You always deliver valuable content ..... thanks for your videos

Thank you for this video! I had a pan I thought about throwing away, but now I know I can do this and keep on using it. It isn't something I would do on enamelware that is less than 10 years old, but my favorite old pan that I've grown up with is going to get a new lease on life.

Great advise! I learned to wipe on thinner, if it looks “wet” wipe more. There is still oil there and it polymerizes more evenly, you won’t have any spots. This goes for cast iron and carbon steel.

Your videos are very educational how to keep your cookware cleaned and well seasoned

I have your exact Staub enameled pan in their gray offering. I have some carbon build-up and will be following your steps here to clean and season properly. Thank you!

I reached out to a Le Creuset representative to ensure seasoning an *enameled* cast iron would not damage the cookware and they verified it will not. I will attach the exact response from Le Creuset with their instructions. I recently purchased various Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron pieces in the color Meringue (light cream) and I am disappointed in their “less-stick” capabilities. Here is the response from Le Creuset: “Colette (Le Creuset) Jun 17, 2022, 17:03 EDT Hello Kayla, Here are some care instructions for your Enameled Cast Iron Signature Braiser: Though it is not necessary, we recommend seasoning our black satin/ cream color enamel cookware to ensure a better cooking experience from it's first use. Simply coat the satin black enamel with cooking oil (except Olive oil), place face down on a baking sheet in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Once the pan has cooled, simply wipe the inside with a paper towel and it's ready to use or storage. Repeats as often as you desire. Thank you for being a great part of Le Creuset. Regards, Colette”

Thanks so much for talking about this topic that never gets discussed. I've watched a number of your videos and it's a relief to get advice from someone who actually knows what they're talking about. I find essentially all cast iron advice online to be worse than useless (including America's Test Kitchen). No one knows what they're talking about and it has caused me to waste a lot of time over the years.

I have just watched your curing of enamel cookware, I would love to see you drop an egg in it to see the result. Thank you Mick. A retired gentleman living in France.

Thank you for this video! I bought a Staub frying pan with a lid recently, will try to season it.

By manufacturing recommendation, any type of abrasive use can damage the enamel finish. Per manual instructions, it recommend that after cleaning if there is any residue, to add boiling water with 2 to 3 tbsp of baking soda, let sit for a few minutes, repeat process if require, it removes everything effortlessly. I am sorry to say that you shouldn’t be telling people to use an abrasive like a chainmail because that is your personal choice. If they follow your advice or recommendation, if any of your viewers damage their cookware, you aren’t going to replace it for them and the warranty coverage wouldn’t cover it because they were not suppose to use an abrasive in the first place. I am just saying. You have a good day.

I love hot the red exterior on my Staubs become darker while I’m cooking with them. I just love my Staubs period!

tq for the informations. Nice kitchen!

Great info on enamel cast iron and seasoning methods 👏👏👏

I have the lodge brand (both enameled and not) and haven't found anything telling me either way to not bake without something in it. Also wondering, I noticed you never mentioned anything about the lid, but I'm assuming you can do all this for the lid as well? I used my enameled for the first time beginning of this week, and the rim has already started rusting. I used steel wool to get the worst of it off while I waited for the chainmail to come in. I also have a raw that has some horrid rust spots that I can't seem to get rid of, and I'm scared to season over the rust since (I know it would take a while) it will just keep growing over time.

Great video Jed.... I will using your method for my red cast iron le crossier enamelled.....😍

Ok. I can't buy a great brand but I have 3 enameled cast iron dutch ovens! I was not aware of seasoning them but found this when I was looking for a way to preserve the rubber seal around the edge! I have been trying to prevent the enamel from sticking by gradually warming it up, but this works better? I'm very interested but don't want to burn up my less expensive pots! 😊

Thank you! It helped me a lot

I received a cream coloured CAPCO enamelled frypan with a wooden handle as a wedding present 42 years ago. The second time I used it everything stuck. I obviously didn’t clean it properly. It has been sitting in the back of my cupboard ever since. I want to try seasoning it. Can I put it into the oven at that high heat as it has a wooden handle?

