Lab – How to season your cast iron crepe maker?

Many crepe makers offer non-stick coated plates. Simple to use, maintain, quick to heat or even light, these plates offer many advantages. But some models rely on a more traditional material, such as cast iron. Krampouz’s Kemper is made of enamelled cast iron, for example. The cooking performance is then close to that of professional appliances, without having to season it.

To what ? And yes, the seasoning is an operation to be carried out on the cast iron plates, machined this time. It not only creates a protective layer on the cast iron, against corrosion in particular, but also gives its non-stick properties to the hob. Atypical, this ritual is to be performed before the very first use. It is then necessary to spread oil on the plate and repeat the maneuver nine times so that the crepe maker is correctly seasoned.

Panties yes, but with what?

The procedure is not complicated, but it requires a minimum of equipment. First of all, the recommended fat is vegetable sunflower oil, whose smoke point is much higher than butter for example (232°C against 120°C). Seasoning with lard is possible, but it could clog the crepe maker. Along the same lines, lardiguel, a mixture of pork fat (lard) and egg yolk, is a traditional alternative to sunflower oil. It can even be applied once the seasoning has been done, if the plate still hangs slightly.

Next, a wiping pad is needed to properly spread the oil on the plate. And what about the paper towel? It should be banned, because it does not sufficiently insulate your fingers from the heat given off by the plate. The pad is heat resistant and, above all, it does not absorb the oil, it simply distributes it. Cloths are sometimes used by crepes, at the risk of leaving some textile fibers on the plate.

On a model like the Billig de Krampouz, you have to raise the temperature to 250°C. But who says oil heated to high temperature, says smells embedded in all the rooms of the house.

Cooking your crepe maker indoors is a piece of bravery, so it is best to do it outdoors or under an extractor hood.

Once 250°C is reached, the first coat of oil gets the ball rolling. The first four coats require a teaspoon of oil, while the next five require only half a teaspoon. The last layer is done with the pad alone.

The important thing is to spread the oil very evenly on the plate using the pad. The oil must absolutely not make “packages”, at the risk of not having a homogeneous seasoning. The plate will smoke a lot, which is completely normal. When the smoke subsides, after 5-10 minutes, it’s time to grease the plate again, and this up to the tenth layer of fat.

At the end of the procedure, the color of the cast iron changes to a dark chestnut-brown color.

Mom, I missed my panties

It is recommended to start with a batch of wheat pancakes, as they contain more fat than buckwheat pancakes. Despite this precaution, it may happen that your dough sticks and bubbles on the plate. This unexpectedness only means that seasoning is not enough. It is then simply necessary to repeat the operation: a few layers of fat should be enough.

If the seasoning operation is not complicated, it is however necessary to respect the procedure. The temperature of the plate has in particular a primordial role and depends on the type of crepe maker. As we said, the Billig requires 250°C, but that’s not an absolute truth. Better to read the manual than to scorch his panties. And yes, a completely black plate does not announce anything worthwhile. To make up for the damage, it is necessary to bring an abrasive stone and rub it on the whole of the lukewarm plate (and only lukewarm!) by describing circles. Cast iron being a very resistant material, there is no risk of damaging it. Once stripped, the plate is ready to be seasoned again.

Finally, it happens that the seasoning comes off if it is charred, too thick or too old. It is not the cast iron that falls apart, but the layers of fat that come off. It is then enough to scrape the residues with a utensil before passing the abrasive stone to remove all of the seasoning. We take the same and start again…

If the machined cast iron plate and its seasoning process can scare more than one, its maintenance is on the other hand very simple. After each pancake, the user can wipe the plate with the pad to remove all the batter residue. And that’s all !

For professionals, it is recommended to turn off the plate and use the abrasive stone daily before distributing a spoonful of oil again.