Do I need to season an old cast-aluminum pan?

I received a cast-aluminum pan as a hand-me-down from my mother's grandmother. As far as I know it was never seasoned while in my mother's possession. A little food will stick on occasion and I wash it just as a I would a cheaper teflon-coated pan.

Can I / should I season the pan or am I better off just leaving it as it is? Anything else I should know about taking care of this guy? I'd like for it to last as long as possible.

Best Answer

Yes, cast aluminum should be seasoned. Here are some instructions from cookingforengineers.com:

How Do I Season It?

Wash the cookware with hot soapy water.
Dry it and then coat it thoroughly with vegetable oil. The easiest way is to pour the oil onto a paper towel and work it well into all the surfaces.
Put the well-coated cookware into a 250 degree oven and leave it there for 2 hours.
Never use scouring pads or detergent on cast ware. Simply wipe it out using a damp cloth.
If food starts to stick to the cookware, just season it again.

How Do I Look After It?

Repeated washing in a dishwasher will strip off any seasoning, can cause discoloration and is not advised. Remove the staining by boiling something acidic like tomatoes or apple peelings and then re-season.
Don't leave it to soak in soapy water
Don't use steel-wool pads to clean it
You can use non-abrasive cleaners or a paste made with baking soda and water. Use either of these with a gentle, synthetic scourer and your sheet or cast aluminum will shine!

Here's one more tip I learned the hard way. Don't use aluminum cookware on glass ceramic stovetops! The aluminum can permanently discolor the glass, or perhaps even fuse to it. I've never actually seen an aluminum pan fuse to a stovetop before, but I did permanently mark my stovetop the first time I put an aluminum pan on it.

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Quick Answer about "Do I need to season an old cast-aluminum pan?"

Seasoning Aluminum Cookware Like with cast iron, aluminum cookware should be seasoned before being put to use. Proper seasoning will help the aluminum keep its color longer.

How do you restore old aluminum pans?

Soak It. If the pan is deep enough, fill it with water, plus a few tablespoons of lemon juice or cream of tartar, says Varney. Boil 10 minutes and drain. This should lift the dark coating, which you can then sponge off with soap and water.

How do you clean vintage cast aluminum cookware?

Boil the cast aluminum item in a solution of cream of tartar and water.

Boil the solution on medium high heat for 15 minutes. Then, remove the solution and let the item cool.

You can follow up by scrubbing the item, if necessary. Scrubbing any residue will be much easier thanks to the acidity in the cream of tartar.

How do you season a cast on Aluminium pan?

Can you cook in them? No, vintage aluminum containers aren't safe to cook in. However, you can use them in the kitchen if your cookware isn't pitted, scratched, or worn out in any manner. Hence, you must discard cookware older than five years made of this metal.

Seasoning a Pan

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: cottonbro, Marta Wave, Julia Volk, Julia Volk