How to calcine a cauldron?

Cauldron is a popular tool for stewing and stewing vegetables and meat. It differs from ordinary pots and pans in a semicircular shape, which evenly distributes heat along the walls - this allows you to process the entire volume of food more efficiently. In this article you will learn how to properly calcine a cauldron, as well as how to prepare a new cast iron cauldron for first use.

Most often, the cauldron is made of cast iron. If new kitchen utensils and utensils made from other materials can be easily washed and immediately used, then cast iron needs special preprocessing procedures.

In the manufacture of cast iron accessories in factories, it is actively used technical grease, which is tightly eaten into the walls of the dishes. This grease preserves the appearance of the product, protects it from corrosion and the formation of chips. When heated, this grease produces an extremely unpleasant odor, not to mention the fact that it simply harms all products and makes them unsuitable for human consumption.

Heat treatment allows you to eliminate most of the grease and prepare the tank for use at home.

Briefly describe the procedure for preparing a cast iron cauldron, it consists of several steps. The calcination methods themselves will be discussed in more detail below.

• Before use, be sure to wash the walls of the container under warm running water. For a more thorough cleaning, it is better to choose mild products - gels, liquid soap.
• Dry and thoroughly wipe the container.
• Then the calcination procedure itself takes place. At the end of the procedure, it is worth letting the containers dry in natural conditions, do not allow water to enter.
• Soot, dirt, and excess oil are removed with rags, napkins, and mild cleaning products.
• After calcining and cleaning the cauldron, it is recommended to treat it with any edible oil. It fills the holes in the porous surface of the cauldron, which creates a smooth non-stick coating.
• As soon as you treat the cauldron with oil, it should once again be thoroughly washed with warm water. Then you just have to wipe the container, and it will be ready for debut use.

There are several proven methods of how to properly heat a cauldron. No matter which method you choose, Annealing and impregnation of the device with oil should be carried out as soon as possible - preferably on the very first day of purchase.

This option is suitable for calcination both in the fresh air and at home. Most often, this method is resorted to in an apartment. For the procedure only coarse salt is suitable - the larger it is, the more useful the procedure itself will be for the cauldron.

Below is a step-by-step instruction for such calcination.

• First, just rinse the cauldron thoroughly under ordinary running water. Wash not only the inner but also the outer walls, pay special attention to the bottom of the cauldron.
• Dry wipe all the walls of the container with a dry cloth.
• Place about 2.5 pounds of salt at the bottom of the container. The amount may be increased depending on the size of the cauldron.
• Place the appliance on a small fire and bake for 1–2 hours.
• Check salt status for readiness. If the cauldron is completely calcined, it should turn rusty or brown.
• After the salt is colored, turn off the heat and let the cauldron cool down a bit. After that, wipe all walls of the cauldron with the same salt. In the future, it cannot be used for the same purposes - this salt has already been saturated with oil.

Oil is not used directly in the process of calcination of a cauldron, however, it is necessary after the procedure itself. The fact is that a pig-iron tank after dry calcination in the oven, on fire or with the help of salt for additional work needs additional lubrication. This lubricant primarily protects the device from rust, and also makes the porous surface of the cast iron cauldron smooth and non-stick.

The sequence of procedures for processing the device with oil is described below.

• Olive oil is usually used, but if it is not, then butter and sunflower are good, but not technical.
• After the calcination procedure itself, allow the appliance to cool slightly, and then pour about a liter of oil into the container.
• Put the container on fire.
• After the oil begins to boil and bubble, gradually tilt the container so that the oil flows evenly on all walls of the cauldron. You can help yourself with a scoop to get to hard-to-reach places and protect yourself from the risk of getting burned.
• After all the walls of the container are covered with oil, place it in the oven (before that, preheated to 200 degrees Celsius).
• Burn the device for 1.5-2 hours.
• Turn off the oven and let the containers stand for a while until the oil is completely dry. If after drying, a little oil still remains on the cauldron, remove it with a cloth, water or detergents.

This method is not recommended if you have the opportunity to calcinate a cauldron in a different way.

In order not to simply be poisoned by these vapors, provide a constant flow of fresh air in the kitchen, a good exhaust hood will also not hurt. The process of such calcination takes place in several stages.

• Rinse and dry the cauldron thoroughly.
• We heat the oven to an optimum temperature of 200 degrees, not more.
• Set the cauldron inside the oven, close the door.
• Soon you will notice how dark smoke begins to emit from the appliance. Opening the door to exit the smoke is not worth it - modern ovens have special openings through which it can easily exit.
• Ignite the container until the smoke has completely disappeared. It usually takes from 1 to 2.5 hours, depending on the quality of the oven and the size of the cauldron.
• Let the cauldron cool down a bit, then just wash it under cool water. Do not use detergents; you can remove soot with rags or a sponge.

