ZBlogS

Dear Heloise: I have an old cast-iron skillet, but it's dirty. I know you're not supposed to use soap and water on it, so what's the best way to remove the old grime? Also, what is the best way to re-season it for future cooking? -- Dolores King, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Dolores, you are right -- for general cleaning, the combination of dish soap and water is not recommended!

So, if you're just cleaning it after cooking, use only hot water, and NEVER put it in the dishwasher. Use a nylon scrubbie or plastic brush only, and dry completely. DON'T air-dry, because this could cause rust. When dry, put in a little bit of solid vegetable shortening or oil and wipe it around the skillet until the surface is completely covered.

If your skillet needs to be re-seasoned because food is starting to stick or the skillet is gummy, here's what you need to do:

Advertisement

Use hot, soapy water and give the skillet a good scrubbing. Then rinse and dry completely, and season it with some melted solid vegetable shortening on the inside and the outside. Set the oven temperature to 350-400 F. Place the skillet upside down on top of a cookie sheet. It needs to "bake" for an hour. Then turn off the oven and let the skillet cool completely before removing it from the oven. -- Heloise

P.S.: A good cast-iron skillet is worth its weight in gold! Cornbread tastes like your grandmother's when baked in one!

SEND A GREAT HINT TO:

P.O. Box 795000

San Antonio, TX 78279-5000

Fax: 210-HELOISE

E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com

READER'S FAVORITE HINTS

Dear Heloise: I read your column daily in The (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review and have found many useful hints. I hope mine will be helpful:

Advertisement

* When a recipe calls for crumbled bacon, I take the required amount of bacon strips, cut crossway about every 1/3 to 1/4 inch, and then cook the pieces. When cooked, I remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel. No messy fingers!

* I save rubber bands that come on the newspaper -- they have so many uses. I put one around a ball of yarn or a spool of thread. When I use only a partial package of frozen veggies, I roll up the remainder and put a rubber band on it. I wrap a rubber band around the ends of a clothes hanger to prevent slipping.

* When adding liquid detergent to the washer, first rinse (don't dry) the measuring cup with water. The cup will clean up easier. The same principle works well in the kitchen when measuring oil or shortening for baking.

Keep the tips coming! -- Norma O., via e-mail

Advertisement

COFFEE FILTER

Dear Heloise: If you are looking for something to cover just about anything that you are putting into the microwave, try a single paper coffee filter. It works very well and can be shaped to cover almost any item. -- Jim Phillips, League City, Tex.

You also can use a paper plate in a pinch if a coffee filter is not handy. -- Heloise

Send a hint to

, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, fax it to 210-HELOISE or e-mail it to

Heloise@Heloise.com

. Please include your city and state.

2011, King Features Syndicate

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLmqssSsq7KklWTAtcXLnmahoZ6pwG6y0aikZqCVobyqv8RmmqWdkaO2r7OMmmScmaOpeqq%2BzqdkrKOZobmmwI5rZ2ppX2WFcHyQaJ6CiXGFuLS2qYOWrKyfp8ZvtNOmow%3D%3D