Stoneware cooking dishes are designed to be durable and long-lasting, whilst delivering great results every time you use them. To ensure that your new stoneware performs to the optimum, you'll need to season it before use and clean it correctly afterwards.
Here are some helpful tips on how to season and clean your stoneware.
How to season your stoneware
The idea of seasoning your stoneware is to give it a form of non-stick coating to aid cooking and prevent food from sticking to the dish.
Although you can use any type of oil for this job, saturated fats work particularly well because they are generally more stable at very high temperatures than their unsaturated counterparts. You could use lard as a seasoning agent or perhaps coconut oil if you prefer. All you need to do is use your hands and fingers to rub a thin layer of oil or fat all over the dish. Put the dish into a hot oven for an hour or so. The heat drives the oil or fat into the stone, helping to set it inside and form a non-stick coating.
You should season your stoneware dishes following each use, until they begin to become non-stick. The more you use your dishes, the quicker they will become seasoned.
Cleaning tips
The best way of cleaning your seasoned stoneware is to simply wipe it over with a dry cloth or some kitchen paper towels. This ensures that the valuable seasoning is left behind on the dish. Don't be alarmed if you find that over time your dishes collect baked-in stains that soak into the stoneware and won't come off. This is quite normal and the look actually adds to the charm of the stoneware.
Never use washing-up liquid or soap on your seasoned stoneware, as this will just strip away all the oil and with it the non-stick coating. In addition, remember that the stoneware is porous, meaning that the soap might be absorbed into the dish, affecting the flavour of the food you cook in it.
If you do cook something that sticks really badly to your stoneware or becomes burned on, just soak the dish in clean, very hot water for a short time. This will loosen the burned on food so that you can remove it with a plastic scraping tool. You can buy one of these handy scrapers from most cook shops or from your stoneware supplier.
Stoneware dishes are a great addition to your cooking utensil cupboard. Follow the guidelines above to keep your stoneware nicely seasoned and non-stick.
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