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I don't get it. Various net pundits assert that it's a bad idea to season cast iron with butter, because butter consists of proteins + fat, and the proteins will burn and be incorporated into the polymer mesh. That collective wisdom says that it's quite alright to cook with butter after a pan is well-seasoned, but one should not season a pan with butter.

Yet a maker of cast iron pans provides a recipe (for cornbread) that does exactly that: they say that this is a good way to season a cast iron pan.

I'm not expecting you to be a polymer researcher with intricate knowledge of whether burnt proteins will slide off during pan cleaning after cooking with butter, or will be incorporated into the seasoning (but hey, if you are, perfect!).

What I'm asking is this: do you have practical experience using butter as the main source of building up a seasoning? If yes, how good is the seasoning?

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    I don't see from the link that they suggest using butter to season the pan; they only add the butter to a hot pan before putting the batter in.
    – Max
    Commented Sep 30, 2020 at 15:28
  • 1
    They mention that this can “help season” your pan in the comments in the left margin.
    – Debbie M.
    Commented Sep 30, 2020 at 18:46
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    @Max I added a URL to "Five Recipes for Building Cast Iron Seasoning," where the seasoning-building abilities of the five recipes is discussed.
    – Sam7919
    Commented Sep 30, 2020 at 23:03
  • Funny, I have a Field skillet and didn't make any of those things for months after I got it. Doesn't seem to have hurt it any.
    – FuzzyChef
    Commented Oct 1, 2020 at 5:12

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As long as you use clarified butter (ghee), ie; with the solids removed, there's no obvious reason it shouldn't work as well as any other fat.

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