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My aunt said to use a potato to clean my cast iron pan | Failed Life Hacks - Talk Freely

My aunt said to use a potato to clean my cast iron pan

My aunt swore that rubbing a cut raw potato on a hot cast iron pan would take off all the gunk without ruining the seasoning. I tried it last week on my lodge pan after making bacon and ended up with a sticky mess of burnt starch that took me 45 minutes to scrub off. Has anyone actually gotten this potato trick to work or is it just an old wives tale?

3 comments

3 Comments

robertgreen5mo ago

You know what, I used to be a hardcore believer in the potato thing. My grandmother swore by it and I thought she was just keeping the old ways alive. But I finally tried it myself a few months back on a crusty pan after some burgers and yeah, it was a total disaster. It left this weird, gunky film on the surface that was way harder to clean than the original grease. I honestly think it's one of those tricks that maybe worked on the really old, super thin pans our grandparents had, but on a modern Lodge or something it's just asking for trouble. So I'm right there with you, it changed my mind completely. I'll stick to salt and a little oil from now on.

oliver_wilson495mo ago

See, I've actually had the opposite experience. I use the potato method on my old cast iron every few months and it leaves a nice even seasoning, but I always make sure to scrub the pan clean first with hot water and a stiff brush before I start.

tarar275mo ago

The potato trick sounds like something that would work great in a YouTube thumbnail and then fail spectacularly in real life (kind of like those life hacks that involve cutting a water bottle in half). I'm convinced it's just a way for your aunt to get you to do extra scrubbing while she watches from the couch. Salt and a paper towel has never let me down, so I'll stick with that boring but functional method.