▁o vens ▁are ▁best ▁su ited ▁to ▁cook ▁food ▁high ▁in ▁oil ▁or ▁fat , ▁such ▁as ▁ch icken , ▁ba con , ▁or ▁sa usage , ▁or ▁used ▁for ▁deep ▁f ry ing . ▁Sub sequ ent ▁clean ings ▁are ▁usually ▁accomplished ▁without ▁the ▁use ▁of ▁soap . ▁ ▁D eter gent ▁so aps ▁and ▁d ish w ash ers ▁can ▁remove ▁the ▁season ing ▁on ▁cast ▁iron , ▁so ▁some ▁cook book ▁authors ▁recommend ▁only ▁w ip ing ▁the ▁p ans ▁clean ▁after ▁each ▁use , ▁or ▁using ▁other ▁clean ing ▁methods ▁such ▁as ▁a ▁salt ▁scr ub ▁or ▁bo iling ▁water . ▁The ▁protect ive ▁layer ▁itself ▁is ▁not ▁very ▁sus cept ible ▁to ▁so aps , ▁and ▁many ▁users ▁do ▁briefly ▁use ▁d eter g ents ▁and ▁so aps . ▁However , ▁cast ▁iron ▁is ▁very ▁pr one ▁to ▁rust , ▁and ▁the ▁protect ive ▁layer ▁may ▁have ▁pin hol es , ▁so ▁so aking ▁for ▁long ▁periods ▁is ▁contra ind ic ated ▁as ▁the ▁layer ▁may ▁start ▁to ▁fla ke ▁off . ▁ ▁Un like ▁non - st ick ▁coat ings , ▁where ▁metal ▁implements ▁are ▁not ▁used ▁because ▁they ▁damage ▁the ▁surface , ▁season ed ▁surfaces ▁tend ▁to ▁be ▁self - re form ing , ▁so ▁metal ▁implements ▁can ▁be ▁used . ▁Of ▁course , ▁metal ▁instruments ▁can ▁be ▁used ▁to ▁scra pe ▁food ▁off ▁the ▁pan ▁much ▁more ▁effectively ▁than ▁the ▁so fter ▁ut ens ils ▁used ▁with ▁non - st ick ▁p ans . ▁