Our seasoned cast iron is seasoned at high temperatures and ready to get cookin’! Here’s what we suggest:

- Hand wash and dry completely before first use.
- Some foods may stick the first few times of use. Use a little extra cooking oil or fat until the seasoning is strong and settled. Vegetable oils, nut oils, lard, butter – all cooking and edible fats are usable on cast iron.
- Try to avoid acidic foods (tomato, vinegar, citrus, etc) until you get some nice coats of seasoning going.
- IF you would like to give your cast iron a thicker seasoning, some people choose to do a few extra rounds of seasoning before they start cooking with it. This is great, but not necessary if you take good care of your iron. Up to you, you overachiever, you!

No no no no no. Don’t be afraid.

No, but seriously, no need to be afraid. Just a little prepared and ready to have fun!
Like all good and exciting things in life, the beginning stages of your very first cast iron romance might give you mixed emotions of excitement and fear – but trust us – your Victoria cast iron is committed to this new relationship.

Main N00B mistakes are: not using enough oil/fat while breaking in the pan, not heating the pan properly before cooking (if too hot, can cause delicate foods to stick, if not hot enough it can smoke your oil before you even get cooking), soaking or not completely drying after washing, and cooking acidic foods the first time.

If you mess up the first time and cause rust or stickies, don’t worry, your Victoria cast iron is very understanding and will love you unconditionally as long as you give it a little extra love by following the re-seasoning instructions here.

There are also a ton of videos on YouTube on different ways to re-season iron back to life in case you are more of a visual learner.

As long as cast iron doesn’t break – it’s always salvageable. Cast iron, like love, is patient if you continue to appreciate it for what it is, like, deep inside, really see it, you know?

Whoever doesn’t fall in love with a good, sturdy, traditional cast iron skillet is lacking some magic in the way they approach life. #CheckYourself.

But appreciating good traditions doesn’t mean having to be boring or unwilling to improve and adapt to modern needs. That’s why we pride ourselves on offering you a skillet where tradition meets innovation.

Victoria Cast Iron skillets have the ingredients necessary to create a legacy: history, quality iron, strength, proven designs and simplicity.
But change is good when it comes in the form of improvement. We wanted to make sure we made a legendary piece as functional and smart as possible. That’s why our handles are longer and raised to give you better leverage (without getting your hand too close to the cooking surface!). Our pour spouts and “drip-cutters” were tested and redesigned dozens of times until we found the perfect curvature and shape. And we tested and perfected the amount of “skin” texture to make it smooth enough to cook right out of the box, but with enough texture to make your seasoning stick faster to create nice, tough layers of your own seasoning.

You know the only thing better than taco night? A MADE-FROM-SCRATCH taco night.

Get ready, because it's time to host a REAL taco party.

It'll impress all your friends (regardless of attendance), make all your past crushes suddenly think of you and smile, and probably get you a promotion at work.*

You can download the instructions for the tortilla press here.

* Claims not proven, but also not disproven, so...

Don’t panic! Rusted cast iron just needs to be rubbed and loved back to life.

You can check out our use and care on our site here.

Other 3rd party resources:

How to use the oven cleaning cycle to clean off gunk before you re-season it.

Another cast-iron enthusiast favorite is the “Crisco 500 method”:

• Clean thoroughly and scrub the whole pan with a steel wool pad so that no stickies or rust remain. Once your skillet is completely raw and ready for seasoning, grab yourself some Crisco.
• Take a small amount and rub around the bottom and sides of the pan. You don’t need a ton.
• Line the bottom rack of your oven with tin foil.
• Place your greased cast iron skillet over the foil upside down (so the drips will be caught by the tin foil under)
• Bake in a 500 °F oven and for 1 hour, 15 minutes. You need a high temperature for carbonization to occur.

Note that the fat/oil will create a considerable amount of smoke, so it's suggested to let the pan rest inside the closed oven for an hour or two after you have turned it off, that way the smoke can settle down before setting off your smoke alarm and scaring all your neighbors.

According to our lab tests, the best oil for setting in a nice, tough seasoning is flaxseed oil. For this reason, we use 100% flaxseed oil to season our pans before they make their way to your home.

But 100% flaxseed oil can be pricey, which is why, on a personal level, we at Victoria use filtered coconut oil for daily maintenance after cooking, washing and drying. It won’t change the flavor of your food and does a great job of maintaining the seasoning. After cooking, washing and drying, rub a very thin layer of oil on the inside. Place on the stovetop on medium to high heat until the oil starts smoking a little bit. Shut off the stove and wipe off any excess oil with a natural cotton towel (make sure it is 100% natural fiber towel because if it has any % of synthetic material, you will melt a nice thin plastic pancake right onto your pan 🙃). You can also use a paper towel, but those sometimes leave behind bits of paper.

