Cleaning Cast Iron with Lye

Using lye (sodium hydroxide) to clean decades of buildup and seasoning from an antique Griswold cast iron skillet...and not just any skillet, a 15-inch "Number 14" sized pan. This is a prize for any collector to own, and I'll be doing more than simply displaying it -- I'll be cooking in it! The chemical solution is lye, which has been used for making soap...and cleaning stains...for hundreds of years. For more about using lye, cleaning antique cast iron, and about cast iron cookware in general, please visit Facebook's Cast Iron Cooking group at: http://www.modemac.com/cic

With the lye, I followed the suggestion of using one pound of lye for every five gallons of water. That was a 2-pound container, and I mixed it with ten gallons of water. The vinegar was less exact: I used three gallons of water and about half a gallon of vinegar. That was plenty to neutralize the lye when the pans were submerged. After that, I could pick up the pans with my bare hands and wash them out in the sink.

For more information about using lye to clean cast iron, check out these links:
- Wagner and Griswold Society: http://www.wag-society.org/Electrolys...
- Cast Iron Collector: http://www.castironcollector.com/clea...
- Griswold & Cast Iron Cookware Association: http://www.gcica.org/clean-iron.html‎