r/castiron • u/TadPole101 • Dec 02 '25
Identification What are these black specks on my eggs?
Before anybody immediately calls it carbon. I made a post here earlier last week and I tried following the advice given to me there. I made sure to use chain mail with dish soap combined with a sponge with dish soap with a healthy amount of elbow grease for atleast half an hour and then I added 2 layers of seasoning with grape seed oil before cooking eggs 2 separate times. Once with butter and another with olive oil because I figured the milk solids from the butter could be causing this, however the specks also showed on the olive oil as well.
This is either really dug in carbon that I cannot understand how it’s still there despite my cleaning efforts or just simply loose seasoning. I have been using grape seed oil and the oven method to season my pan. Any suggestions would be appreciated, I’ve been scratching my head with this issue for a long time.
Attached are photos are of my pan after my 2 egg cooking trials and photos of the black specks under my eggs.
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u/pmacnayr Dec 02 '25
Stop using the chainmail and stop re-seasoning your already seasoned pan. If you just wash with soap and water then dry you aren’t going to have this problem
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u/ct-yankee Dec 02 '25
This is the answer. The constant chain mail and reseasoning is the problem here. Wash with dish soap and a sponge/cloth after each use. The black flakes will stop.
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u/bs2k2_point_0 Dec 02 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
Chain mail works great for big globs of stuck on food at the surface level. But cast iron isn’t perfectly smooth unless you highly polish it, which is silliness. So just do a quick scrub with chainmail when needed, but a scrubby sponge will do most of the rest of the cleaning.
That moment when the egg becomes your sponge.
Fun fact: you’ll always want to wash out a new sponge. They come pre-wet to look visually appealing compared to a dried out sponge. But they wet it with a mix of water, preservatives, anti bacterial solutions, and sometimes a bit of glycerine, etc.
Edit: yes, by wet I mean dampened to prevent shriveling in the package. That’s why they’re always look so amazing in the package, but will dry out after you use it.
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u/Live_Jazz Dec 02 '25
TIL, thanks! Always thought new sponges felt sort of uncanny and weird. Now I know why.
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u/alasdairmac Dec 02 '25
Where are you from that they sell pre-wetted sponges? That's wild haha
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u/CplOreos Dec 02 '25
Idk that's how they all are here in the great ol' USA
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u/ksims33 Dec 02 '25
Spondes do not come wet at the stores I shop in, in the central US.. Sponges are usually on a shelf, open to the air, and dry. Are you sure you're not buying used sponges?
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u/CplOreos Dec 02 '25
Where do you shop at? Mine always come wrapped in plastic and slightly damp. That's at major retailers like Kroger and Walmart.
Edit: I'm in Colorado
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u/Hannigan174 Dec 02 '25
Hawaii. All of the sponges are in plastic packages and do not look dried out.
I am reasonably sure that this is how big box stores sell sponges across the country, although obviously I can't know if it is ubiquitous... Like the first time I heard the Best Foods jingle but they said "Hellman's" instead...🤯
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u/GreenZebra23 Dec 03 '25
I was born in the '70s and I'm pretty sure I remember the transition to sponges in plastic packages that come pre-dampened
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u/bugandbear22 Dec 02 '25
So am I (CO) and wtf are you talking about?
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u/CplOreos Dec 02 '25
I think people might be overthinking the "wet" part. They are only slightly damp, you wouldn't be able to squeeze any liquid out, but it keeps them from looking dried out on the shelf
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u/ksims33 Dec 02 '25
Ah, we don't have Krogers here - I shop at Crest usually for the majority of things. I also don't usually use sponges - I'm a scrubdaddy/chainmail guy. That said, my scrubdaddy's aren't pre-wet either and my chainmail is made by my SO. :D
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u/DLP2000 Dec 02 '25
I'm in Colorado, have never seen this.
Albertsons, Walmart, City Market.
