Icky Cauldron- HELP

[Rayn13]

i was burning things in my cauldron, it's small, 3inchs, cast iron. I was also in the process of cleaning so I set it on a CD case. Well it burned... melted through that and now there's plastic melted onto my cauldron. I just forgot about it. Is there any way I could get the plastic off? I was thinking putting it on a cookie sheet on tinfoil and putting it in the oven and just letting it melt off...... would that work?

damn ADD

[Brightshores]

Ugh - I wouldn't melt the rest off in your oven; it will vaporize and make your house stink with toxic chemicals for God knows how long.

I personally would try just letting it cool, and then chipping the plastic off the bottom. You could freeze it too, to make the chipping easier.

If you have to use heat, dunk it into hot (almost boiling) soapy water rather than baking it.

Good luck!

[Rayn13]

Ugh - I wouldn't melt the rest off in your oven; it will vaporize and make your house stink with toxic chemicals for God knows how long.

See this is why I need help.

Thanks

[Brightshores]

:) You're welcome! I certainly don't pretend to have all the answers, but when cooking in my mother-in-law's kitchen, I've learned to be really careful about plastic and ovens. She uses the oven as a dish-drying rack for Tupperware sometimes. :lol:

[feralmama]

The plastic also might chip off, if it's hardened enough. And the cast iron would probably be fine.

[Rayn13]

thank ya'll so much!

[Shawn Cameron]

this reminds me... dose anyone know a good way to get rust out of a cast iron cauldron? and maybe a good seasoning (I think that's what its called) method to help prevent future damage? I don't use mine much and as I can't burn anything at the moment it is just sitting in my sock drawer. and sadly (do to much stupidity on my part that I don't wish to get into.) it is a bit rusted on both the inside and a very little on the outside.

[twinkletwinkle]

steel wool should get it off. I know there are ways to season them, but have never done it myself--maybe try looking up how to season cast iron pans.

[Toby Stimpson]

One thing you DON'T want to do is put it into soapy water. It'll rust.

If you use hot, salty water and scrub with metal wool it'll be much better and won't damage the iron.

With Plastic... hmmm, how caked on is it?

[Son of Goddess]

To season cast iron anything you have to rub oil all over it and put it into the oven for 2 hours, I believe. The temp should be like 450. I want to say use vegetable oil, but I don't really think it matters too much on which type of oil you use.

An idea would be to make an oil infusion with various herbs and use that to season the cauldron, it'll empower it at the same time! :thumbsup:

[WitchJezebel]

To season cast iron anything you have to rub oil all over it and put it into the oven for 2 hours, I believe. The temp should be like 450. I want to say use vegetable oil, but I don't really think it matters too much on which type of oil you use.

An idea would be to make an oil infusion with various herbs and use that to season the cauldron, it'll empower it at the same time! :thumbsup:

Actually the oil does matter. Don't use olive oil, it gets grossly sticky; better to use vegetable or canola oil - even vegetable shortening if you've got it.

[ffetcher]

For the plastic, if you have decent ventilation in the kitchen and you have gas, put the cauldron over a gas ring to heat until the plastic starts to smoke, then plunge into cold water. The resulting residue won't be pretty but should scrape off quite easily. If you have an electric stove, I agree that freezing will help but chipping the stuff off will be more difficult.

For seasoning, I'd clean out first with hot water, then heat through, add salt and rub round with a paper kitchen towel (not sure what these things are called in the US, but multi-ply soft paper designed to be absorbent and mop up liquid). The paper will probably start to char, so unless you've worked in labs for years you may want to wear an oven glove. Finish by damping another towel with a light cooking oil (rapeseed, sunflower, something like that) and wipe around the inside whilst still hot. Again, the paper towel may char...

If this sounds like the voice of experience, well, just like the broken glass chalice, in thirty years I've probably made most mistakes that are out htere to ne made. :)

blessings
ffetcher

[Shawn Cameron]

thank you very much everyone, I don't have access to an oven or even heat at the moment but I like to know these things in advance when i do have that available to me.

thanks again!

[sidhe]

A useful tip on seasoning your cast iron:

Put a layer of salt in the bottom along with the oil. It'll bubble and shift during the 2 hours of seasoning, and help smooth the bottom.

And, just my personal technique, after I first season a pan, I cook nothing but bacon in it for a while. That adds an additional level of seasoning. :)