ThelmaLou Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 How can I grease my cast iron pans with Crisco sans a paper towel or baggie? (Don't want to use oil because my pans always end up getting a sticky, gummy buildup from oil). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 My mom always just scooped out a lump of Crisco and let it melt in the pan, then sort of twirled the pan around. And then, yep, she wiped it with a paper towel. Could you ease off on NO paper towels with just buying one roll for occasional use? Or is it a moral objection? I suppose you could use a brown paper sack, like a lunch sack, but that doesn't seem that different from paper towels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 We used coffee filters before, but pretty much always disposable things. My husband would like to know as well, because we are paper-towel free too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 We don't buy paper towels. However we often have paper napkins that came home from take out, so I've used those. You can't seen to stop other people from putting then into the bag. I figure they are already here, I might as well use them. Not using them isn't going to re-grow that tree IYKWIM. I usually just toss the few in a pile in a draw and then I have them for when I need them, but at least I didn't buy them. I've also used newspaper and brown paper bag for things like this. I drain my bacon on either one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I just take the back of the spoon and whirl some small amount around in it. Sometimes I use my fingers to spread it out. <gasp!> Meh. My fingers are washable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooRho Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 my mom always used a butter wrapper in her crisco for greasing pans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Wallace Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Dumb question, but why not on a clean kitchen rag, or bar towels bought specifically for use with dishes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Dumb question, but why not on a clean kitchen rag, or bar towels bought specifically for use with dishes? Grease is awful hard to wash out of rags. You would have to be very, very careful not to wash them with your husbands work clothes. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I just take the back of the spoon and whirl some small amount around in it. Sometimes I use my fingers to spread it out. <gasp!> Meh. My fingers are washable. :lol: Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 We keep paper towels just for the cast iron pan... We get plain white and compost them. Hasn't been a problem. I guess it depends on whether you are trying to save trees, save money, or reduce waste. In our case we use cloth everything to reduce waste and save trees, but I wasn't willing to give up the paper towels(for cast iron) anymore then I was willing to give up my printer paper. eta: and I think OP's idea of using the silicone pastry brush is brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 What about a pastry brush? I have a silicone one that can withstand up to 500 degrees F. :iagree: I have a clean (never been used) paintbrush that is good for greasing pans. Let the shortening melt just a bit and spread it around with the brush. My grandma would let it melt and then swirl it around a bit, but my wrists aren't strong enough for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 We don't have paper towels and I'm a swirler too when I use butter. My husband uses a clean cloth, but I'm trying to cure him of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 butter wrappers here, too! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 My mom has one cloth with coconut oil that she uses, and puts it back in the ziplock bag. (For her, coconut oil works better than others) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Just tried the pastry brush and it worked like a charm. I think I'll save my butter wrappers, too, and see how that works. Also, the napkins saved from take-out food sounds like a great idea, though we're trying to eat out less, so I don't know how successful I'll be with that one. Mainly trying to find ways to cut the grocery bill. Last month was around $950, but that's for me, hubby, and 5 boys. Hubby is 6'5, ds16 is 6'6, ds14 is 6'2, and the younger three are growing quickly. Ds16 eats for 4 all by himself, partly because he weightlifts and exercises for about 1.5 hours/day. $950 also includes all household products (dish soap, laundry, cleaners, etc...) I'm already making everything from scratch, bargain shopping, stockpiling, making my own yogurt, not buying processed foods, eating beans, brown rice, whole chicken, making my own broth, cutting sodas and juices, and bargain shopping. My goal is to get that number to $750/month, but I just don't know with food prices on the increase. And the cost of peanut butter has skyrocketed! All that's to say, if I can eliminate paper towels and other such disposable products, that would be a few more pennies. I will say that I can't do without them for straining my yogurt. I tried a couple of different varieties of cheesecloth, and couldn't get it right. I'm using Costco Paper towels for straining the whey, and it works great every time. I make yogurt using 2 gallons of whole milk/week, and for that amount I use 6 paper towels total for straining (in various colanders, since it's such a large batch. Found a splatter cover for the microwave on Amazon, but I just added it to my wishlist, so I'll wait and see if the price goes down. Thanks everyone for the great ideas! