Well...I know its porous, and you aren't supposed to use soap b/c then food will taste soapy forever more :P Someone mentioned sanding...but of course, for the cute novelty pans, you'd have to sand away their features.

As for microwaves...I've heard all sorts of bad stuff :P

We got rid of ours a long time ago. Dh said the food tasted a lot better when it was made on the stove, even if we were just reheating it. I use a toaster oven a lot like a microwave though. It takes much longer, but things get that crispy top, (in a good way). I can also use it to make small batches of almond bread sunbutter fudge without heating up the whole entire kitchen.

Check out this website I found on cast-iron pans, or the "everything you wanted to know about using a cast-iron pan but were afraid to ask"!

The Irreplaceable Cast-Iron Skillet

They talk about how to properly wash a cast-iron skillet. Also, there is an interesting page on how to clean cast-iron using the self-cleaning oven. I would think this would work on your muffin pan.

This is the motivation I need to unearth my cast iron pan that I haven't been able to find since I moved a couple of years ago. I hope I didn't give it away .

Claire

I use cast iron all time. I have skillets, griddles, etc. I would try muffin pans but my girls prefer mini-muffins. They won'd finish one regular muffin but will eat 4 mini-muffins. Hmm.

Michelle

LOL, my 4 y/o finished off a whole dozen mini popovers...but if I make full size ones, I find pop-over half moons in random places. I bet thats the *real* reason so many mainstream companies started making bite sized snacks...not to save people calories...b/c they knew we'd need more boxes!

Now...if you burn off the previous seasoning, does that remove the allergen issue? Does anyone know? I had the idea that sterile corn (or gluten) was still corn (or gluten); but...I'm not a scientist. (Good thing, too, since corn allergy in particular seems to baffle them.)

I removed the seasoning from mine (which had been seasoned for eons) with brillo pads and HOT water. Then I reseasoned them. We have not had a reaction. But, not much gluten was in ours prior to going GF. Cornbread would have been the main thing. Oh, and pancakes. Noodles were cooked in stainless and bread in a breadmachine I got rid of.

I'd like to get some of these
http://www.orientaltrading.com/appli...MAN+MUFFIN+PAN
(Just look like fun. )
But, am afraid of the pre-seasoning. I think Brillo pads might scrath off the features? If I could get into all the nooks and crannies *sigh*. Maybe I should sweet talk the company into sending me some before the seasoning process LOL.

If memory serves me correctly... gluten turns to carbon, somewhere between 500 and 600 degrees F.

You can also 'kill it' with a really strong alcohol solution... something like 90 or 95% alcohol.

There are scientific documents that proved this. I had posted them on obt.

Those snowman muffin pans really do look fun!