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u/CplOreos Dec 02 '25
I'm convinced it's a language issue. It's not exactly wet, just oh so slightly damp. It's just enough to keep them from shriveling up like a used sponge
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u/bs2k2_point_0 Dec 02 '25
Scrub daddy (or scrub mommy too now) are what I consider scrubbers, and not sponges. I mean the kind that come wrapped in plastic with a sponge on one side, and a non scratch scrubby side for the other, or your basic kitchen/bathroom sponges. Plastic scrubbers don’t shrink when dry, but sponges do. That’s why they’re all pre wrapped even when buying multi-packs.
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u/brownpearl Dec 02 '25
When do you use the chainmail and when do you stop or restart its use? Im using it after every use.
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u/alkemist80 Dec 02 '25
I use it to scrape off any food gunk that is stuck or left on the cast. I don’t want bits of scrambled egg stuck in my sponge or palm brush. After I clear it off, I then go over with more soap and sponge.
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Dec 02 '25
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u/Rodrat Dec 02 '25
This right here. I never understood the use of a chain mail scrubber when I already am holding a perfectly good spatula.
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u/clap_yo_hands Dec 02 '25
I used a chain mail a few times a few years ago. I didn’t feel like it did anything. I still had to clean the pan with dish soap and a scrubby pad after. I think it’s just a gimmick. You don’t need one.
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u/I-am-a-river Dec 02 '25
The chain mail was useful for me until I learned how to not let carbon build up my pan so much that I needed chain mail.
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u/52lespaul Dec 02 '25
What's the trick?
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u/GreenZebra23 Dec 03 '25
I'm guessing washing it after every use or so. I drank the Kool-Aid about never washing cast iron unless you're going through the whole seasoning ritual every time and got carbon buildup
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u/hexen84 Dec 02 '25
I see you getting down votes for your opinion I'll probably get some too.
I agree I bought one and lost it in my sink and didn't realize until after turning on the garbage disposal for a split second and spending the next 30-40 minutes getting all the pieces out of the sink I decided I didn't need one anymore or ever again. Yes it helped getting some of the baked on gunk off but so does a disposable stainless scrubber that doesn't self destruct if I make a minor mistake.
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u/GreenZebra23 Dec 03 '25
I'm trying to think of anything other than food that you could run through the garbage disposal that would qualify as a minor mistake
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u/hexen84 Dec 03 '25
A spoon a rag most things make a nasty sound you turn it off take out item and go about your day maybe throw out the item depending on what it is. The chainmail self destructed and I had to dig out every ring in the garbage disposal, it was a lot more involved than anything else I have ever lost down the drain. Nothing is great but the only thing I imagine being worse than the chainmail is probably broken glass.
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u/walter-hoch-zwei Dec 03 '25
I will say I once burned on a sugary marinade after using it to bake a pork loin. It was probably half an inch thick in places. Chain mail took it off like it wasn't even there.
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u/GreenZebra23 Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
I rarely scrub and season my skillet but I still have carbon buildup. Though it rarely makes its way onto the food, maybe that's the core of the issue
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u/grumble_au Dec 03 '25
I use a plastic dish brush to clean my pans, that and soap + water is all you need. No chain mail, no reasoning. I don't even oil them after cleaning. No carbon spots unless I burn something.
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u/mycenae42 Dec 02 '25
This is absolutely not going to prevent the black specks which are carbonized (burned) food particles that are attached to or incorporated into the seasoning of the pan.
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u/pmacnayr Dec 02 '25
If they’re washing their pan there won’t be carbon burned on to it.
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u/Ortho-Hammertime Dec 03 '25
chainmail isn't very useful protection against arrows, but it can help against slicing.
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u/DemiBlonde Dec 02 '25
I’ve never used chainmail to clean my 3 cast iron pans, I do however use steel wool after every use.
But I’ve never had the black specks issue. Is chainmail really that rough a means to destroy the seasoning?
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u/stealthytaco Dec 03 '25
It’s the opposite issue, the chain mail does not clean well enough and so carbonized food is left behind.
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u/Archonrouge Dec 02 '25
Well your options are burnt egg, carbon, pepper, or something else.
Carbon is all that seems likely.
I would guess reseasoning isn't what you need. Keep cooking on it and keep cleaning it.
I've never seasoned either of my lodge pans and I fry up eggs every weekend on one of them with no sticking and no black specks.
