Frying Pan

[poliphilo]

 My friend Stephen Bann- who is a dedicated cook-  used to say you should never wash a frying pan. The ancient grease, impregnated with the flavours of a thousand fry-ups, is a treasure,  adding subtlety and depth to anything you cook in it. I sometimes let my pan go a day or two without washing- and acknowledge that it's a bit of a thrill when the flavour of yesterday's mushrooms turns up in today's bacon and eggs- but then I start to worry about health and safety and the pan goes into the sink and receives a good scrubbing. Am I being unduly cautious? 

Comments

[jfs.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine almost killed someone when they washed his carefully seasoned wok in soapy water; they wiped away a couple of years of effort. He just used to wipe it with a damp cloth to get the bits out occasionally.

Course, that wasn't a non-stick wok; the seasoning is necessary to make it a usable utensil.

I'm not very careful about washing a frying pan after each use; I figure that the temperatures you fry at are going to zap most things that might be a bit nasty on the surface.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The only wok I ever owned went rusty- from lack of use- and had to be thrown away.