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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ironically, the worse an oil is for high heat cooking, the better it tends to be for seasoning. (That's why a lot of people like flax seed oil; it ought be a crime in any other context to cook flax seed).

The best traditional choice for seasoning cast iron is lard, but supermarket lard and supermarket pork both have much less ALA than they used to and its hardly worth buying heritage pork just to season a pan. (But the poster in the other thread asking how to cook her artisanal pork shoulder may want to save some fat for later!)[/quote]

So for a vegetarian like me. . . what would is use in place of lard? It seems like you wouldn't want to use something like olive oil that quickly goes rancid.[/quote]

I probably wouldn't use extra virgin olive oil, but your (and my) intuition to avoid things that go rancid easily is actually backwards. You want oil with ALA to help bind the seasoning to the pan, and ALA oils are very volatile. That's why flaxseed oil has become so popular for seasoning; it actually has a low smoke point and can easily go rancid (this is also why the only good edible foods with flaxseed in them are raw).

I believe the oil with the next highest ALA amount is soybean oil, so if I were veggie I'd try that next.

The problem with olive oil is not the rate at which it goes rancid but the amount if non-oil components it has in there. The reason good EVOO is so good is because there are other flavors in there that don't need to be burned in to the pan. (This is also why bacon grease is not a good substitute for old fashioned lard). A deep frying grade olive oil like you can find at GrandMart might be okay for seasoning.

All that being said, I actually do season my cast iron with high heat oil like grape seed oil and just accept that it takes a very long time to get a good seasoning on it. The upshot of this approach is that you don't have a seasoning chipping concern a pp mentioned. But it takes a long time to get a real nonstick layer and it's really really tragic when a friend tries to help you with the dishes and scrubs a soapy hole in the seasoning.[/quote]

Makes sense. I may try avocado oil as well. Do you store cast iron with oil on it, or no? If so, what kind? Seems like oil would go rancid (I know I'm obsessed with that but it's so nasty), and might attract dust.

I like the looks of tiny cast iron skills but they're probably not useful.[/quote]

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