Editing Cookware and bakeware (section)

====Seasoning====
[[File:Castiron-skillets.jpg|thumb|[[Cast-iron skillet]]s, before seasoning (left) and after several years of use (right)]]
[[File:Belgian waffles cooked in a Krampouz cast-iron waffle iron.JPG|thumb|Commercial [[waffle iron]] requiring seasoning]]

[[Seasoning (cookware)|Seasoning]] is the process of treating the surface of a cooking vessel with a dry, hard, smooth, [[hydrophobic]] coating formed from polymerized fat or oil. When seasoned surfaces are used for cookery in conjunction with oil or fat a [[Non-stick surface|stick-resistant]] effect is produced.

Some form of post-manufacturing treatment or end-user seasoning is mandatory on [[cast-iron cookware]], which [[rust]]s rapidly when heated in the presence of available oxygen, notably from water, even small quantities such as drippings from dry meat. Food tends to stick to unseasoned iron and [[carbon steel]] cookware, both of which are seasoned for this reason as well.

Other cookware surfaces such as stainless steel or cast aluminium do not require as much protection from corrosion but seasoning is still very often employed by professional chefs to avoid sticking.

Seasoning of other cookware surfaces is generally discouraged. Non-stick enamels often crack under heat stress, and non-stick polymers (such as Teflon) degrade at high heat so neither type of surface should be seasoned.