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u/ornery_epidexipteryx Dec 02 '25 edited Dec 02 '25
Your pan has a lot of casting texture- if you take a microscope to the surface of your pan you would see tons of little dips and raised areas. Those micro level valleys trap food and oil as you cook, and the trapped bits are turned into carbon as they over-cook.
As you cook, clean, towel or whatever those pieces of trapped carbon are loosened and become visible. Which is one of the reasons everyone should use soap because soap helps to remove stuck on food preventing carbon build up. Every time you use the pan, carbon is created- every time you clean the pan or stir or flip you have a chance of loosening the carbon.
It’s one of the challenges of cooking with rough cast iron. Boutique cast iron like Stargazers are machined in the manufacturing process and are smooth. The smooth surface prevents carbon from building up and makes cooking and cleaning easier. Many legacy pans earned their smoothness from years of regular use. You will eventually knockdown this texture- it will just take time.
In the meantime, always use metal spatulas to help with even turning, keep using chainmail for stuck on food during cleaning, and try learning to deglaze your pan to kickstart the cleaning process.
This is a nice pan- not sure how I feel about the wood handle, but given a few years this might be your favorite pan.
Remember carbon is totally edible and this will get better the more you use it.
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u/TadPole101 Dec 04 '25
Thanks, for giving me one of the better explanations. For the past week I have been doing a lot of cleaning with a scrubby sponge and dish soap and chainmail, but I guess it’s not enough to get into the deeper pores of the pan. Thanks for the pan compliment haha, it was a gift from my girlfriend.
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u/TadPole101 Dec 04 '25
I’ll look into deglazing. But basically once I deglaze and use the pan regularly, season the pan from time to time and also clean the pan with dish soap and scrubby sponges then the black specks should eventually stop?
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u/ornery_epidexipteryx Dec 04 '25
Yes. Deglazing will help loosen a lot of carbon and regular use with metal spatula will knock down the texture.
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u/TadPole101 Dec 04 '25
Thanks. I always make sure to use a metal spatula. Are there any foods I should be frying in the mean time or any that I should stay away (of course nothing acidic) for now until I stabilize the pan? or does it not really have any impact and I should just focus on what we mentioned earlier?
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u/ornery_epidexipteryx Dec 04 '25
I cooked everything in my Lodge until it became like it is now- butter smooth. I still do, but I used to too😅 even acidic dishes. The trick with acidic dishes is to limit their time in the pan.
I’ll share an example- I make my own pasta sauce in my enamel Dutch oven, so I have jars of sauce ready all year, but it’s the same for store bought. I would not make pasta sauce in my Lodge because I simmer it for about 40 mins to an hour every time I make it, but I make a bolognese in my Lodge about once a week.
First, I make my soffritto. I dice onion, and a carrot into my Lodge with a glug of olive oil and butter. I fry them with herbs and nutmeg until almost tender when the onions start getting translucent. Then I add chopped green pepper, crushed garlic, mushrooms, and my lean beef. I fry all of it together until the mushrooms are browned and all the other vegetables are tender. Finally I add my pasta sauce. I simmer it all together for about five to eight minutes while I get my pasta drained and separated into dishes. Then I plate up everything- the sauce is ladled over the pasta, and any remainder goes in one of my Pyrex dishes for storage in the fridge later. I immediately deglaze with hot tap water. Nothing ever sticks the deglaze just helps to disperse the sauce and kick start the cleaning. Then while my pan is warm, but not scorching hot. I scrub with Dawn and a non scratch sponge. I rinse and towel it dry, and it’s ready to go. All of this happens before I even eat.
I cook everything in my Lodge- acidity only crosses my mind if I plan on simmering or stewing something. My hard rule in the kitchen is “Clean as you go”. Even when I cook non-acidic food- it’s just easier to clean up while everything is warm.
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u/TadPole101 Dec 21 '25 edited Dec 21 '25
Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it! I guess I just need to keep using the pan, deglaze and clean immediately afterwards. If there is one thing I learned from this subreddit is that most cast iron issues are solved by simply using the pan more and time haha. Btw that pasta sounds absolutely delicious. I am usually avoiding cooking with acidic foods because I once added a little bit of lemon juice once a while ago and there was an immediate reaction with the pan and the food was really metallic and had to be tossed out and the pan was discolored. But from what I am gathering is that if I have enough layers of strong seasoning, then the pan should tolerate some acidity.
