Like mojavean states, the grates are coated with a porcelain enamel, almost a glass like substance. It will wear, and it might be susceptible to attack by "some" of the stronger dishwashing detergents that have potassium or sodium hydroxide in them. I quote one sentence from Wikipedia under the topic 'dishwasher'-"glass dissolves slowly in alkaline aqueous solution."... you can read the article yourself. I mentioned before, it's like the porcelain coating on French cast iron ovens, such as Le Creuset and Staub. Having said that, it would probably take years to have much of an effect. Still, I would rather have the bottom of my pans wear out this coating. The grates will take a seasoning, you just wipe them with the smallest amount of oil, and turn the burner back on. Some oils smoke less than others, refined light olive oil is good, this seasoning may burn off and stick to the bottom of your expensive copper pan, especially if it's a fresh seasoning....otherwise, not a problem, and in fact it probably protects the porcelain from wear. The big thing with cast iron, even porcelain cast iron, is to keep it dry. Sometimes you'll see a light 'bloom' of rust on it, just wipe it off. But if rust gets under the porcelain, it will lift it off and chip it. To clean, I use an almost dry scrubby sponge, and leave the bowls on the cooktop. If I spill a mess of flour, or manage to make a complete mess, I do take the bowls to the sink and rinse them there.

"I'm assuming this is from a build up of oil in the pan and never washing the pan with soap." Not really - what happens is that oil penetrates the microscopic pores in the cast iron during the seasoning process and gets baked in (chemically it makes a polymer of the oil on the surface of the pan). This keeps the food particles out of the pores, hence the non-stick tendencies. All you have to do to maintain that layer of polymerized stuff is wipe the pan with oil after use. Cleaning with soapy water doesn't affect my pans, because I wipe them with oil and dry them on a warm burner before storing them. That rebuilds the polymer layer a bit. "I bought a cornstick pan this week and don't anticipate using it more than once a month at most. I would like to coat it with hot bacon grease before each batch but seems like I've read somewhere that it would taste old/rancid if I did that." Season it with a vegetable oilbefore you use it, use the bacon grease, scrub it with soapy water after the muffins, wipe it dry and oil it lightly with any vegetable oil (except soybean oil, which oxidizes into a fishy taste). Same with the skillets and dutch oven: soapy water to remove the food residue, then a wiping with fresh oil and dry it on a warm burner.

Lou - no, I've never seen Maggio's around here. I'm HORRIBLE with names lol!! I can see the containers of the two most popular brands we have here, the label designes and everything, but can I think of the names? No!! It'll come to me. I haven't had a chance to deal with my Lodge pan yet - I usually have to cram everything in on the weekends. I never have time after work to get much done and now with gardening season here, if I do get anything done, it's usually in the garden! I plan on taking care of it this weekend tho. And I'm going to check out ebay as well. Besides the nice way they cook and all, I really like that if you need to, you can take the cast iron from the stovetop to the oven. They're just so versatile. And not having to replace pans a couple times a year because they're ruined will be great as well!! I hope I can find some of these older pans everyone else is talking about! I go to flea markets all the time, but I was never looking for cast iron before so I never paid attention to what's available! Hopefully the cat isn't quite out of the bag yet on how great these old pans are and there's still a lot out there to pick from!! Lisa

Got reunited with CI several years ago when I found 3 skillets for $1 a piece.... a Lodge, A Griswold, and a Wagner. Could barely read the names on bottoms for the crud but knew they weren't cheap junk from China. I went the quick & dirty route for cleaning them up... and I d mean Q&D. Cheapo spray oven cleaner... SEVERAL application. Once clean some serious seasoning with bacon fat. I was hooked. My collection has grown with all yard sale, flea market and thrift store finds. NOW I have a problem! Most of it has just gotten TOO heavy for me to feel confident cooking with. Also I'm planning on moving in the next 6 months or so... extreme down-sizing. Have at least 3 nicely seasoned skillets. Found a Le Creuset square grill pan, in perfect condition, for $5. One of those Abelskiver (please excuse the spelling) pans and a few "corn" cornbread pans. There are a few pieces I absolutely will take with me. A LARGE round griddle (Wagner or Griswold... would have to go look to be sure... almost a slick as non-stick, perfect for grilled cheese, and makes a good pizza pan for a smallish pie. A muffin/pop-over pan that makes 8. A cute little diamond shaped skillet specifically marked on bottom for an egg. Would love to have someone get them who would LOVE them rather than just donate to a thrift store. Don't have patience/energy/time to deal with trying to sell online. If I could find someone in my area whi might be interested, that's the way I'd prefer to go.