I compared flaxseed oil vs crisco for seasoning and one was way better

I tried seasoning two identical pans last month, one with flaxseed oil and one with plain crisco. Followed the same process for both, three rounds in the oven at 450 degrees. The flaxseed pan looked great at first but started flaking off after a couple weeks of cooking eggs. The crisco pan is still smooth and nonstick. Has anyone else had the flaxseed oil flake off on them too?

2 comments

2 Comments

hart.ryan5d ago

Flaxseed oil is notorious for this honestly lol. I think a lot of people get tricked by how pretty it looks at first but the science is kinda against it. The issue is flaxseed oil makes a super hard and brittle coating that just cant handle the heat cycling and flexing of a pan. Crisco is way more flexible and bonds better because its a semi solid fat with a higher smoke point. Kinda like how you wouldnt use super hard glue on something that bends all the time, it just cracks and flakes off. So yeah your experience is totally normal and the crisco pan is the one thatll last.

the_piper5d ago

Oh man, that explains so much. I had a buddy who swore by flaxseed oil for his cast iron and his pans looked like a mirror for like a week. Then he cooked one batch of eggs and the whole coating just spiderwebbed and peeled off. He was so mad he almost threw the pan out. I sent him a link to @hart.ryan's post and he finally switched to Crisco and hasn't had a problem since. It's wild how different the results are in real use.