Can or should you season titanium cookware?

Question

I have a set of titanium cookware that I use for backpacking. It's a small set for one to two people and consists of two little pots and one cover/frying pan. Mostly, this set gets used for boiling water, but I do occasionally actually cook in it.

Is there any (good) reason to try to season this set (maybe just the frying pan?) like I do for my cast iron cookware?

Would the seasoning take to the surfaces? Would it have any non-stick properties?

---Edit--- Here's a link to a similar cookware set by the same company as mine. This new model (mine is 10+ years old) doesn't show the lid as useable as a frying pan, but mine has a lid that looks very much like the one in this model.

Answer 1

Seasoning is done for two reasons,

1. To prevent rust/corrosion.
2. To prevent sticking.

While titanium can rust, in the process it creates a layer of titanium oxide which creates a protective layer that protects the inside from further corrosion and the non-sticking versions have a coating but are not seasonsed.

Given that it doesn't need to be seasoned there I don't see why one would and given the description of the process, I am not sure it would work either.

Answer 2

Yes you can absolutely season titanium or aluminum cookware, but the process and purpose differ somewhat from those of seasoning cast iron.

Seasoning cast iron is often done as a time consuming multi-step process, but is rather durable and generally intended to last, and protects the cookware from corrosion. On the other hand, titanium and aluminum seasoning is best done quickly, and principally for a non-stick surface and not for protection of the cookware material. For those reasons, it is optimal to quickly season titanium or aluminum right before cooking whenever a non-stick surface is desired.

That process is very simple: just heat titanium or aluminum cookware that has been freshly and amply oiled on its cooking surface until it begins to smoke, then wipe away the excess. The cookware will not be blackened by this seasoning, and it won't be very noticeable at all besides maybe some darkening around the edges of the cooking surface, but the cooking surface will have bonded to some of the oil, and the piece is now ready for quite stick-free cooking.

Seasoning should always be repeated between any washings when a non-stick surface is needed, since it will not adhere very strongly to titanium or aluminum, and comes off easily when scrubbed.