Burnt saucepan

Inside?
Outside bottom?
Just over-heated, or something specific burnt in?

and most importantly - what kind of pan - copper/enamel/stainless ...

What do you mean by good quality? All-Clad or Revere Ware?

If it's stainless steel and if the burn is in the inside, put in some water, add a tablespoon of baking soda and bring water to the boil. Shut off. When cool, the scorch should float off.

If it is All-Clad or something similiar, never cook above medium.

Try Bon Ami or Barkeeper's Friend. Remember, what goes on in a pot is a chemical change. Cleaning involves more than a swish with a sponge but never use scoring pads.

This site seems to have a variety of approaches:

http://cleaning.lifetips.com/TipSC.asp__Q__id__E__55933

Good luck.

Bejaybus, I thought a pan was a pan, O.K. its stainless steel I vaguely remember it being a three ply something or other.

What is stuck to it is mushy peas, the kind that are as hard as iron until tou steep them for 24 hours then simmer until soft and a bit mushy, I forgot about em so now the bottom of pan is deep brown with peas residue kind of welded to it.

Have you tried Easy-Off? Assuming the lye doesn't eat through the bottom of it. I would only use it on stainless steel, tho. Maybe aluminium. Spray it good, let it sit over night. Depending on how deep it goes, might take a couple of applications. Don't breathe it in! *gag* *cough* *hack*

kev - I'd start with plainoldme's recommendation for the baking soda in water approach. See how that goes. It should deal with most (if not all) of the pea crud burnt to the bottom of the pan.

Gag*cough* hack* Don't breathe it in for gods sake I only want to clean a pan

Yes, I know. I love the stuff, myself, but i always have to take whatever needs to be cleaned outside to spray it. . . cuz I always gag on it.

Do NOT put easy off on a pan! You will poison yourself. Try the baking soda and boiling water method. Easy! Cheap! Effective! Environmentally sound!

I like Easy Off. Best to spray the thing and seal it in a plastic bag overnight. Stainless only. Do NOT use on aluminum!

While I don't use it all the time, I do use it. Usually, the pan gets washed (and quite well, I don't want to eat lye) after easy off is applied. And I've never been poisoned. Never been sick after using that pan again.

Roger - You sure about that? Back in the day, when I was working at fast food, we had a lye tank for some of the heavier greased up stuff, and it said that we could soak stainless steel for up to 24 hours, and aluminium for up to four.

Yeah, pretty sure. Straight lye (Drano) and a drop of water will sit there and bubble. It leaves a white crusty substance - usually with deep pitting under the white surface.

Funny bunnies...

Re: Burnt saucepan


I'd try an overnight soak in Chlorox ( full strength).

Interesting, Roger. Well, I only use it on Stainless Steel, and on tough to clean stuff. I'll remember not to use it on aluminium.

BTW - Do you say alum-in-um, or al-u-min-ium? I've always prefered the brit pronounciation, myself.

a-lum-in-um

Baking soda +gallons of boiling water + a lot of elbow grease did it eventually.

I've bought a little timer so next time I wont leave it till it looks like a museum exhibit. Thanks all.

I'm coming to this thread because I had a minor disaster of my own last week, yes, even chefs have their off days. I was cooking some black beans, and even after 2 hours they were not done. I wasn't feeling great that day, having worked late the night before, and I needed sleep. I thought, well, they'll need at least another hour, I'll pour in a bunch more water and take a quick nap. I wake up two hours later to a horrid smell. What woke me? I was dreaming about The Jeffersons, and the theme song rang through my head: "Beans don't burn in the kitchen, beans don't burn on the grill." I ran in there and saved the damn pot from catching fire. This is a true story, for those who know I like to clown around.