Food Safe Finishes

Oven Baked Finish for Ironwork

by Albin Drzewianowski

Recently I have been experimenting with various oil finishes to go on ironwork that will come in contact with food, e.g. roasting forks, spoons, ladles, etc. I am looking for two things: rust prevention and nice coloration that is food safe.

I have tried Crisco and regular vegetable oil, but was not satisfied with the final color. On one of the on-line blacksmith forums, someone suggested mineral oil. So I got some at the drug store and am rather pleased with the results. One of the supposed benefits of the mineral oil over the other oils is that they can turn rancid. However, given that the finish is baked on in the oven at 425 degrees F. I am not sure the Crisco or vegetable oil finishes would actually “go bad”. My issue was with the final color. It was to "yellow".

Here is the process. It is basically the same way you “season” cast iron cookware. I have a dedicated jelly roll pan (for you non-cooks, this is a cookie sheet with about a ¾” lip around the outside edge to contain any oil that drips off the ironwork. Also, by having my own pan, there are no issues with the wife arising out of using her "good" pan). I also have a number of different size pieces of 1/2" angle iron, that I use for supports, to hold the utensil up off of the bottom of the pan.

The ironwork is wiped down with mineral oil and placed on the supports in the pan. If it is a spoon or a ladle, it should be placed upside down, so that the oil does not pool in the cavity. I have learned the hard way, if you put the spoon in right side up, the oil will pool and you get a circle of metal that does not color evenly at the bottom of the spoon. I put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 375 and then raise the temperature to 425 for the last 45 minutes. I will do 2-3 cycles and wash in warm soapy water after each cycle.

At some of the local BGCM meetings, other members have talked about using Olive Oil. I have not tried that yet, but will be trying just to see what that coloration looks like.

SPECIAL TIP: Do this when the wife is not home. This process does create some smoke, sometimes enough to set off smoke alarms. (If there is excessive smoke, you probably put the oil on to thick.) So be prepared to ventilate as you bake.

-- AlbinDrzewianowski - 08 Jan 2008