In this case, the cauldron is exposed to high temperatures not only in the bottom area, but also over the area of ​​all walls.

Here the step-by-step procedure is as follows:

• thoroughly rinse the container with light cleaning products or just under a strong stream of running water;
• dry the cauldron and wipe with a dry towel;
• place the device on an open fire, while making sure that the heat always remains at about the same level;
• wait for about 3 hours until the caustic smoke begins to disappear;
• let the containers dry on their own, then rinse it with warm running water and dry;
• the fire must be extinguished, in the next few uses it will be harmful to health.

Aluminum cauldron is a budget option for stewing and cooking. The peculiarity of such models is that Due to good thermal conductivity, the walls of the cauldron warm up very quickly and cool quickly. In addition, these models are much lighter than cast iron. Aluminum cauldrons are not suitable for long cooking, for example, to languish food (for this metal it is difficult for a long time to maintain one certain level of heat).

Aluminum containers are not calcined for the same purpose as cast iron. Here the whole point is that aluminum during heat treatment emits special oxides, which form a dense protective film on the surface of the model. This film protects dishes from scratches, and also serves as a good non-stick coating. Despite these seemingly positive aspects of cooking in aluminum utensils, there is one negative.

The following guidelines should be followed when calcining an aluminum cauldron.

• If you chose to calcinate a cauldron over an open fire, to achieve a small, but sufficient temperature, it is worth choosing damp logs. They inflame worse, but smolder longer, creating a large amount of optimal heat.
• Constantly monitor the deformation of the device, as soon as some wall begins to melt and settle, immediately remove the device from the fire.
• Aluminum cookware does not need as long annealing as cast iron. There will be enough and a half hours, even with a cauldron of the largest size.
• In the case of calcining an aluminum boiler, it does not matter which method to choose, the main condition here is not to exceed the permissible temperature bar.
• After calcination, allow the cauldron to settle, and then rinse with light detergents.

Before you burn your new aluminum cauldron, make sure it doesn’t yet have its own non-stick coating. Otherwise, such a procedure may, on the contrary, lead to the destruction of the protective layer. Moreover, keep in mind that aluminum appliances do not rust, and therefore do not need additional treatment with vegetable oil.

When calcining a cast iron or aluminum cauldron, the following cooking recommendations should be followed, as well as safety tips at the time of the firing procedure.

• Heat treatment of this kitchen appliance is recommended to be carried out in the open air, and not in the walls of the house. In a closed, albeit ventilated room, there is too much chance of poisoning by poisonous vapors and smoke from evaporated oil.
• Avoid sudden changes in temperature. In no case should a cauldron heated up to heat be lowered into cold water. So it can not just crack, but burst and cause injury to you and your loved ones.
• Burning should be carried out in a place inaccessible to children - they can not only be poisoned by toxic fumes, but also scald with oil or burn themselves on the heated walls of the cauldron. All this will lead to severe burns and stress.
• Before buying the appliance, be sure to consider the size of your burners, oven or stove, if you decide to resort to these calcination methods. The cauldron should fit freely in the hole in the oven and have access to air.
• For the first experiment, it is best to choose the aluminum model - it is easier to care for it, it heats up and cools faster.
• When cleaning a cauldron at home, it is not recommended to use aggressive cleaning products. Regardless of the material of the container, they can cause irreparable harm to the coating or walls.
• We do not recommend even minimally moving the device during annealing. You risk injury and burn yourself.
• Never cover the appliance with a cloth or attempt to bring down fire with cloth. Also, do not try to extinguish the fire with flour.
• After each cooking, the cauldron should be washed and wiped with a cloth. If the food suddenly starts to stick to the walls or to the bottom of the cast-iron model, be sure to repeat the procedure for soaking the cauldron with oil.

The fact is that the cauldron should be calcined at a temperature of up to 200 degrees, upon reaching a temperature of 230 degrees, some vegetable oils may very likely start to burn.

If a fire does occur, try the following instructions.

• Remove heat source. Extinguish the fire as soon as possible, remove the gas or turn off the stove. To quickly put out a fire, hold nearby ground.
• In order for the oil to stop burning, it is necessary to block its access to oxygen. To do this, cover the cauldron with a metal pan or other metal object that can cover the entire container from above.
• In an emergency, use a fire extinguisher. In no case do not try to pour water on a red-hot cauldron.

In the next video you will learn how to easily and quickly ignite a new cauldron.