Bit of a weird advice, considering even using metal untencils is not advised for enameled cooking wear. Especially since there are ways to remove carbonization with some cleaning products that would still be safe for the enamel. Wouldn't you worry about creating a 'loop'? Scrubbing, but ruining the enamel, more gunk buildup, scrub it again, ruin the enamel some more, more gunk, etc.

I’ve done the post season on the stove with grape oil turned up the heat gradually but I started hearing cracking so I’ve turned the heat off anyone have an I ideal if that is normal?

Thank you for this video. I bought a Viking that cam with no directions and I didn't know if I could season the or not. I only used it once or twice

Follow manufacturers recommendations for clean out carbon!

Hey Jed, thanks for the video! I own two pieces of Le Creuset and to be honest, I have never used a chainmail in them because I was afraid I will damage the enamel. I normally clean them quite quickly after cooking or sometimes I leave them to soak for 10-15 minutes. I guess you could make any enamel to be non stick, but do I really want that? I think I don't. For me enamelled cast iron is something I use to enhance flavour. All the bits which are getting stuck to the bottom of the pot are pure flavour which go straight into your food when you deglaze with some stock or wine or even water. I guess it depends on your cooking style... Cheers! Mihai

I don’t have an oven nor the patience to season it 😂 I just put a spoon of oil and use kitchen papers to rub on & spread the oil evenly, and preheat on stove top at low heat for 3 minutes and another 3 on medium heat. I’ve cooked flawless eggs with this method lol

I have a vintage Le Creuset 7.25 quart dutch oven circa late 60s or early 70s. The cooking surface is worn and feels rough to the touch. There's no exposed cast iron; rather it seems like a layer or two of the top enameling came off, leaving the beige enamel color but with the feel of rough cast iron. It still cooks well on low-med heat but doesn't sear well, as the high heat for searing causes the meat to burn and stick. Wondering if you have any suggestions, or videos, dealing with this type of situation? Do you believe the method and product outlined in this video might work to restore the cooking surface of my dutch oven? I sure hope so, as it's nearly perfect other than the worn cooking surface. Thanks so much for your tips and time!

can I use regular oil, bacon grease, canola oil to season the pans as well? I see you used wax.

I’d like to see it on a Le creuset cream interior

Doesn’t chain mail scratch up the black enamel inside the pot? I’m going to do this with my new LC skillet and Staub braiser and Cocotte I just ordered. Thanks!

The ethical thing to do, would be to warn viewers that you are going against the manufacturers recommendation in using an abrasive chainmail scrubber.

When you showed the inside of the pot I just went “Oh my god he ruined it”

Do you also recommend seasoning for the Staub Square Grill pan (with the groves)?

Very helpful!! Thank you. What was the name of the wax you used? I couldn't catch it.

Help - issues with a light interior cast iron seasoning!! Great video and a wonderful result on a dark coloured interior Enamel Cast Iron Pot, excellent work! As I'm in Australia some of the products you recommended are not available, however I can get access to Grapeseed Oil. I hope that you can assist me as I have a light cream (interior) Crofton enameled cast iron pot that had baked on food, I'd used denture tablets to clean up the left over food and ALL of the brown stains on the pot. Guess I left the denture tablets in the pan 36 hours to remove all stains and did some scrubbing at the end with non abrasives. The pot never has looked So Clean, however, all of the GLOSS disappeared on the base of the pot where the baked on stain had been. I'd used a light coating of Grapeseed Oil on the pot with the stove top seasoning method to try to coat a layer of seasoning - which of course being a light coloured pot has now turned nearly black on the area that had lost it's gloss. I'm horrified as the pot was a gift from a friend who has passed away, and I now think that I've ruined my pot. Do you recommend that I start again in removing the black stain with bar keepers friend (or something similar) and try it get it back to the cleaner dull base to then bake it in the oven? I'd read some of the replies where you had mentioned that on a light coloured interior the seasoning will turn brown, so I'm not sure what will be the best method - leave it alone with the pot being nearly black, or strip the current seasoning and bake it instead to a lighter brown (and would it turn a lighter brown as this pot has no gloss?? Would it work if I just buy a buffing electric tool so that I can get it smooth again?