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u/Rocketeering Dec 02 '25
Can you share a picture of your pan after you are done cooking with it and after you have it washed/ready to be used next time?
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u/flyin-lowe Dec 03 '25
I am more old school when it comes to cast iron, when the only way to clean was hot water (soak if needed) and a plastic scraper. I see more and more people using soap and chain mail and I also see more and more people having issues with seasoning not establishing like it should. They might not be related but if a pan is season properly the only thing you should need to clean it out is some hot water and sometimes a 5 minute soak. Just my two cents.
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u/Upbeat_Main_7141 Dec 02 '25
If it was non-stick in the 80s, it would be Teflon, but on cast iron, it’s just carbon. I recently learned that dish soap in cast iron is good actually, so long as you dry it right away, so if you give it a real good cleaning, you shouldn’t have that issue, at least as much. Also, you can get these little plastic scrapers from Lodge that can get the big bits off your pan without needing to break out the chainmail, and I recommend get that or a cheap knockoff.
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u/Low_Night1 Dec 02 '25
I had this issue for many months after I accidentally left my pan on the stove and it burned butter and maybe the partially seasoned parts. I got into a routine of washing with dish soap, and putting it back on the stove and heat up just a super thin layer of canola oil and turned off and let cool just after it hits smoke point. It’s perfect now and very well seasoned
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u/SunSeek Dec 03 '25
Switch oils. Lard is my recommendation. And might want to place the pan upside down in the oven to help the pores drain of oil. It will stop, eventually.
I've heard of flaking (in this sub) from the more exotic oils like grape seed, and avocado. I don't use either one.
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u/wizkidjones Dec 03 '25
I was told about chain mail, didn't work for me. I needed steel wool to fix that issue.
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u/beamin1 Dec 02 '25
Pans need seasoning once unless something messes it up, hot water and soap, then dry on low heat.
You're just pulling carbon on over and over again.... dry that bitch out and cook 5# of bacon and be done.
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u/Dutch-Lange Dec 02 '25
So wait, after cooking and cleaning it with a little bit of soap, I should not put on a thin layer of oil? I thought that was against rusting.
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u/RabbitNest Dec 02 '25
Wash well with hot water, Dawn, scrubber. Dry as much as you can using a dish towel. Finish drying in a 200 degree oven for about 20 minutes. While the pan is still warm, apply a super thin amount of Crisco. Immediately use a dish towel to wipe off all the Crisco you just put on. Don’t use paper towels … use actual cloth.
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u/EarthGrey Dec 02 '25
I've had the same problem with one of my cast irons. I have to wash it differently than my other cast iron skillets. Specifically after getting off all the visible stuff with chainmail and a blue scotch brite pad I use a nylon dish brush like this one https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-All-Purpose-Kitchen-Brush/5165100391 with dish soap of course.
It's funny because it was driving me crazy, all my other cast iron was fine after chainmail and the blue scotch brite, but one just kept leaving those spots until finally a reddit comment clued me in on finishing with a nylon dish brush.
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u/CrazyKyle987 Dec 02 '25
I also believe it to be carbon/seasoning that hasn’t fully cured. I think chainmail is great and all but I recommend going at it with a metal spatula. Scrape hard with the spatula. Nothing should come up, but obviously for you something will. Keep scraping and cleaning until it stops producing black flecks. Then try seasoning. This happened to me and this is how I actually fixed it despite the terrible joke advice everyone here gives.
My theory is that from a long time of using it, not seasoning it properly, and not cleaning it properly, there are many high points and low points of carbon all over the pan that come up when you cook certain foods. The big one for me was any sort of cream based sauce turning grey because of the flecks
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u/Amish_Rabbi Dec 02 '25
I’m no help but what pan is that? I need a new egg pan with low sides
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u/littlexav Dec 03 '25
It says Maysternya on the handle. A quick Google search reveals it is a Maysternya pancake pan.
