You Can Clean Rust Off Cast Iron With A Common Condiment

Cast iron pans are one of the most versatile cooking instruments. They can handle anything from frying chicken to searing a juicy steak — you can even use a cast iron skillet to bake your next deep-dish pizza. Still, some folks are skittish about purchasing them due to confusion about how they should be cared for and cleaned. They are notoriously prone to rusting, worrying some that if they don't coddle their cast iron just right, it might become unusable. Yet, with one staple condiment that most have hanging around their kitchen, any rust that does form can be easily cleaned off with minimal effort.

Ketchup contains the fairly acidic ingredient vinegar, which is why it technically doesn't have to be refrigerated. Between the vinegar and the acid in tomatoes, it is a perfect candidate to remove rust from cast iron as well as other metal surfaces. When iron oxide — or rust — comes into contact with highly acidic ingredients, it breaks down, making it easy to remove.

Properly cared for, a cast iron pan can last for decades, and it only takes a small amount of this simple condiment to get it looking like new if rusting occurs. Because ketchup is thick, you don't need to use much to cover all those reddish-brown spots. It is also reasonably affordable, so you won't have to break the bank to clean rust off your pan if it accumulates.

To use ketchup to remove rust from cast iron, you need to let the acid do its job. Coat the pan's surface with a modest amount of the condiment using your hand or a spoon and let it sit for a few hours. If you have a significant rust problem, allow it to sit overnight. After it sits, take a cloth or brush and begin wiping away the ketchup — the iron oxide should come right along. Once clean, rinse with warm water, dry the pan completely, and treat the surface with a thin layer of oil to protect it while it waits for future use.

If any brown spots remain, simply repeat the process and consider allowing more time for the acidic ingredients in the condiment to work. When wiping the ketchup away, don't worry if some of the seasoning comes off with the rust — it will probably happen. You just have to bear in mind that after cleaning rust from a cast iron skillet, you have to re-season it, and Martha Stewart's method of seasoning cast iron using Crisco and a hot oven gets it seasoned in a jiffy.