How To Season A Ceramic Frying Pan | Ceramic Frying Pan Care

A ceramic frying pan can significantly enhance your frying experience. They heat up
quickly, are scratch resistant, and best of all, have natural non-stick properties. Knowing
how to season a ceramic frying pan will help you maximize these benefits and increase the
lifespan of your ceramic pan.

In case you’re not familiar with cookware seasoning, this is the term you give to treating
the surface of a pan with non-stick oil or fat. This improves the non-stick properties of the
pan and prevents corrosion and rust. Some cookware materials are less susceptible to
these problems (like aluminum or stainless steel), but any pan can benefit from regular
seasoning.

You should always season a new pan before cooking with it for the first time and continue
to season it frequently during the first few months of regular use. As it develops a solid
layer of seasoning over time, you can reduce how often you season it, only doing so when
you notice that food is sticking more than usual.

What You Will Need

One tablespoon of cooking oil. Vegetable oil is the best for creating a non-stick surface, but
most oils will do the trick. Lard, peanut oil, grapeseed oil, and canola oil will all work just
fine.

How To Season A Ceramic Frying Pan

Step One: Wash Your Pan

The first step is to make sure your pan is completely clean. Using the soft cloth and some
dish soap, gently go over the surface of the pan. Don’t use an abrasive sponge or brush
(especially if the pan is new) as it can damage the surface of the pan. Once you’re finished,
rinse the pan thoroughly and dry it with another soft cloth.

Step Two: Add Oil To The Pan

Add a tablespoon of oil to the surface of the pan and spread it evenly using your fingers or a
paper towel. It’s important that the entire inner surface is completely coated. If needed, add
more oil to the pan as necessary. The oil you use should have a high smoking point; butter
and olive oil shouldn’t be used to season a pan because they have low smoking points.

Step Three: Heat The Pan

Place the pan on a stovetop burner and set it to a medium heat, leaving it until it begins to
smoke. It should take a while for the oil to start smoking, so don’t feel pressured to turn the
heat up.

It’s important that the oil heats up slowly so that it will soak into the pan’s surface
as thoroughly as possible. Turn the pan periodically to prevent the oil from pooling.
You can also set the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and leave the oiled pan inside for
around 20 minutes.

Using the oven to season a pan is better suited for oven cookware, like
baking pans. While most non-stick ceramic frying pans are oven safe, double check the
instructions that come with your pan before leaving it in the oven.

Step Four: Cool The Pan

After the oil has started smoking, take your ceramic pan off of the burner and let it cool
down until it is back to room temperature. Don’t try to cool it off faster by running cold
water over it or placing it in the fridge; the rapid change in temperature could damage the
ceramic.

If the surface of the pan isn’t too oily and you have some spare time, let the pan sit out until
most of the oil has been absorbed by the pan. This will give you the best results since the
longer you wait, the more time the oil will have to fill in the pan’s inconsistencies.

Step Five: Dry Your Ceramic Pan

Once the pan has cooled to room temperature, use a clean paper towel to wipe away any
excess oil. The pan will probably feel a little greasy compared to what you’re used to. This
is what gives the pan its non-stick property, so it shouldn’t be washed away.

Step Six: Repeat Every Few Months

How often you repeat this process will depend on your pan and how long you have been
seasoning it. For brand new pans, seasoning your pan once every month or two for the first
few months will help it quickly build up a more permanent layer of seasoning.

Once your pan has this layer, you can hold off on seasoning it until you notice food sticking to it more than usual. Seasoning every six months is a good rule of thumb.

More Advice For Ceramic Frying Pan Care

While seasoning is the best way to keep your non-stick cookware working like new, there
are other steps you can take to get the most out of your pan.

Using utensils made from gentler materials like silicon, wood, or plastic will keep your
pan’s surface from being scratched during use. Never cut food while it’s in the pan either, as
this can leave grooves in the bottom of your pan.

A lower to medium heat setting is best when cooking with a non-stick ceramic pan. Higher
heats increase the likelihood of food sticking, and could even cause the coating to separate
from the pan.

Always wash non-stick pans by hand using soft, non-abrasive sponges and cloths.
Otherwise, you risk scratching the surface of the pan and washing away the non-stick
coating.

Final Thoughts

A non-stick ceramic frying pan is a great convenience to have, and seasoning will make sure
that convenience doesn’t diminish with use. An effective non-stick coating will also prevent
burn spots from appearing on your meals, and it’ll make cooking stickier meals like eggs a
lot easier.

While it might require a little more work upfront, when it comes to cleaning, seasoning will save you lots of time in the long run .