I’ve been doing a lot more cooking in 2012 as I hope to Eliminate the Unnecessaryweight. While most of the meals come out great, some leave marks behind….on my stainless steel pots and pans. I finally found something that works and helps me get the remnants off my cookware without leaving me tired of scrubbing.
After sauteing some chicken in a pan on the stove, I was left with some after effects. And the pan to the right is after some scrubbing. I can’t put that back in the drawer!
Side note: I got these pans for our wedding shower. I thought it would be the “safer” thing to do. You know, avoid the non-stick, cancer-causing agents and go all natural. Little did I know I’d have to use a lot more oil, and I’d burn things, therefor creating another cancer causing nightmare. However, after five years, I’d like to report that I’m getting better, but the occassional recipe, especially those that call of frying or sauteing still elude me. I can not perfect the skill.
So what did I do? Pinterest of course! I knew I had pinned a “recipe” for getting my stainless steel pots and pans clean. I figured I’d save it for a rainy day and that day had arrived!
The first step was to put some white vinegar in the problematic pan. I filled my pain about half-way. This is a frying pan so it’s really shallow. It was just dirty all around so I figured a little extra couldn’t hurt if it was just a bit too much.
Second step: Put the pan on the stove and bring the vinegar to a boil. It didn’t take too long for this to happen. I really am not a fan of the vinegar small, especially after our dogs got sprayed by a skunk while camping and we had to use vinegar as a cleaning agent for just about everything. Once it starts to boil, it does take over the room.
I let my vinegar boil for just a few minutes, hoping it would help lose the stuck on food. Once it’s boiled for a bit, break out the baking soda and add it to the boiling vinegar.
Warning: There will be bubbling! I guess it’s more like fizzing.
I let the vinegar/baking soda combination boil for a bit together and then brought the pan over to the sink. I got our my scrub brush and brushed off the gunk while dumping the mixture down the drain.
I couldn’t believe how easily the burnt on grossness came off the pan. Usually I spend tons of time after fried/sauted dinner scrubbing, boiling water in the pan, soaking and finally using steel wool to get my pans back to their original condition. This solution is definitely my go to now!
It totally worked! So what are some of your little tricks of the trade?
I’d like some tips for getting my non-stick cookie sheets cleaned up easily. Sometimes things drip and burned or cookies get left in the oven too long–not that it’s ever happened to me! I’ll do some searching and let you know what I find!