How to Season Your Arteflame
The Arteflame seasoning pucks are formulated specifically for seasoning
the cooktop and make it easy. You can also season your Arteflame cooktop
very simply with regular use! Every time you grill and heat oil or fat for an
extended period of time on the cooktop, you have the opportunity to add a
thin, durable layer of seasoning. These thin layers build on each other like
coats of paint on a wall, slowly but surely forming a resilient, ultra-slick
surface. Using the seasoning pucks make this process easy.
When it comes to good seasoning that lasts, we can’t stress the importance
of thin layers enough. Compare it to thick coats of paint on a windowsill;
once air and moisture sneak past the surface and work their way down to
the wood beneath, those coats will start to peel off like a giant scab. On
your cooktop, thick layers of seasoning will scrape off in the same way.
Only the thin layers, molecularly bonded to the cooktop and each other will
stand the test of time.
When you fire up your Arteflame the first few times, it can be hard to get the
cooktop to season evenly. What and how you cook as well as hot spots on
your cooktop will influence how the initial coats of seasoning form. They
can appear in patches rather than a perfectly even layer. Patchy seasoning is perfectly fine, it allows layers of seasoning to interlock and strengthen
each other forming a truly durable layers of seasoning.
For best results, gradually heat up the cooktop to bake the seasoning into
the surface, not just on top of it. To season, you need to reach the smoking
temperature of the oil. At this point the oil breaks down into carbon and
short-chain polymers that bond with the steel. If the cooktop is too cold for
the oil to smoke, the oil won’t polymerize and won’t bond to the cooktop. If
the cooktop is too hot, the oil will skip past the polymer stage and go
straight into completely burnt carbon. Thus it is key to heat up your
cooktop slowly and apply the oil before it starts to smoke.
