Polymerization
聚合
The process by which thin films of oil, heated past their smoke point, cross-link into a hard, smooth, bonded layer on iron. That layer is seasoning. It is built in thin layers, not poured on thick.
In the kitchen
Three baked layers of grapeseed oil at 230 °C, 45 minutes each, rebuilt a rusted 12 in skillet. One thick layer would have baked into a sticky brown varnish instead.
Common misreading
More oil does not mean more seasoning. Oil that is not thin enough polymerises unevenly and stays tacky, and food then sticks to the tacky patches rather than to the iron.
Runs that use it
- IFX-016Blistered green beans: dry 8 in skillet for 90 seconds before the oil
- IFX-013Pork shoulder in a Dutch oven: 150 °C versus 180 °C oven
- IFX-009Crisp-skin snapper: what a 3.5 minute skin-side sear costs in stick index
- IFX-008Skillet cornbread: preheated fat versus a room-temperature pan
- IFX-007Pancakes on a flat cast-iron griddle: 335, 355 and 385 °F with butter
- IFX-004Fried egg in an 8 in skillet: 300, 340 and 380 °F surface