Does seasoning really go rancid after a while?

[Shane Lewis]

Just wondering if this is true, especially on pieces that are not used often.

[Cheryl Watson]

Yes, it is true.

[Russell Ware]

Which is why many people only season the "users," and they put mineral oil on the "keepers."

[Timothy Dang]

Is there a particular brand of mineral oil that's better to use?

[Cheryl Watson]

Food grade mineral oil.  Can be found at any pharmacy or Dollar Store. :)

[Timothy Dang]

Cheryl,
do you simply apply it and then wipe it off or is there a method behind it similar to seasoning?
thanks.

[Cheryl Watson]

Timothy, after final scrub down, and hand drying, I dry my iron in the oven at 225° and then apply the mineral oil to the very warm iron.  I keep the piece in a pan (large alum roast pans) so the oil doesn't drip into the oven.  It will thin out substantially.  I then return to the oven for 1 hour or so.  Wipe oil off, thoroughly, and then buff with soft cotton cloth.

Mineral oil has a low smoke point, and you do NOT want it to smoke (nasty fumes), unlike vegetable oil seasoning.

[Shane Lewis]

Should you completely strip and re-season in it goes rancid, or just give it a good scrub and season it with a new layer?
I pretty much did that with my Grandma's pans after they had sat in the cabinet for who knows how long.
They never had a smell, though.

[Cheryl Watson]

Depends on whether you are going to use it, or not.

Grandma's pans were already well used, with carbonized seasoning. 

I am talking about restored pans, seasoned with vegetable based oil after full restoration, then set aside and NEVER used, or infrequently used, after that.

Those that I have that are beginning to 'turn', I will restrip and recoat with Mineral Oil.

My viewpoint is, that if I decide later, to use it , I am certainly equipped to do a quick strip and vegetable oil seasoning at that point.

[Duke Gilleland]

If you store them "dry", there should be no problem. By dry I mean to NOT oil down before storing.
I have two camp ovens that were stored for a year. I pulled them out last month to use and there was no smell.

[Dwayne Henson]

I'm with Duke, I have a Griswold CO that has been in the closet for many years years now, with a paper towel folded between the lid and oven. I pulled it out to show a friend and it was fine. I seasoned it years ago, and have stored it "dry" like what Duke says.

[Gary Salsman]

I think I am agreeing with Duke. A seasoned pan is dry after coming out of the oven. Once you cook with it, then you have a seasoned pan with a oil coating. I believe, with time and no use, that will turn rancid.

[Jim Glatthaar]

Thank you, Cheryl, for the explanation.  I had not experienced a rancid odor with any pans I had re-seasoned.  Of course, I used my pans a lot ;)

[Cheryl Watson]

Thanks Jim, my users aren't a problem either. 

I have quite a few that I 'seasoned' 3 years ago, the traditional way, when I started all this, that are turning an ugly brown, and a slight smell, kind of like musty oil. (all inside in temp controlled environment).  I needed to learn seasoning technique.  None of these pans were used after the last coat of high heat seasoning, nor were they oiled down after the last trip thru the 500° oven, so they have been stored dry, so to speak.
   
I also have some that were high heat seasoned, that I left on shelves in the garage, and the temperature changes have started to take a toll.(break thru rust from condensate)  So, some redo's are going to happen, as I find time. (starting with the #12 newer Wagner which I now intend to use, since I sold my Lodge 12). :)

[Duke Gilleland]

Am a firm believer about the venting paper towels. Also put a few sheets inside for the purpose to act as a "wick" [smiley=thumbsup.gif] [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
Dry-Say I cook a pot of Pinto Beans. I might leave the beans in the D/O all day and it has some diced tomatoes in it. Tomatoe acid does not worry me. I empty the D/O, set on a low burner and put about 2-3" of water in. Use tongs and paper towel to clean. Pour water out and wipe out and back on the low burner until all the moister is gone. The I store it away after cooling. I know-long winded but it works!

[Cheryl Watson]

A trick I am using when a piece has a matching lid that I am storing together...
I take small lengths (1-2 ") of clear plastic tubing, split down one side, and slip over the edge of bottom piece... 3 or 4 pieces, set lid on top... this allows air circulation into the piece on the bottom. 

[Jim Glatthaar]

Cheryl, that seems to prevent the rancid odor problem you noticed on other pans?

[Cheryl Watson]

No, the odor is still there if the piece has not been used after the initial vegetable oil seasoning, but the air flow does seem to help any breakthrough rust from forming.  Just found a piece down on the shelving unit that I hadn't put the spacers on, took off the lid to show someone.... and rust was starting to develop on the inside,oops, in addition to the musty oil smell. Should be a quickstrip redo, and then I'll coat with mineral oil.   

[Jim Glatthaar]

Cheryl, after I season a pan I use it repeatedly for a while, then move on to the next suspect.  I have never had a rancid odor problem.  Maybe it helps to use the pans a few times (or a lot of times).

[Cheryl Watson]

That may be true...  [smiley=question-marks.gif]

It took me just a little while... 18 months or so, to realize that I was NEVER gonna use them all... and I needed to make decisions in advance.  When unable to decide, I use Mineral Oil, because I can always change my mind later, and easily 'season for use'.

Thank goodness that Perry kept reapeating the mantra... 8-)