Today, I came across a Lodge cast iron tea kettle like the one pictured at a garage sale today, and was able to pick it up for $17. It's got some rust (easy enough to fix) and needs reseasoning. I do have a few questions about it, though.
A: Is this safe to use to boil water for coffee and tea? I've seen off-brand kettles like this in stores that sell fireplace equipment...for use as humidifiers...that have EXPLICITLY said "not for drinking water". But, I figure, this is from Lodge, and I know that bare cast iron is used for teapots in China/Japan. I assume it's food safe, but was hoping someone would know for sure.
B: I know you can season the outside as usual, but I'm sure that won't do any good on the inside. What's the best way to cure/season the inside? I've read several suggestions online, including: boil a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda in water, letting it set for an hour or so with strong black tea in it and just boiling water until dry so that lime scale builds up to protect the iron. I was considering doing all three (in the order listed), but would like some input from someone with experience.
Thanks for your help!
A: Is this safe to use to boil water for coffee and tea? I've seen off-brand kettles like this in stores that sell fireplace equipment...for use as humidifiers...that have EXPLICITLY said "not for drinking water". But, I figure, this is from Lodge, and I know that bare cast iron is used for teapots in China/Japan. I assume it's food safe, but was hoping someone would know for sure.
B: I know you can season the outside as usual, but I'm sure that won't do any good on the inside. What's the best way to cure/season the inside? I've read several suggestions online, including: boil a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda in water, letting it set for an hour or so with strong black tea in it and just boiling water until dry so that lime scale builds up to protect the iron. I was considering doing all three (in the order listed), but would like some input from someone with experience.
Thanks for your help!