Some people like to season using other vegetable oils (such as corn, canola, etc), Crisco or shortening – these are all valid choices and, ultimately, they come down to personal preference.

Note that some oils will smoke more once you turn up the heat. Always research smoking points for oils you wish to use for seasoning, and prepare your kitchen for ventilation.

We also like using ready-made bars by Crisbee, they are practical and easy to use, especially for cast iron beginners.

Our cast iron is proudly made in Medellin, Colombia – in the same neighborhood where our story started about 80 years ago after 16-year-old Raul Mejia decided to buy a small casting operation.

Our Flaxseed oil is made in Belgium.

Our USA office is in sunny (and sometimes hurricane-y) Miami, FL.

Victoria Cast Iron cookware is seasoned with organic Flaxseed oil (100% vegetable).
Our cast iron had been seasoned with Kosher Certified Ethically Sourced Colombian Palm Olein for years. We changed the seasoning to organic Flaxseed oil in mid-2017, which has had better results in testing, and skillets with that seasoning started hitting store shelves in August 2017.

Our cast iron had been seasoned with Kosher Certified Colombian Palm Olein for years. We changed the seasoning to organic Flaxseed oil in mid-2017, which has had better results in testing, and skillets with that seasoning started hitting store shelves in August 2017.

So both oils are vegetable oils baked at super high temperatures, but we just changed from Certified Kosher Palm Olein to Flaxseed (which although 100% vegetable, is not certified Kosher in case that is important to you).

Too legit to quit since 1939.

Three generations of the same family breathe, sweat and bleed cast iron (sounds painful). We’re not just iron casters. We’re designers, engineers, innovators, home cooks, campers, grillers, and casters.

Victoria limited lifetime warranty - Victoria warrants authentic Victoria cookware to be free of craftsmanship defects for life from the date of purchase. Warranty does not cover damage due to misuse (including improper heating, use, alterations, and cleaning) or commercial use. This warranty does not cover staining, discoloration, scratching or other signs of wear and tear (such as rust, wear or mistreated seasoning or enamel). If, upon inspection, Victoria determines that a product has a manufacturing defect, Victoria will repair or replace the product, at Victoria's option, without charge to the customer. This warranty is limited to the original consumer with proof of purchase and is not transferable. If the product was not purchased new from an authorized dealer, distributor, or representative of the manufacturer, this warranty is null and void.

Yes, it’s normal. Really old cast iron skillets used to have polished, or “machined” insides. Most modern cast iron skillets today range from a lightly-textured skin to a rougher, pebbly surface.

The “machined” insides of cast iron skillets are very reminiscent of antique brands and some people prefer that style - and all is fair in love and cast iron skillets.

The truth is, there are 2 main reasons "modern" cast iron skillets have a texture feel to their skins:

First, it's as simple as cost. To be able to get the smooth finish, you cannot rely solely on casting -- you must manually machine or sand each item. This increases the cost a lot since it's a manual and skilled job. Manual labor costs were much lower back then, which meant that you could have a machined pan that was accessible to most common people. But that’s why machined skillets are usually $150+ nowadays.

The second, and most important reason, is that after much kitchen testing, it is not even worth it to machine the pans for most people (taking aside personal preferences, of course). Seasoning adheres much better to slightly textured surfaces, and once several layers of seasoning are built (taking a lot less time on textured skins than smoothed-out pans), the performance gets to be even better than a smoothed-out pan.

We actually tested many different styles of "textures" with our cast iron skin and ended up with our current texture as the one that proved the best for quicker seasoning adherence and fantastic out-of-the-box food release.

Pass it down to your family? Your Victoria Cast Iron IS your family. If you take care of it, keep it nice and seasoned (or re-seasoned when needed), you will be able to pass it down from generation to generation. *

(*Disclosure: Victoria Cast Iron Company will not be held liable for any family feuds or excommunications caused by offspring disputes of Victoria inheritance. Victoria Cast Iron Cookware recommends you have an equal number of Victoria cast iron cooking vessels to offspring to avoid any future family court proceedings or Judge Judy cameos).

Our plan of world domination is still in the planning stages, so we do not yet have benevolent tyranny distribution around the globe.

If you are in Central America, South America or Africa you can contact ventas@victoria.com.co for a list of local distributors.

For other countries, you can send us an email using the contact us form and we will let you know when we plan on taking over entering your country.

Except Antarctica. After spending millions of dollars on focus groups, we concluded that the market is adorable but not welcoming.

There is no need to register your product. Just make sure you keep a copy (cell phone photo is good enough) of your receipt if you need to file a warranty claim.

Yes, contact us using our contact form to let us know what pieces you need.

Yes, please contact us using our contact form.

Yes, please contact us using our contact form.