Thanks to the lovely people at Solido, I have my very own stone to play with!

You may have heard of seasoning cookware, such as cast iron, before.  It can take a bit of a time and be a bit smokey, but some people swear by it as a neccessary part of cooking with stone or cast iron.

That's where having a Solido stone comes along to save you from a smokey few hours- the stone is ready to use right out of the box! 

As with cast iron, by far the easiest way to season your cookware is to cook with it. It will take time, but after using your cast iron or stoneware with fats (both added and those in the food), a natural coating will develop to both protect and enhance the cooking surface. 

However if you want to give your stone a kick start then this is the way to do it.

Rather than using a flavourless fat such as vegetable or canola, Flaxseed is the best oil to season cookware with. 

Flaxseed oil is unique in that it is the only drying oil that is edible. A little bit of the science behind why Flaxseed oil is so good for this kind of thing is posted on Sheryl's Blog, her method was also tested by Cooks Illustrated who were pretty impressed by the results!

Another top tip when seasoning any kind of cookware is to ditch the oven and get outside to your grill. Seasoning cookware is smokey. You have to heat the oil beyond its smoking point as a part of the process so there's no getting away from the slightly acrid aroma of burnt oil hanging around your kitchen, or the real possibility of a couple of smoke alarm flexing their muscles. 

If you don't have access to an outside cooking set up just be sure to open your windows, get your kitchen fan on high, and tuck away any delicate fabrics that might absorb the smokey smell- it's also a good idea to make sure kiddos and animals are out of the way if you can.