[Gregw]

Hello, I'm new to the board and a chemistry dummy, hope you might indulge my question.
I'm trying to get to the real chemistry of seasoning a wok. I read this article but was not convinced, anyone willing to help out on this one?  http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/

The smoke point of flax seed oil is very low and I can't figure out why season with that if you intend to cook at much higher temperatures. Seems to me using avocado oil with a much higher smoke point of 520 degrees would make more sense. But if the seasoning is completely polymerized, just pure carbon, it wouldn't matter??

Thanks

[Corribus]

Once the polymerization takes place, the smoke point shouldn't matter any longer.  If you use an oil with a high smoke point, this essentially means it's resistant to chemistry.  You want to actually do some chemistry in this case, so a high smoke point should be avoided.

Coincidentally, just yesterday my brother, who has a sort of ongoing love affair with his Lodge cast iron skillet (seriously, Shakespeare wrote less inspiring sonnets than the verses of adoration my brother sings about it; "O blessed pan, how do I love thee! Let me count the ways..."), sent me the exact same article. I've never tried linseed oil to season my own cast iron pans, but the chemistry described in the article does make some sense.  I've used canola oil on a cast iron grill pan and a cast iron wok and it works fairly well.  You may have actually noticed a kind of hardening when you cook with canola oil on a Teflon skillet.  I notice it a lot - my daughter loves quesadillas and to cook them I add about a teaspoon of canola oil to the skillet and heat it up real hot, cook the quesadilla, and then let the pan cool a little after I remove the quesadilla.  If I don't scrub the pan while it's still warmish-hot, a hard polymer layer forms on the Teflon that's really tough to get off.  Essentially the same thing you're trying to do on purpose to a cast iron pan. 

I think cast iron is a pretty great cooking surface over all, but honestly I prefer the enameled version.  Much easier to clean and no seasoning required.  Still, for the price you really can't beat cast iron, and it's more versatile than Teflon, which often can't be transferred from the stove to the oven.