Top all-time · #5142
Sheryl Canter
Personal blog · sherylcanter.com/wordpressscience
Sheryl Canter's personal blog at sherylcanter.com covers science. Since 2011, 15 different Hacker News readers have linked it 26 times, most often “Chemistry of Cast-Iron Seasoning (2010)”. No feed was found, so read it on the site itself.
Too few sampled comments (8) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link this blog's 2010 post on seasoning cast iron with flaxseed oil, usually as the source of that advice. Commenters disagree on whether the advice works.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 8 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Most-linked posts?
- Chemistry of Cast-Iron Seasoning (2010)12 people · 18 mentions · first linked 2011-01-29
- Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To (2010)2 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2022-05-07
What Hacker News says?
Seems to be a real thing[1]. I took you literally at first, but I guess you mean you’re looking for a specific result and not seeing it? This article[2] makes a case for using (pure) flax oil and a special procedure. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasoning_(cookware) [2] https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-t...
Comment linking /wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
on “Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money”Submitted Chemistry of Cast-Iron Seasoning (2010) as a story · 348 points
HN discussionFlax seed oil works great for seasoning. http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-te...
Comment linking /wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
on “Ask HN: Favorite purchases of last two years?”Submitted Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning (2010) as a story · 218 points
HN discussionhttp://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-te...
Comment linking /wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
on “The Teflon Toxin”Submitted Chemistry of Cast-Iron Seasoning (2010) as a story · 81 points
HN discussionI think you've mis-read (in fairness, my phrasing was confusing). My comment was about the flax article ( http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-te... ), not the oil.
Comment linking /wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
on “Chemistry of Cast-Iron Seasoning (2010)”Submitted Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To (2010) as a story · 47 points
HN discussionI saw this post a few years ago. Having read her other two posts on seasoning cast iron, I came to the conclusion that she was just making the science up as she went along. In "Perfect Popovers" [1] she advises Avocado Oil for its high smoke point, out of fear that letting the oil smoke will release carcinogenic free radicals into your food. Then in this "Science-Based How-To" (three weeks later) she switches to fla…
Comment linking /background.php
on “Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning (2010)”Submitted Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To (2010) as a story · 18 points
HN discussionAfter a lake vacation in western NC, I stumbled across my first Griswold Cast Iron pan. The bug hit me and I've collected a couple of others since then. My favorite so far is the Colonial Skillet Griswold 666 (aka Satan's Helper). Makes an amazing mix of eggs, potatoes and bacon. I started looking up the best way to season these pans and found [0] and [1] very insightful. [0] https://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/…
Comment linking /wordpress/2010/02/black-rust-and-cast-iron-seasoning/
on “Stainless steel leaches nickel and chromium into foods during cooking (2013)”Submitted A Science Based Technique for Seasoning Cast Iron as a story · 8 points
HN discussionThe flaxseed thing comes from a 2010 blog article [1], which purports to be a scientific approach to seasoning pans. As people have found out, it's unfortunately not a good idea. Aside from the fact that flaxseed is ridiculously expensive compared to the traditional alternatives, it creates a brittle surface and flakes off after a while. It also requires a ridiculous number of coatings to get to the right level of s…
Comment linking /wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
on “Smoke point of cooking oils”Submitted Chemisty of Cast-Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To (2010) as a story · 5 points
HN discussionIf you don't heat the oil above its smoke point then nothing will happen to the oil, chemically. This is not what you want when seasoning cookware. The purpose of heating the oil and cookware is to induce polymerization so that the oil becomes bonded to the surface. As far as I know, this blog post [1] is the originator for the recommendation to use flaxseed oil specifically for seasoning cast iron. I am not a chemi…
Comment linking /wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
on “Smoke point of cooking oils”Submitted Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To (2010) as a story · 4 points
HN discussionSubmitted Chemisty of Cast-Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To (2010) as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSubmitted Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Chemisty of Cast-Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To (2010) as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Chemisty of Cast-Iron Seasoning: A Science-Based How-To (2010) as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted How to Season a Cast Iron Pan as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Chemistry of Cast Iron Seasoning, science baked as a story · 1 points
HN discussion