Seasoning a Cast Iron Teapot
Hi. Okay. I’ve just purchased my first cast iron teapot during a weak moment in World Market. (Cutest little squatty blue thing decorated with leaping koi.) It is not enamelled, and I’m seeing conflicting instructions online as to how to care for it. Would much appreciate any input from the experts here on Steepster as to cleaning, storing, seasoning, etc. TIA!
I’m definitely not an expert, but I’m pretty sure the only care a cast iron pot needs is an occasional rinse with water, and make sure NOT to use soap on it! (cast iron will absorb it) I almost ruined a dutch oven one time by washing it with soap :(
My understanding is that tetsubins are traditionally used as hot water kettles, but work fine for brewing as well. Does yours have a mesh screen/cup type thing?
The colored ones are so cute :)
Yes, it has a mesh infuser — small, but I don’t think I could get anything much larger in the little guy. Do you think rinsing it with boiling water will be enough to disinfect it before putting it in regular use? Thanks muchly for your help.
The teapots from World Market are matte enameled I believe (at least the one’s I’ve purchased are).
Before using, fill with warm water. After using, rinse with warm water. Gently dry it (pat it with a soft cloth, don’t rub it no genie will come out). If the pot is still hot from the tea, that makes it dry a lot easier with less risk of damaging the enamel.
If it’s not finished, then I’m not sure what to do.
Well, bless your heart! I thought the inside looked a bit weird, but never thought of a matte enamel. After reading your post I looked the teapot up on the World Market site and found that they are indeed enamelled. (The care instructions that come with the pot simply say “Hand wash”; they need a decent copywriter.) Many thanks; you’ve saved me a LOT of work! (I was kinda hopeful about the genie thing, though.)
Technically you don’t season enameled cast iron because there’s nothing it can really absorb, but it will acquire a patina over a long period of time. Always rinse it out after using it and make sure all parts are dry before putting the lid back on so it doesn’t rust.
WM stuff is really bad about having the full instructions on the item itself. I forget what I bought that I found more about by looking it up online. Kind of silly.
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