To Cast Iron

Gumbo begins with the cast iron dutch oven, empty, over high heat. While I chop the onions, I wait until I begin to smell the hot iron. I add the oil and chop the celery. I wait for the oil to smoke.

Look at that shine. 20 years of cooking

The instructions say to season the pan; they make it sound like a one-time thing. Heat the pan, rub oil into it, wipe out the extra. They don’t tell you that you will do this for years. That shine that was on your grandmother’s pan? That doesn’t come without work. Every single time I used it, I would repeat the process. Rubbing in the oil as if I could press it into the iron, as if the iron is permeable. As if the iron breathes.

Seasoning is gradual thing and for years I thought I must be doing it wrong. I wondered every time we moved if the weight of that box was worth it, the rust that would appear before I got to it again. But the roux doesn’t really work in any other pan; I needed it. We moved 6 times in 6 years. Every year, the pan was a little more seasoned.

Twenty years later, it shines like smooth water. I can almost see my reflection as it heats up. The oil shimmers and then smokes. I can cook from memory; I have learned this much.