All of my cast iron lids look like this one.i know It's due to the water trying to escape. The discoloration just bothers me

I treat them the exact same way I treat the pot. I wipe and season all mine with pork fat after cooking. The pots stay black and it seems I am treating over the rust on the lid

Heat it up and give it a good reseasoning , repeat till it won't soak any more up , let cool , then wipe clean and store it. Then you can do what has been posted above , and use oil before and after each new use . I've bought pots used before in way worse shape then that , and reseasoned them. A fresh batch of cracklins will season a pot the best. My .02$

H Finn

Build one hell of a fire in your backyard with some good size wood and throw it in there till the fire dies.

Or put it in the oven on about 450 for 20 min or so them put vegetable oil or bacon grease in it and do it again for 20 more min.


Sent from my beeper.

You don't put them in the dish washer?

Here is another pic. To compare both. everything y'all are saying is how I season my pots. (Fire and hog fat) It's only my lids that do it and it bothers me. I don't by new pots. I try to buy them at estate sells or get them from old relatives. Either way by the time I get them they are already seasoned. I am just wondering if people pay less attention to the kids over time

Lids don't get that same even heat dispersion . There on then off , when there on the steam , evaporation condensates on that surface . Less heat more condensation equals that rust . Reseason and heat your lids up to soak up some fresh oil ( preservatives) . After use , wipe then reheat , re oil , be good as new . And I agree I like the older pots as well .

H Finn

What ever you do don't put in dish washer and don't wash with soap, cast iron is to be wiped down with a moist cloth, put on stove to dry and heat it up and wipe down with a cloth with some type of oil, i use vegetable oil or olive oil. The lids will stay that way just wipe them down with oil after each use and you'll be good. The reason being for just wiping them down after use is the seasonings will leach through the pots every time you cook, grandma use to tell me thats why paw paws meals taste so good when he uses his cast iron skillets and pots.

Yeah I figured that much. It just bothers me. I am very particular about my cast iron pots. I love me some old cast iron. You hit the right estate sale and it's a gold mind. You can find some good ones at flea markets to but they normally a little higher priced.


I use a strong automotive degreaser on mine. Cleans the shit out of them

Anybody know of a small cast iron wok? Like a 10" or so

Lol. Sarcasm mate. If someone is dumb enough to use soap or a degreaser on a cast iron they have no business around a cast iron.

Yeah that's my after cooking treatment. No enamel on my pots

Use lard and it wont be sticky like veg oil does

i use mineral oil on all if mine......it is really all I cook with..........clean, wipe down with mineral oil and heat.....

Mineral oil will not go rancid like fat or cooking oil.

Also, look into a "stand off" .......that lid is designed to be cooked on. Using a stand off, turn the lid upside down and fry bacon and eggs on it !!
that will help to keep is seasoned.......

there are tons of videos on how to REALLY cook with black iron.......pretty cool stuff out there