Seasoned pans are nothing more than pans coated with oil and baked multiple times until the oil polymerizes, turning into a type of "varnish" and then turning dark/black with continued use. The thing to remember about seasoned pans is that they need to be washed in a special manner. Here's how we recommend washing a seasoned pan: Hold pan in one hand and soft plastic bristly scrub brush in the other hand, dip pan in soapy water and scrub gently, immediately followed by a rinse dip, immediately followed by a sanitizing dip, set the scrubbing brush aside and pick up a clean towel and thoroughly dry the pan (NOTE: The pan has NEVER left your hand up to this point) Now place the pan in an oven to force dry for a couple minutes. Failure to follow this procedure may result in the seasoning peeling off of the pan like a bad sunburn, allowing you the honor of stripping all the remaining finish from the pan and starting all over again...Ugh!
The dark colored anodized finish pans, on the other hand can be soaked in hot soapy water for a few minutes to help soften any debris adhering on the pan, but the truth id the matter is that this is seldom an issue as in most cases you can just wipe off and adhering matter. Why wash in the first place? 1) All pans should be washed to remove any residual oil before being put into extended storage. This is for sanitation purposes, and it will also prevent the pans from going rancid due to the residual oil in the pan. 2) Some place require that all pans used in a commercial food establishment be washed daily, in this case the non-stick, pre-seasoned pans are a no-brainer. 3) If you serve a pizza while in the pan, the pan MUST be washed and sanitized before it can be reused (restaurant application).
Lastly, have you seen those commercials for non-stick cookware where the guy fries cheese in a frying pan, then just lifts it out? The commercial non-stick finish on some of the pizza pans is just that good.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