How would you go about pre-heating an enameled staub pan to cook a steak? Having always used regular cast iron, I'm used to letting it get very hot, add oil, and then immediately put in the steak, but reading up on enameled cast iron, most people say to never heat it up empty as it could break. Realizing that this sounds like quite a basic question, would you simply just heat up the pan with the oil?

So I now gather that it is safe to season the enamel in the oven. Thank You! I was wondering if we should season the outside of the pan as well? The colored parts? Or should we just season the inside and place it in the oven? Is ithe enamel likely to crack in the oven?

what is the wax called, buzzy wax, fuzzy wax? i just cannot make it out and cannot find either on uk amazon

Great to see this also can be seasoned but it's still high maintenance. I prefer multiclad stainless steel..

Personally, I would never use a chainmail scrubbie on anything wirhout running every square centimeter of it over my hands first. Some have small metal burrs in them. I have returned them before for that reason. And I will decline to use it on my Le Creuset or Staub. I can't quite go there. They are too expensive, but thank you.

After having done this seasoning and encountered the problems described earlier now my seasoning coating just started to peel off in small black residuals. Does it mean I have to season it again? I tried to clean it but now I have a part still coated and the other peeled and producing black peeled residuals

I am curious, can this polymerizing process be used on hard anodized aluminum pans?

Can this work using stovetop method to start with? Also, would any high smoke point cooking oil work as well?

Never heard of anyone do this.

Hi. I have a Le C enamelled skillet. I noticed after using it and washing it, there were small white spots and blotches. Do you have any idea what they are? Did I ruin the pan? Is it still safe to use it.

So can we still do the old school oil?

Hey nice Video you got there :) I recently bought a Staub cast Iron Skillet 26cm. Now I saw that it is enameled but I dont see any of it except the bottom where it touches the cooking pads. I am not really sure how to take care of it. It kinda looks like your skillet does. So now I have the question if I should season it on the outside aswell (what many tutorials show) or just inside? Maybe some expert can help me out :)

Can you do the same in the gas cooker instead of oven? Cause my Le Creuset pan has a wooden handle

So do the same rules apply to this seasoning as it does to regular cast iron pans? Like no acidic foods for longer periods?

I seasoned my new staub, the next when I used it it chipped when heated up. So sad, I don't know if I should contact them for a new one.

I wish I saw this on time! I mistakenly seasoned the colored side and it has dark oil marks that are not coming off. Any advice to remove these? Thanks

I'm from the school to use enough oil and to use moderate heat. Cast is very good in its heat retention. I dont go above medium- medium high ( not much but if need be will do) is the highest on most wet recipes and for breads w/parchment paper (450 oven temp) and no fuss no muss. Even on medium heat I braise a chuck roast and it comes out with a beautiful sear n crust and yet it releases its bits & pieces adding more layers of flavor (kind of like de-glazing a pan when you want to make a gravy to go along with the dish) and when its all said & done its very easily hand washed and pristine. I guess for some who are learning the parameters of their utensils & appliances this video will help them. To each their own but I wouldnt do any of this... as just putting it on the stove with water & baking soda will take the most burnt on crud and caramelized sugars etc off with out hardly any fuss. My dutch oven is 5 yrs old and used extensively looks brand new...enameled fry pans the same. Most folks I think are in a rush ( understandable today ) and a lot dont know how to use cast iron correctly. They heat some of these great utensils up like a cheap T-Fal aluminum non stick on high ........ Not good nor the right way to use a cast iron utensil.

Is it ok to scrub with the abrasive chain on the enamel? Will it expose the iron and interact with acidic food?

Hi, I just got my new enamel dutch oven, after I cooked soup, do i need to remove the food immediately (after it cooled down) and not let any food soak in it?

Do you need to let the pan cool down completely between seasonings? I ask because I’ve got my pan in the oven for the first layer right now, and it seems a waste of heat and electricity to have the oven cool down and reheat before second layer of seasoning.

I have Le Creuset enameled cookware. Some of the enamel is white in color does that need to be seasoned like the black colored enameling?

Which alternative oil do you recommend for seasoning? Canola or Vegetable?

Interesting video! Looking at a enameled Dutch oven for making big batches of sauce at once. I know that with non-enamelled seasoned cast iron acidic sauces must be avoided. How about this enamelled pan? Should simmering tomatoes etc be avoided? Thanks Jed!

