Hi Pantry Magic family, how are you doing? I hope you guys are doing very well.

I receive quite a lot of inquiries from our customer about what oil to use for the best result for your cast iron seasoning. So here it is.

In general, the best oil used for seasoning are oils with high smoke point, it means that they can be heated to a high temperature without burning. It is also important to choose oil with neutral flavor, so it won’t affect the taste of the food you cook. With that criteria in mind, you can choose vegetable oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil or flaxseed oil. Among the options, flaxseed oil is considered the best since it forms hard and durable nonstick surface on the pan. Flaxseed oil contains high levels of linseed oil, which polymerizes when heated, creating a tough and protective layer on the skillet’s surface.

But of course sometimes we don’t always have flaxseed oil, and in Indonesia flaxseed oil can be quite expensive, so it is also ok to use the other alternatives.

For further info on cast iron, we share more on how to season your cast iron pan and whether it is ok to use soap to wash the cast iron pan.