[Master-chef]

Hi 

I am currently a Culinary student at Royal academy of culinary/an affiliate of les roches,they are under laureate. What i want to ask about is the history of seasoning or curing,chemistry or the science behind it. Thank you very much for your consideration and time for looking into this. i appreciate replying to this and i am willing to share information in return. i am in need to know this for a project at my college.

 

[grande]

You need to know about seasoning and curing OR the seasoning of pans?

 

[Master-chef]

I'm not talking about seasoning meat. Seasoning and curing the pan are the same, the process which you can make a non-stick surface on the pan. i need to know the history and science behind it. i searched in books, asked my chefs nobody knew. please i am really in need of knowing this. if you can put the reference or source, that would be appreciated.

Thank you very much

 

[chefbuba]

We don't do homework. A simple google search just came up with all sorts of information, you just have to do a lot of reading.

 

[brianshaw]

I'm not going to pile onto the other comments because I just googled both "pan seasoning" and "pan curing"... and both chefs are correct. Took me less than 2 minutes to find the info. Reading it might take longer but...

The history is a different issue. I have never seen much on the history. Maybe McGee has something to say about that, IDK. If nothing else, you can make up a good story about the first user of a cast iron griddle and how she (it would have ben a "she" back in the 1600s) went from elation at getting a new state-of-the-art piece of cookware to disappointment as her griddle cakes stuck. I'll bet she went back to cooking on a hot rock for a while until she figured out that bear grease made the cast iron slick and kept her griddle cakes from sticking. The rest... is HISTORY!

I'm more curious about the question from a different perspective. You are in your last semester at Les Roches and this topic just came up??? Please... what is the context and why only now???

 

[grande]

Actually, search the archives of this site, there is a lot of good info, and find cast iron collectors sites, they will also have info. History? That's just the way certain metals behave. It also makes those certain metals less reactive with food, unlike, say, copper. But that wasn't the only thing people had to cook with. Earthenware was a lot more popular, for a long time. Modern pans are a product of the industrial revolution.

Also, curing is not the correct word.

 

[brianshaw]

Funny, that. I don't disagree. Google search engine treats the two words as synonyms. Odd or not?

 

[raibeaux]

I think I posted this many moons ago, but here it is again.

http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

 

[Master-chef]

Im sorry this is not an assignment or homework , i wanted to make a presentation on it and enlighten other students about it, its not obligatory but did it on my own free will.

 

[Master-chef]

 i did what you told and  it helped me a lot, i found the info's i need.

Thank you very much for your time