u/NotLunaris

Hand sanded with 80 grit sandpaper. Acid etched with 2.5% citric acid solution on a 5min simmer. Reseasoned with avocado oil @ 400-425°F for an hour and a half, with an extra application 30mins in. The left was seasoned a few days ago and saw some use, then seasoned again. Right one is freshly stripped and seasoned.

Color difference is significant. The right has a much more olive-like tone, whereas the left is quite a bit darker after the second round. No doubt further rounds will darker the color more, but it is functionally unnecessary.

Wanted to post this to show the difference in color between rounds. What's interesting is that regular cooking (searing smash burgers mostly) over the course of a few days did not significantly darken the seasoning on the left skillet. Probably needs more time, but regular cooking also doesn't reach 400°F+ for long, so the effect is far less pronounced than actually popping the pan in the oven.

One of these is going with my sister to college.

After I got raked over the coals in my previous post for not wanting to believe the black stuff flaking off the pan wasn't seasoning, I swallowed my pride and set up a lye tank for my 12in Tramontina skillet. Since I'm a stubborn and impatient ahole, I still deviated from the norm and seasoned the pan 3 times in 20 minute intervals instead of the recommended 1 hour, though the final coat went for a full hour. Used avocado oil at 450°F. Developed a beautiful bronze sheen similar to hundo dollo skillets. Christened it immediately with smash burgers and eggs. The burgers stuck like hell for the first side, but behaved normally after flipping. Eggs were nonstick for the first side, but half stuck slightly for the second, probably due to a lack of oil as the first side wicked it all away. Heat was also a bit too low.

Overall very happy with all the work, and glad that the guys saw fit to ride my stubborn ass with no holds barred so that I could recognize the truth of the matter and proceed appropriately.

Egg vids: first flip and second flip

An interesting thing I noticed is that the burgers left dark marks on the pan that I couldn't scrub out even after 3 rounds of soap, chainmail, and green scrub pad. The dark marks are also not hydrophobic, unlike the rest of the seasoned pan. I don't think I'm going to worry about it, but it is a bit annoying.

Many of us are in a constant state of turmoil, thinking about how to combine cheap ingredients into delicious and healthy meals. Oftentimes that leads to choosing 2 out of the 3 in the meal trifecta: taste, cost, and time (healthy is non-negotiable and not included). But does it really have to be a choice? Imo, not if you temper your expectations accordingly.

One of the biggest gripes people have about ECAH is the time and effort spent on prep, cooking, and cleaning. It's partly why consumption of processed slop is at an all-time high. People feel drained from their day and do not want to muster up the mental strength to do all that. I believe part of this negative energy is self-induced, because people have set their expectations too high. It is not that long ago that people in the west commonly had boiled or baked carbs with boiled protein and veggies for most meals. The YouTube channel Townsends has pretty nice videos on olden meals. The preparations are simple, and day-to-day variations rare.

It's good to seek greater things from life, and it's a testament to human prowess that we have so many options to choose from now. But this has also introduced a flavor of dissatisfaction, the feeling that simplicity is no longer adequate, and even beneath us. This desire-induced misery plagues everyone to some degree, and is a sign of overconsumerism in modern society.

You can probably tell where I'm going with this. I'll just use a real example: I just got back from the gym, and am rightfully hungry. I took out the twin pack of $3/lb discounted ground beef patties that I froze back then and put into the fridge yesterday to defrost, heated up my cast iron skillet, and smashed the patties on. Sprinkled salt and pepper. Took out the 100g of split peas from the fridge that I boiled yesterday and ate half of. Flipped the patty and turned the heat off. Poured a glass of milk. Done in 10 mins. The patty is so delicious and rich, seared in its own fat, and the cold peas and milk go down easy and is a nice reprieve from the summer heat. $2, 10 mins, 80g protein, 2 bowls (one without oil) and a cup, one pan. It is by no means fancy, nor is it picture-worthy, but it is absolutely delicious, satiating, and most importantly, cheap and healthy. I'm going to have an apple later for more carbs and fiber, along with a homemade yogurt bowl with frozen blueberries and honey that also comes together in a minute.

Don't be lured into the social media pipeline where only the most extreme, be it good or bad, are constantly pushed to you. Making every single meal look picturesque and wonderful is not the norm, and trying to pursue that ideal while ditching your mental energy (or, as many people do, give up on it entirely) is the much worse outcome. Of course, this is much easier when you're cooking for one, but families should have a fair distribution of labor so that the stress of cooking is not as great of an issue.