NOOOOOOO! don't use any steel scrubber on enamel. It will scratch the finish (and make things stick worse) and shorten the life of the pot. It even says that in the Staub manual! You can see the scratch marks he left in the video. Use a Scotch-brite pad or similar. Enamel is basically a glass. Would you use a steel scrub pad on your windows?????

You guys have covered cast iron and carbon steel pretty well, but what about stainless steel? Ive seen other videos regarding seasoning stainless, but methods vary greatly. Would appreciate your thoughts on seasoning stainless. Thanks

We have a vintage Le Creuset Dutch oven with chips in the enamel on the inside of the pot. Could I have the inside of the pot media blasted and then just season the raw cast iron after? Thanks.

Do you have to avoid washing with dish soap if you season your enameled cast iron. I use creuset. If anything sticks or burns onto the surface I just boil water in the pot and sometimes add baking soda. It cleans up with little effort.

Jed after a year I found my cruset with rust on the edges what can iI do?

@Cook Culture Great video. After experimenting though, I believe that non-enameled cast iron products provide a better chemical plaform for free-radicals to polymerize and bond during the seasoning process. I have experienced that a seasoned surface can be achieved with my le creuset cookware, but it seems to be more prone to wear, and as you experienced, the oil beads because iron molecules aren't present to help the polymerization process.

I'm a bit confused. I got a Staub Cocotte 22 as a gift. It says in its booklet to never use anything that can scratch the glass enamel layer on the inside surface of the pot. It advises to use warm soapy water and to clean it with a soft brush. Is the Staub in your hand a different product? Maybe one that has no such layer?

What does it mean if when I took my pan out of the oven, it was very spotty all over and turned a brown color? It almost looks like the oil burned or something. I used canola oil.

My cast iron enamel shows signs of discoloration .. is the pot still safe to use??

OMGOSH you just answered why my brand new Ditch Oven sticked so bad making Beef Stew last night I was so upset!!

I have the same frying pan as you do but when I took it out of the oven, it had dark/brown marks on the colored side... Is there a possibility to make the marks disappear ? Thanks and great content !

Thank you 😎

Do you have a video on how to clean and reseason a Le Creuset enameled cast iron grill pan ? Have one in somewhat bad shape and not sure how to restore it to good as new to use it and maintain it correctly

Hi Cook Culture, I’m wondering if I could send you some pics of an INVICTA Dutch Oven I’ve been gifted? I cannot tell if this piece is raw cast iron or translucent enamel cast iron. The piece is slightly rusty and generally needs a bit of TLC. Before I go ahead with seasoning her, I need to determine what she’s made of in order to season correctly. I would really appreciate some pro advice! Thanks, Lotta

Ok so i'm Glad i found your video i have the same Le Creuset skillet So yesterday i was talking to my uncle about i told him that the skillet says non stick but i told him that its not the case for my pan . I've cooked many things with it and it just does not always release easy. Thats was the the whole selling feature of getting it. I believe it was around 100 bucks or so but i realize i probably just didn't need it its over priced for what it is . I will def be seasoning it just didn't think it was necessary , but thanks for the info.

Hi Jed, thanks for the video-great tips! I was considering an enamelled cast iron Dutch oven, however am concerned the glass coating is not durable. Obviously more durable than Teflon or PTFE, but I imagine it would still have a limited shelf life. Thoughts?

So if you can season enamel, could you also season stainless steel? (I don’t want to try with my own pans!)

Help my brand new le creuset cast iron wok ( enameled black coat inside ) sticks like crazy ! What should i do ? The instruction said heat the wok on medium heat then add 2 tbs of oil, rub it around, continue cooking for 15 mins on medium heat then wipe off the oil, but it doesnt seem to help ... :( ive done the process three times.... is there any chance i already ruined the wok ? :(

I have a set with a white interior. I followed these instructions, I.e. grape seed oil and in the 450F oven for 45 min each. They look like they have a browned interior. interior. What did I do wrong?

Did you say use fussy wax and where would I find that wax . I got new pans today and I want to season them before I use them. Thanks in advance.

