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If you want to keep your nontoxic cast iron pans in fighting shape, seasoning them well, cleaning them properly and storing them safely are important. What you might not have considered is that certain foods and ingredients can mess with your precious cast-iron cookware's coating.
While there isn't any food you can't cook in a cast-iron skillet or frying pan, some foods should be used with caution or you'll end up with a compromised pan.
To find out which foods you should avoid cooking in cast-iron or, I asked cooking educator Eric Rowse. Rowse is the lead chef-instructor of Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education and generously shared tips for using the cult-favorite cookware.
According to Rowse, you can technically cook anything in cast iron -- even fish and eggs -- but some foods react poorly to cast iron if not done properly, leading to surface decay or food with a metallic taste.
Tomatoes, wine and vinegar-based sauces and citrus are a few foods that require special attention when using cast iron. If you're new to cast-iron cooking or not familiar with its nuances, you might consider stainless steel or nonstick cookware for the following.
4 foods that ruin cast-iron cookware
1. Tomatoes
meatballs in cast-iron skillet
It's OK to cook acidic foods such as tomatoes and vinegar in your cast-iron pan but letting them sit for long periods can eat away at the seasoning. istetiana/Getty Images
"Highly acidic foods, such as tomato and tomato-based dishes can be problematic on raw iron, poorly or underseasoned cast iron," Rowse says.
"Cooking these foods in neglected cast iron can lead to a metallic taste in the food. If the pan is well seasoned and cleaned out after each use, it isn't a problem."
To be safe, cook bacon in your skillet afterward to give the seasoning extra protection. As a bonus, you'll have bacon on hand. What you don't want to do is leave the acidic food just sitting in the pan which can eat away at the seasoning.
2. Vinegar
bbq sauce in cast iron pan
Most BBQ sauces have a fair amount of vinegar that can damage your cast-iron cookware. CNET
For the same reason as tomatoes, vinegar can eat away at your carefully seasoned and maintained cast-iron skillet sending you back to square one. Vinegar-based foods like adobo or Carolina-style BBQ sauce are good examples of acidic foods that shouldn't sit in a cast-iron pan for long.
If you do use vinegar in a recipe and cook it in cast-iron, be sure to give the pan a good cleaning with hot water and salt or a small dash of gentle dish soap immediately after.
Read more: Clean Your Cast Iron Skillet Easily With This Common Kitchen Staple
3. Citrus
Géza Bálint Ujvárosi/EyeEm via Getty Images
Avoid cooking citrus-based sauces in your cast-iron cookware for long periods.
While they're may not be a ton of reasons to put citrus in a cast-iron skillet, certain recipes call for a fair amount of lemon or lime juice. A squeeze of lemon at the end probably won't destroy your cast-iron pan but don't let citrus juice simmer inside of it for long or you're precious patina won't survive the night.
4. Wine-based sauces
Red wine is poured into a pot of roasted vegetables like carrot, onion, celery, leek and herb bouquet to deglaze it, cooking step for a rich flavored sauce
Red wine is great to add into stews and red meat dishes. fermate/Getty Images
Cooking with wine is almost always a good idea. In fact, we have a list of recipes that thrive with a few ounces of red or white. But letting acid-heavy wine braise or simmer in a cast-iron pot or pan for too long could cause the slick patina to erode, leaving you with an unseasoned skillet that food will stick to.
Can you cook eggs in cast iron?
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A properly seasoned cast-iron skillet can cook eggs without issue. Getty Images
While they won't damage your pan, eggs are a tricky food to pan-fry without having a sticky mess to deal with after. While cast-iron cookware isn't as nonstick as chemically coated pans, it's still a fine candidate for scrambling or frying the morning staple.
"I love cooking eggs in cast iron," Rowse told us. "I have a small 5-inch one that I cook fried eggs in. Cast iron is able to get super-hot and precise control is harder because it retains heat for longer, and therefore it is more difficult to make small adjustments to the temperature."
What about fish?
fish and veggies being heated in pan
I heat my prepared meals up in a skillet or air fryer if I'm home. David Watsky/CNET
Likewise, many varieties of fish are flaky and tend to stick to surfaces if not managed properly. If your cast-iron's patina isn't properly slicked or is too hot when the fish goes down, you may end up scraping half of your halibut from the bottom of the pan.
How to avoid a cast-iron cooking conundrum
cast iron pan being seasoned
Properly seasoning your cast iron will keep foods such as fish and eggs from sticking. Tyler Lizenby/CNET
First and foremost, you'll want to properly season so you can cook even the stickiest foods without worry.
When cooking acidic foods in cast iron, avoid slow-braising or simmering on the stovetop for long periods. When the food is finished cooking, remove it and wash your cast-iron pan immediately with hot water, a drop of dish soap and a sprinkling of kitchen salt for extra stuck-on foods.