Cast Iron Skillets Made in China

April 4, 2008 by Debra Lynn Dadd

[This post was re-created from an archive after being lost.]

Question from Joy

Hi Debra,

I recently bought a set of 3 cast iron skillets that had a "Made in China" sticker on them.

After washing and using them a few times,the black finish started coming off on the towel I dried them with. The inside of the pans started to look brown where the finish had come off.

Does this sound normal for cast iron? I have an old cast iron skillet that I picked up in a thrift store that is not doing this. Do you think it is safe to use the newer skillets?

What with the problems of items coming from China lately, I am afraid to use them.

Thanks for your help.

Debra's Answer

I've had some cast iron skillets and I've never had any black finish come off on the towel. In fact, there shouldn't be a finish at all, only the cast iron. Who knows what they might have added in China. This doesn't sound right to me. The brown is probably rust, which does happen to cast iron if you don't season it. Be sure to follow the directions for seasoning the pan before you use it (coat with oil, bake in the oven, etc). Your pans should have some instructions for this. If not, search the web for "season cast iron pan".

See comment from Debra below for the explanation of this black coating.

OK, I’ve figured out what is happening here. Traditionally, “seasoning” is layers of oil that gets built up on cast iron when used. When you first get the pan, you need to season it by putting oil on it and baking it in the oven. Recently “preseasoned” pans have come on the market. Lodge Cast Iron Cookware pans are seasoned in the foundry with vegetable oil, which is baked on at high temperatures. These pans are preseasoned and ready to use. The cast iron pans made in China, which are sold as “seasoned cast iron” are coated with an FDA-approved bake on paint for seasoning, rather than vegetable oil. The black stuff that is chipping off is the “seasoning” and it is paint. If you are using cast iron that is chipping paint, throw it out. If you are purchasing cast iron, buy Lodge, or cast iron that is not preseasoned. Cast iron is an excellent choice for cookware. It is made from simple materials, lasts for a lifetime, and when it’s life as cookware is over, it will just rust away back into the earth.