Seasoning or curing new cast iron pans means filling the porous metal with oil of some sort, which subsequently gets cooked in. This provides a smooth, nonstick surface on both the inside and outside of the piece.

How To Season:

All new cast-iron pots and skillets have a protective coating on them, scrub the item with a plastic scouring pad, using soap and hot water.

The surfaces of a new cast-iron pan are porous and have microscopic jagged peaks. When you purchase new cast iron cookware, they are dark gray in color, but after using them, they start turning darker until they are very black.

If the pot comes with a cast iron lid, also cure the lid's inside the same as the pot.

You season a cast iron pan by rubbing it with a relatively light coat of vegetable oil. Use vegetable oils (corn oil, raps/canola, sunflower, etc.) for seasoning your cast iron pans.

Heat the pan for 30 to 60 minutes in a 300 to 500 degree oven. Once done, let the pan cool to room temperature. Repeating this process several times is recommended as it will help create a stronger "seasoning" bond.

Every time you cook in your cast-iron pan, you are actually seasoning it.

If the pan was not seasoned properly or a portion of the seasoning wore off and food sticks to the surface or there is rust, then it should be properly cleaned and re-seasoned.

How to clean:

To clean cast iron use one of two methods.

1. When cool, rinse out the pan with warm soapy water. Do not use steel wool or any abrasive cleaners. Use a plastic brush or a medium grade plastic scrubbing pad. Taking care to dry it well before putting it away. This method will probably mean that you will have to season your pans a little more often but many people are uncomfortable with not using soap to clean their pots and pans.

Never soak or let soapy water sit in the pan for any length of time.

Never put cast-iron in the dishwasher.

2. When cool enough to handle whip out the inside of the pan with paper towel and then rub the interior with coarse salt and a paper towel. Toss out the salt, rinse well with hot water and dry well with paper towel before putting it way.

Things to think about when buying and using cast iron.

Skillet or Frying Pan: Choose the size most comfortable for you. I recommend the 10-inch one, as it's the best tradeoff of size and weight.

Griddle: For pancakes or French toast to have that crispy edge you need to get a cast-iron griddle pan. They work fine on electric or gas ranges,

Dutch Oven: Before anyone ever thought of a crock pot, there was the cast-iron Dutch oven. Dutch ovens have been used for hundreds of years. They hold an even temperature and go from stovetop to oven.

If you have a ceramic/glass top stove cast iron should be avoided or you need to use a heat diffuser between the pot and the stove top. It will scratch the surface and direct contact between the pan and stove top can cause the glass to crack or break.

Cast iron should never be put into a microwave oven.

Avoid buying cast iron pans or skillets with wooden handles; these are useless for oven cooking and most camp cooking.

Do not use your cast iron as a pot for boiling water.

Never ever use your cast iron pots for storing any foods.

Inherited an old cast iron pan - and it's a mess!

Almost any old cast iron pan can be resurrected from the dead no matter how bad it looks unless it is cracked. Cracks can be repaired by a professional but they are so inexpensive to buy it would be better to just purchase a new one.

The Salt Method for Cleaning Cast Iron:
Using a thick paste of warm vegetable oil and salt does a good job of bringing rusty cast-iron pots and pans back to life.

1. Rub the cast-iron pan with fine steel wool to loosen old left over debris and rusty spots inside and out.
2. Wipe out loose dirt and rust with a cloth. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the pan is largely cleared of rust.
3. Place the pan on the burner of your stove over medium-low heat. Add enough vegetable oil to coat the pan bottom heavily. Heat for 5 minutes or until the handle is too hot to touch. turn off the heat.
4. Depending on the size of your cast-iron pan, add approximately 2 to 4 tablespoons coarse salt to form a paste. The salt acts as an abrasive to gently scrub any goop off the surface. Wearing a glove, scrub with a thick wad of paper towels, steadying the pan with a pot holder, scrub the pan, concentrating on the rusted spots but covering all surfaces with the oil and salt mixture. Add more salt or oil as needed.
5. Wash the pan with hot water and dish washing soap. Rinse the pan thoroughly in hot water, wipe dry, and then coat with a thin film of vegetable oil, wiping off any excess oil with additional paper towels.

This process will take a bit of time but remember you got the pan for free and you will be able to leave it to your children.