I confess that I got carried away, but I couldn’t resist picking up this cast iron kettle. Made in Taiwan; 5 pints. It weighs 3.433 kilos, so not a backpacking kettle — more for a wood stove, open fireplace, or sturdy cabin range. “Taiwan 5” It was quite rusty when I got it, but I gave it a good fettle: Here strong citric acid is being boiled to clean the inside. Here the whole kettle is being boiled in strong citric acid (on a Coleman 500A). Here is the kettle after boiling. The inside was then given a good going over with a brass brush on a drill, rinsed a few times with the strong citric acid, dried thoroughly and the whole kettle given a light spray with canola oil and wiped. It was then baked in an oven at 200°C for an hour and allowed to cool. The kettle was then treated lightly with canola oil, wiped, and baked again. Then it was boiled with clean water a few times. It’s fine for a brew up now. Cheers Tony
I've seen these advertised in various places recently. Nice to see cast iron is making a comeback! Now, if they'd also produce the old English design which is getting quite sought after over here....
@Tony Press nice one. cast iron "cooking stuff" must be oiled up well with sunflower oil then burned about 1-2 hours in open place(lots of smoke) then after every use dry it and oil it up . it will never rust again. only place that will get pitted is the bottom where is exposed directly to flame. but you will see that only if used almost daily and after about 10 years of cooking. pitting is 1-2 mm depth. not something to worry about really. what cooking "hardware" I have is at least 5 mm thick. I'll probably get old and still don't get to see a hole in them... the most recent cooking "pot" is a 16 liter "thing" at least 10 kg and more than 6 mm thick... it will be used in open space for bigger meals. Haven't had the chance to oil it up and burn it several times yet. I'm not cooking extensively(yet) at minus 8 Celcius and wind of 15-20km/h... but once it warms up... it's mainly for home use, not really "portable". yours might need more care against rust on the inside. maybe dry it imediately after use. might still need some oil on the inside when stored.
@Blackdog what is that "classic old english design"? do you have a picture? is it covered in enamel for protection against rust?
@Tony Press do you have a picture of the bottom? that will tell how much it's been used! if it isn't new!
I beg to differ. Cast iron cooking vessels have been common in England since sand moulds made production cheap and efficient in the early 1700s. The 'seasoning with oil' craze in the West is about as old as the internet, and a result of people having spare time and disposable income to do such things. Before that, people just got on and cooked in cast iron pans and they became seasoned in use. As for seasoning kettles, I have a regularly used mid-Victorian cast iron kettle. A bit of use over an open fire or open range 150 years ago sealed the pores in the surface with carbon. It has been used on closed ranges or other forms of clean burning stoves for a long time now, and doesn't rust thanks to that brief period of carbon entering the pores- the same result as using a commecial 'stove black' or 'grate polish' on cast iron. Cast iron doesn't rust anywhere near as fast as steel, it doesn't need protecting and even a thin shell casting like a kettle would take a lifetime to rust through even if left abandoned outdoors. Using stove black, blackening over an open fire then buffing, or seasoning with oil are all things done purely for aesthetics. In much of the UK hard water would soon protect the inside of the kettle with limescale deposits too. I've just checked and reproduction English style kettles are being knocked out, probably in China or India, and quite likely using the odd bit of old foundry equipment shipped there when the UK ironworks closed.
@Blackdog scale inside the kettle is normal since we boil water in it. so a lot of minerals stay while almost pure H2O evaporates away while boiling water. I also have a steel enamel kettle from Ukraine. after a few boils the inside bottom has scale on it... tested with hydrocloric acid, and it fizzles for a few seconds until it dissolves it all. in a cast iron kettle ,I don't know... all my cast iron pots are used for cooking with oil. almost all are black from oil burning .inside or out... and no rust anywhere. only one old pot(about 10 years now) has some pitting where fire is in direct contact. I don't "baby" these cast iron pots. they're either used at full blast or not used,but oiled up. I did noticed the more I use them the blacker they get :-) only once I cleaned it (the oldest one) well /to the metal... in one week was black again as before. I gave up on this "cleaning well thing" years ago. just some detergent a sponge hot water 2-3 rubs on the inside(where it matters to be sort of clean) and a good rinse in hot water. I couldn't be happier(high tech pots make me laugh). the biggest pot 16 liter will be hardest to "season" as the smallest and oldest pot. Was thinking of a 80 liter cast iron pot ,just for fun and show ,but it's 50 kg empty weight and about 700 euros to buy! :-) one day ,one day I'll get an 80 liter one too. I'll find something to boil in it in the end :-) Ceaun de fonta de 80 litri - Ceaune de fonta - magazin online specializat in produse din fonta
Almost there. I managed to clean surface in/out and almost have it nice and shiny but not seasoning, at least today! :-) Definitely needs boiling with some detergent in it. black stuff on top of water!
yes, you must burn it well with oil. I forgot about the oldest pan on fire several times. Was smoky as hell but you need an angle grinder to remove that "seasoning" now :-) Wouldn't use any other cooking "stuff" .
No. You don't need to burn it. Just use it. Clean with water and a brush. Never so hot it smokes, or you lose the seasoning.
