrated directions to the letter. I gave each skillet 10 coats over two weeks. When I was done, they were absolutely gorgeous. These skillets belonged in a magazine.
However, the first time I cooked with one of them I made a pasta sauce (not tomato based) with olive oil, garlic, and some butter. Towards the end, I added a splash (~1oz) of white wine. The seasoning dissolved almost instantly. The skillet looked awful.
Later I cooked with the other one. I made sunny side eggs in butter. When I washed the skillet, the seasoning wore down on this one as well.
Now both look like crud and I am trying to reseason with oil, PAM, and lard. Unless their directions were off or I can't read, the FSO method is cr@p.
I am back to oil and PAM only on my cast iron.
IMO Flax is totally over rated. People were seasoning cast iron for many many years before they even knew what flax was. I don't think flax is as durable as other fats. I like lard. Vegetable oil works, but the reason people use cooking spray, is the ease of application, and it works. No need to complicate things. I am curious why he said not to go above 250 though. I would think you would want to get it hot, to burn off any debris and manufacturing oils.
I have seasoned and cooked with cast iron for over 20 years. All my stuff is (was) perfect. Last year, I started reading about the flax seed oil method. It sounded good and the pans looked fantastic in the pictures. I read Cheryl Canto and Cooks Illustrated's write ups on the process. I took two of my Griswolds and ran them through a self cleaning oven and cleaned them up further with steel wool. I spent $10 on an 8oz bottle of organic FSO and followed the Cooks Illustrated directions to the letter. I gave each skillet 10 coats over two weeks. When I was done, they were absolutely gorgeous. These skillets belonged in a magazine.
However, the first time I cooked with one of them I made a pasta sauce (not tomato based) with olive oil, garlic, and some butter. Towards the end, I added a splash (~1oz) of white wine. The seasoning dissolved almost instantly. The skillet looked awful.
Later I cooked with the other one. I made sunny side eggs in butter. When I washed the skillet, the seasoning wore down on this one as well.
Now both look like crud and I am trying to reseason with oil, PAM, and lard. Unless their directions were off or I can't read, the FSO method is cr@p.
I am back to oil and PAM only on my cast iron.