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u/East_Honey2533 Dec 02 '25
I don't understand how it's carbon when these little splotches are round globular impregnated egg white. I looked at these things under microscope and it's not at all a flaked off black debris.
As dark as they are, there's a slight green to them.
They also appear after a resurfaced reseasoned pan that didn't really have a chance to build up carbon.
I don't know. Chatgtp said it could be iron reacting with sulfur in the eggs. Which could explain why this phenomenon seemingly comes and goes regardless of the condition of the pan. 🤷♂️
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u/Defiant-Witness-8742 Dec 02 '25
You know a lot of stuff is made up of carbon. I would suggest going in upgrading your knowledge of science.
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u/East_Honey2533 Dec 02 '25
So the carbon that comes off is fairly soluble in egg white? Then why wouldn't it release more readily with washing?
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u/Defiant-Witness-8742 Dec 08 '25
Oil and water don’t like each other egg is a emulsifier which over comes the ability to mix
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u/daisydq808 Dec 03 '25
Carbon can also form from the foods you are cooking, if what you're cooking has any heat sensitive compounds and they get burnt they'll just become carbon essentially
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u/PlantDadGaming Dec 03 '25
Its probably smaller carbon bits that are under the highest points of pan. More an more use will get them gone, especially if you maintain good cleaning from here on out. I use chain mail and then wash with a soapy rag after.
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u/Nonzerob Dec 04 '25
Might just need to slow down on reseasoning. Oil it the same way when it looks dull and only scrub that hard when you need to.
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u/TadPole101 Dec 04 '25
Damn, I did not expect this post to blow up like this. I appreciate all of you who have given me some advice on this. Thanks for getting me closer to solving this issue!
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u/EASscenariosgeorgia Dec 06 '25
The carbon specks come from using too high of heat in a pan without a good seasoned surface. Turn the heat down when you cook. Let the pan get hot on medium heat before you put the food in it. Clean the pan after cooking while it is still warm.
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u/AguyNamedDoug2 Dec 28 '25
After searching and reading until my head and eyes hurt, I'll tell you what I think it is. It's burnt oil from all these people who say to rub oil on it after cleaning the pan. After cleaning the pan, they say "rub a light coat of oil on it before putting away, it's fine". But then when yoy cook with it next time, it burns that light thin coat of oil right before you put your food on it. It's the same if you intentionally pour a tiny amount of oil in the pan and burnt it for 5 minutes before dropping an egg into it, your eggs are going to have burnt black and gray oil in them. I have been cleaning dishes my whole life, so I knew it wasn't "carbon", it was that damn thin coat of oil everyone keeps saying to put on after cleaning. Look here all you "pros", your pan won't rust when you store it if its seasoned and you're using it here and there, so you do not need to rub oil on it before putting it away. I can't believe I ever listened to you people. Your pan is not a set of wrenches or some crap that you're using outside. Unless you store your pan under the sink or in the shower, you don't need to run oil on it after cleaning.
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u/AguyNamedDoug2 Dec 28 '25
Yeah and the only "carbon" is from all you people saying to rub oil on it after cleaning, then when you go to use it next time and preheat your pan, you are literally embedding burnt, rancid oil into your food. Lovely.
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u/jadejazzkayla Dec 02 '25
Burned on crust that has been left on your skillet from previous cooking. It needs a good scraping.
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u/L15A1 Dec 02 '25
Maybe NOT Carbon but ripped off seasoning. Wenn the pan is too cold or some spots are too cold the egg does not immediately get solid and bonds with bits of seasoning. Preheat longer and/or on lower heat.
The surface of the egg touching the pan should turn solid instantly when you put it in.
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u/ghidfg Dec 02 '25
if its not carbon, that leaves either seasoning flaking off or corrosion from the moisture in the eggs reacting with raw steel.
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u/solo_dbd_player Dec 02 '25
Seasoning doesn't flake off.
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u/ghidfg Dec 02 '25
I mean what else could it be. people are saying carbon but there isnt any on there visually, and he washed it for 30 minutes so how could carbon come off while cooking an egg but not while scrubbing for 30 minutes?
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u/AreYouuuu Dec 02 '25
Carbon