Why You Should Never Use Olive Oil To Season Cast Iron

Cast iron is great for getting a dark sear on foods, evenly cooking baked goods, and even slow-cooking different meats. It retains heat well, so if you want a deep, brown crust on your seared steak, cast iron is the move. But an important step when using cast iron is to properly season the pan, which means coating it in a layer of oil and heating it at a high temperature. And for this to work properly, the oil you use matters; olive oil is one oil to avoid.

When seasoning cast iron, it should be placed in at least a 450-degree Fahrenheit oven and heated for one hour. This means that the oil you use has to be durable enough to withstand those high temperatures. Otherwise, it will burn and could damage your cast iron, get sticky, or impart a burnt flavor. Olive oil's smoke point can be as low as 347 degrees Fahrenheit  — that's much lower than what is needed. While its smoke point can get up to 464 degrees Fahrenheit depending on its quality, it's better to opt for an oil that you know has a smoke point within that 450-500 degrees Fahrenheit range. When overheated well beyond its smoke point, oil can also cause a grease fire.

Skip the olive oil and opt for a neutral, high-smoke-point oil instead. Some good options are canola oil or vegetable oil. Canola oil's smoke point can get as high as 475 degrees Fahrenheit, so it's a good option when you're heating the oven to around that temperature range. Plus, it's a neutral-flavored oil, so it won't affect how the food tastes (olive oil, on the other hand, has a pretty strong flavor), so it's good for coating a surface where you'll cook various foods.

Soy-based vegetable oil has a smoke point of 450 degrees Fahrenheit, so it's another great option for seasoning cast iron; it also has the same neutral flavor that canola oil has. When you season the cast iron yourself, coat it generously, then flip it over while it's in the oven (add some aluminum foil to the bottom of the oven to catch drips). This will help it season evenly and make sure no oil pools in the pan. Once it's done, turn off the oven and let the cast iron cool before handling it.