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Wax paper or a pastry brush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Just tried the pastry brush and it worked like a charm. I think I'll save my butter wrappers, too, and see how that works. Also, the napkins saved from take-out food sounds like a great idea, though we're trying to eat out less, so I don't know how successful I'll be with that one. Mainly trying to find ways to cut the grocery bill. Last month was around $950, but that's for me, hubby, and 5 boys. Hubby is 6'5, ds16 is 6'6, ds14 is 6'2, and the younger three are growing quickly. Ds16 eats for 4 all by himself, partly because he weightlifts and exercises for about 1.5 hours/day. $950 also includes all household products (dish soap, laundry, cleaners, etc...) I'm already making everything from scratch, bargain shopping, stockpiling, making my own yogurt, not buying processed foods, eating beans, brown rice, whole chicken, making my own broth, cutting sodas and juices, and bargain shopping. My goal is to get that number to $750/month, but I just don't know with food prices on the increase. And the cost of peanut butter has skyrocketed! All that's to say, if I can eliminate paper towels and other such disposable products, that would be a few more pennies. I will say that I can't do without them for straining my yogurt. I tried a couple of different varieties of cheesecloth, and couldn't get it right. I'm using Costco Paper towels for straining the whey, and it works great every time. I make yogurt using 2 gallons of whole milk/week, and for that amount I use 6 paper towels total for straining (in various colanders, since it's such a large batch. Found a splatter cover for the microwave on Amazon, but I just added it to my wishlist, so I'll wait and see if the price goes down. Thanks everyone for the great ideas! For yogurt and making goat cheese I buy t-shirt rags from the auto section of walmart. I cut off one of the sewn ends and then I insert the cloth inside a smaller stock pot... (sort of like a cloth liner on a basket) that strains beautifully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 You can save butter wrappers in the freezer in a plastic container. Freeze them one at a time so they don't stick together. Also, do you have free cycle or free exchanges near you? I once scored a set of old cotton napkins as part of a bag of nicer tablecloths. The napkins were really useless as they were stained and couldn't be cleaned, but they are so handy for these kinds of things. They don't burn, they are absorbent, and you just throw them into the wash after each use. I think I have a set of 10, so I never seem to run out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 High-five on cutting the grocery bills! Hand in there. You might try store brands to strain your yogurt and look for deals and coupons. I cut our use of them by not allowing the roll into my kitchen. I tore them off the roll and placed them in the dish-rag drawer; then stored the rest in the basement. Later, I caved and went back to the roll and now we are burning through them again. I need to give them up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 What about using a pastry cloth for the yogurt? I wonder if it would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Old t-shirts cut into small rags will work (cut around adhesive decals). If you have something you are going to throw away, giving it one last use isn't a bad thing to do! The same goes for old towels or rags. My grandmother used Crisco for her frying. She would swirl and then leave the remaining in her pan. Her pan was always on her stove or oven, so it wasn't put away into the cupboard. I use butter for oiling pans at home and I often use the butter wrapper like others have mentioned. If you do consider the melt/swirl method, but don't want to pour it back in, you can just freeze it. I let excess bacon grease cool, and then toss it into a baggie in the freezer. I have one thick freezer baggie that I just add to when ever I have some grease to toss in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 How can I grease my cast iron pans with Crisco sans a paper towel or baggie? (Don't want to use oil because my pans always end up getting a sticky, gummy buildup from oil). Toilet paper? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Is there some reason I shouldn't use my fingers? I've always just used my hands to do this. Hmmm, maybe THIS is why I can't keep that stupid pan seasoned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I use mine:). (fingers, that is) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaylan Posted December 14, 2023 Share Posted December 14, 2023 Save old clothes/towels cut them out into micro sizes for the pan and toss or just hand wash it after in sink with dawn and reuse till you can’t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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