Can you heat le creuset skillet that hot 450 degrees is pretty high over in the UK

Followed your instructions and now my Le Creuset black enamel skillet is sticky =( . Any suggestions?

I did this and now my pan had big brown blotches all inside it. Will this affect it? I didn’t put too much oil on and rubbed it in well.

Disaster! I seasoned this beautiful Le Crueset pan with Buzzy Wax, put it in a 450 oven along with a Le Crueset skillet, and it came out covered with brown speckles everywhere and two small chips in the ceramic. It was pristine when it went in. I have used in cooking no more than four or five times in its life. The skillet companion looks just fine. What happened to it? I contacted Le Crueset and they advised me not to season the their products with white insides. I was finally able to restore the Le Creuset braiser after boiling it in a baking soda mixture. This helped a lot and I won’t have to discard the braiser. Whew!

Thanks for the video! I have a Le Creuset cast iron pan like the one you have but my cooking surface (inside of the pan) is grey and not black. (The outside is white, where yours is red) Can I use your seasoning method on this pan, or is it a different type of pan? Thanks!

Interesting, but will the seasoning be as durable and nonstick as on raw cast iron or carbon steel cookware since the seasoning can't penetrate into the actual enamel?

I use the same method, but I turn the oven off, leave the pans in the oven and let them cool inside. I find I get better results when they don't cool off so quickly.

You said, if you season outside of Staub that is colored, you will blacken it. So if I season my cream colored Le Creuset, it will blacken too?

Homer: See Marge, I told you they could deep-fry my shirt. Marge: I didn't say they couldn't, I said you *shouldn't*.

I was taught seasoning is to prevent rust, non-stick comes with temperature control and cooking technique. So I don't see why one would season enameled CI. The instructions that camera with my Staub didn't mention seasoning, unlike my Lodge CI DO.

Does the oven have to be that hot? Would 375-400 degrees work to?

I understand why you might be inclined to season the frying pan because you're generally not gonna slow cook something in it anyway. However, when you season the dutch oven and cook stews in it, the seasoning (which is essentially burnt oil) goes into your food. It's beyond me why some people seem to want that. This is also why I wouldn't personally use raw cast iron dutch oven.

Looks like you scratched the shut out of that Dutch oven

I'm actually reading the staub manual right now and it says DO NOT use scouring pads that can cause damage to the enamel. So is that chainmail considered a scouring pad?

I bought an enamel cast iron fry pan and pot as I wanted safer less toxic cookware but it just burns everything. Its has a yellow inner and red outer enamel coating. Would seasoning this stop it from sticking. We dont have buzzywaxx in australia. Can you recommend a product i can use..thanks

No need to season enameled cast iron. That's the benefit. I have multiple enameled CI pans/pots and all are non stick all the time no matter what I cook. Cooking with fat is the key as is with all pans/pots. My test is egg whites. If I can cook egg whites and not get sticking, I have a non stick pan/pot

I need help! I seasoned the back of my enameled cast iron pan and it looks burnt now, how can i clean it? Great video by the way

Thanks for the great video! I used a steelwool type sponge on my enameled Staub pan because I didn't know it's enameled. I think it was very abrasive. Now I'm afraid I destroyed the pan. What do you think?

Anyone here know if there is a lid available for that staub fry pan? Cheers! Helpful video

I have followed these instructions with my white enameled cast iron set. Enamel looks very browned and dirty. What did I do wrong. Would send you a pic but can’t figure out how on this site….Sue

You have a special way of making a simple thing take long to explain

I have some ceramic coated cast iron. They are red on the exterior and white in the interior. The white (the inside) always turns brown when I try to seasoning them. I've tried avacodo oil, Crisco oil, and Grape seed oil. It all turns a nasty streaky brown. I try at 350, 400, and 450. One hour, two hours... I try heating it up slowly and tried a cold pan into a hot oven. Still NO JOY. Any ideas?

After watching this video, I bought Buzzywaxx and followed your instructions. My white pans came out brown. I emailed Buzzywaxx and they said that enameled cast iron should not be seasoned and there is nothing they can do to help. Do you have any tips for getting the brown off or un-seasoning it?

Can I use flex seed or coconut oil?