Cast iron tea kettle not agreeing with me

[camping]

Well tonight I recieved this http://www.cumminstools.com/browse.cfm/4,1391.html
tea kettle and cured it by scrubbing it in hot water to remove shipping wax, then lightly coating it in shortening and cooking it at 300 degrees for 1 hr upside down so all of the oil could drain out. I went to boil water in it, and the bubbles are covered in shortening and when they break the surface, they dispell their coating to form a thin layer of shortening on top of the water. is this normal for the first couple of times? i need help. thanks!

 

[Michael in FtW]

Sounds pretty normal for the way you seasoned it. Just boil water in it, pour it out, and repeat 2-3 times and it should wash away the shortening that didn't polymerize to the surface.

 

[SpiceUmUp]

by polymerize, can I assume you mean bond to the surface?

 

[Michael in FtW]

I should have left off the words, "to the surface".

During the seasoning process ... the oil fills in the voids in the surface of the cast iron and "fuses" to it. But, it also goes thru a polymerization process where the oil actually changes and forms a hard solid surface. If you've varnished anything it's kind of the same thing ... as it dries it gets tacky - then begins to form a cohesive layer which is still soft, and then turns into a hard surface. Kind of the same thing that happens when you break in a new car's engine.