This durable pan should last a lifetime if you know how to care for it. We'll walk you through how to clean a cast-iron skillet in a few simple steps.

Rai Mincey is a food writer and baking enthusiast whose focuses include culinary history, seasonal cooking, and Southern cuisine. She splits her time between Birmingham, Alabama, and Tulum, Mexico.

Q: I have a cast-iron skillet that I have been using for a few years. It has brown, rust-colored stains that don’t come off, no matter what I do. I’ve tried kosher salt and a small chain, soap, a ...

Follow these cast-iron commandments.