possible for cast iron to be too old?

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

sorry I am starting so many topics lately!

My mom gave me the cast iron she had!! YAY :rockon

So she is not 100% sure but she think they may-be from like my great great grandmother. The 2 pans seems fine except the larger one is very bumpy and textured on the outside? almost like corrosion?

and the dutch oven is what I am really not sure about- it is so old it has a handle on it which looks like it was used for wood stove cooking :) today I boiled some kale in it and the water turned black, also the water was a VERY dark brown when I gave it a wash b/c it has what looks like a little rust in it....so I scrubbed softly with a bristle pad and rinsed(now I am seasoning it) but I can still see rust on the inside and some of the bumpy looking corrosion (like the outside of the skillet) but on the inside of the pot??

at least the dutch oven says made in USA on it.

do these sound ok to use? as far as I know cast iron cannot go bad, but this pot must be OLD!

[Iarwain]

If you see rust it may need re-seasoning. For the brown color in the water what *I* would do is give it a good thorough wash with dishsoap and a soft rag. Bumpiness on the outside is normal. I used to have a couple antique iron skillets and they were great. The ones I'm using now are "only" about 35 years old.

[OpalsMom]

It sounds like it really needs re-seasoning. The stuff on the outside I'd just ignore. The stuff on the inside -- well, either it comes off easily, in which case I'd take it off and reseason, or it doesn't, in which case I'd just reseason over it.

Wash it very gently.

We still use my grandmother's skillets.

[Marielle]

aside from the reseasoning google on restoring old cast iron. It involves a scraper/wool steel or possibly a sander but you want to get rid of all the rust before reseasoning and you definitely don't want to be cooking in it until you've done the restore then reseason process.

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

thanks! I hope it is okay we ate from food cooked in it last night.

I'll see if I can fix it :)