this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2025
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So if you just wiped it out with a paper towel, how many years do you think one could go before getting actually sick? I'll volunteer to be a test subject if I find a cheap cast iron. Apparently I'm supposed to get away from my non stick pans anyways
I mean your average Griddle is not cleaned to the level of an indoor cast iron and yet we do not get more sick from them. And the average indoor cast iron is going to be more dirty than your average skillet.
The only way years would change anything would be in how immunocompromised are you at your old age?
Most likely if you use it every day and wipe really well the heat would kill anything that would make you sick. The oil will add slowly to the seasoning, but the surface will have some wet oil and carry some strong flavors forward and make your food taste less appealing. It would be the pan equivalent of overused oil in an oil fryer.
If you cooked steak and fish and vegetables the old rancid fish and meat flavors would end up influencing the vegetables in a bad way.
You don't like your cornbread to taste like fish?
Old rancid fish even!
Not a scientist, but most microbes can't live in pure oil or grease. So If you get the food bits out, the oil itself will go rancid and taste awful before becoming actually dangerous.
It's not the microbes themselves but the toxins they release when they die
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_toxin#%3A%7E%3Atext=Bacteria+toxins+which+can+be%2Care+considered+nonvirulent+and+nontoxigenic.
Tetanus, botulism, Staph. They're not bacteria itself but the leftover when bacteria die. So those toxins can build up on surfaces if not cleaned.
Bacteria that can not grow can not produce anything.
That would require more than a quick wipe to stop from haopening, though.
Without it being alive it should just pass through the body though right? Because any of the stuff in the pan was killed during the cooking process. Itd be hard to cook anything in a pan that's not heated
Poisons don't have to be alive to hurt you.
The microbes need to be alive to produce them when you finish using the pan it’s hundreds of degrees so the bacteria are dead
To tack on, acidic foods break down the finish and create allow the creation of rust. If you skip a few days of cooking on a pan with a pocket of rust filled with unwashed food, you might get something dangerous brewing. But scraping out the pan and cooking frequently, you could probably go the distance.
For additional reading, they can look up regulations on marrying bottles of condiments.
I’m way too lazy to clean my singular pan. There is exactly zero harm in that. Don’t let food rot in it and you’re good. Microbes need water, so you can let a sensible amount of remains just dry.
Well if its getting heated to a high temp it will be fine. Plus the thin layer of oil after wiping with paper towel will polymerise under the heat and just add to the seasoning of the pan. I mean that's pretty much what I do with my steek pan.