[Sca-cooks] Another cast iron question

Terry Decker t.d.decker at worldnet.att.net
Sat Aug 30 11:15:26 PDT 2008


Two points.  You don't season cast iron tea kettles.  They are going to 
rust.

Since there is no particular virtue in boiling water in an iron tea kettle, 
I use a stainless steel teapot and an old timey blue enameled coffee pot. 
Tetsubin are strictly for making tea, not for boiling water, so I'm 
assuming one of the full size cast iron tea kettles like my grandmother had.

For maintenance after you get it clean the first time, don't let water sit 
in the kettle.  Use it and pour the water out.  Take the lid off and return 
it to the heat to cook off any excess moisture.  Wipe the kettle down with a 
dry soft cloth to remove any particulate matter.  When it rust to the point 
you want to clean it, scour the inside with a little damp sand, rinse and 
put on the heat to cook off the moisture.  Yeah, it's a pain, another reason 
to not boil water in cast iron.

Bear

> I've been cleaning and caring for decades, but this one has me stumped. 
> My
> daughter (the brunette who acts ditzy, not the blonde who acts 
> intelligent)
> knows I love to cook with cast iron when camping.  So, when she saw an
> antique cast iron teapot at a yard sale, she bought it for me.  It must 
> have
> been a true yard sale, because the thing was covered with mud, and rust, 
> and
> other nasty things.  I've got it nice and clean now, and I've seasoned it.
> It's a beautiful shiny black, again.
> But, ya know what?  I cannot for the life of me figure out how to use it 
> to
> boil water without getting the water either oily or rusty.  Anyone have
> suggestions or solutions?
>
> Lady Anne du Bosc Known as Mordonna The Cook



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