Stripping a pan

Removing the old seasoning and any carbon layer back to bare grey iron, using a vinegar soak, an oven-cleaner bag or steel wool, so the surface can be rebuilt evenly.

A tofu test on a stripped pan tore at three of four corners and left a soy film, while the same tofu on a seasoned pan released cleanly. Stripping is a repair step, not routine maintenance.

Stripping is not a cleaning method you should need often. If a pan needs it every year, the problem is carbon buildup from thick oil, not the seasoning itself.