Money Saving Kitchen Tip from Grandma

One of the things that I have been trying to learn more about are techniques that grandma or a previous generation might have used that save money and resources.  One of these is seasoning a cast iron skillet.  I must confess that until last week, I have read about seasoned cast iron pans, cooked in them at a friend’s house, and thought about seasoning my own cast iron, but never took the plunge.  Since my husband and I both really like eggs, I’ve cycled through a number of non-stick pans and have had to discard a few when the coating begins to chip and peel.  So, after all this delay, I decided to take the plunge and season a cast iron pan.

There are a lot of websites and videos that show this technique, what I did was wash the pan well, added some lard and heated it slowly. I then wiped down the lard and placed the pan in a hot oven for about 2 hours.  After it cooled, I wiped it down again.  For regular use, I make sure the pan has adequate oil to cook things and wipe it down while warm, without using any caustic ingredients.  If something really gets burned on, I will probably re-season, especially since it wasn’t all that difficult.  With proper use, the pan should last indefinitely and create less waste.

Now, I’m trying all kinds of dishes with the pan and having great fun.  These include Indonesian spicy rice with a fried egg on top, and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.  I may even investigate a cast iron comal and look at traditional Mexican dishes that a Mexican grandma would make.

Are there any kitchen tips from your grandma that you’d like to share?

shared at Food Renegade, Frugal Friday, and Works for Me Wednesday