Burning a pan can happen even though you are a beginner, intermediate, or expert in cooking. Burns’ marks may make even your best cookware appear outdated and worn out, regardless of how frequently you scrub.
It is quite common. Thus you don’t need to buy a costly new set of cookware instead of the burnt one. With a few inexpensive, everyday items, even the most severe burn marks can be eliminated.
Most ingredients used for cleaning or used as cleaning agents are available in almost all the pantry. Our pots and pans tend to get ruined by certain recipes.
Occasionally, user error occurs when we put the heat up too high without thinking, scorching whatever is in the pan. We have to search for whichever strategy is best.
Everyone you ask seems to have the best approach to make cookware look like it just came out of the box (a new look).
Several techniques exist for repairing a burned pan. The dark entity inside the burn pan is called soot.
The causes of the burn can be residues from spilled sauces, sugary syrups, and other food that will burn if exposed directly to the heat of the stovetop burner.
This will be a hassle to clean off your stovetop, but more to the point, it could also end up burning to the bottom of your pots and pans to form soot.
The soot includes the fine black particles, composed of carbon, produced by incomplete combustion of coal, oil, wood, or other fuels.
To remove the grime, you select any suitable method. You can soak the pan in water, boil water to remove the char, make the stains dissolve in the boiling water, scrub the char with a variety of available methods, or use abrasive cleaners.
Even you may remove light stains from the pan by adding carbonated water to it. You can adapt the easiest method according to the situation, and based on the availability of the cleaning materials.
The most common and easy techniques or methods to clean burnt pan are as follows-
Dish Soap And Warm Water
If it is a minor burn, then it may be sufficient to choose the straightforward method which would help in getting rid of those burnt remains on the pan-
- Pour some dish soap (liquid) into the pan when it is filled with warm water.
- Afterward, wash the pan as usual with a sponge after letting it soak for a few hours. Much easier removal of the stains is expected.
- Add vinegar and water equal to this soaking solution for increased stain-fighting ability if required. Caked-on stains are removed by doing this.
Baking Soda Combined With Vinegar
Baking soda is a suitable option for removing stubborn black burnt spots inside the pan. Baking soda and vinegar are commonly available in most kitchens.
- Put vinegar and water in your unclean pan.
- Two tablespoons of baking soda are then added after bringing the mixture to a boil.
- After 15 minutes of soaking, turn off the heat.
- After pouring the liquid down the drain, remove any leftover burnt-on debris with a sponge or scouring pad.
- If spots still exist, use a paste consisting of baking soda and water, let it sit for a short while, and then scrub the area once more.
- Soak in for 15 minutes in case of some obstinate portions
- Most of the burned-on, charred food can be lifted after rinsing and ten minutes of vigorous scouring with a scouring pad.
- The second application of baking soda paste and more scrubbing could be required to remove the remaining dirt.
- Place the pan on the stovetop after filling it with water.
- The water will then boil as the heat is increased. For the stains and muck to come out, let the water boil for two to three minutes.
- Turn off the heat and allow the pan to cool before washing it as usual. To further dissolve the stains after soaking, you may also add little vinegar to this mixture.
Just be aware that while the water is boiling, your kitchen will smell like vinegar. Any sort of pan can be used for this, but don’t add vinegar to cast iron or copper pans.
Avoid washing the pan before it has cooled enough. You might sustain a severe burn.
Lemon And Boiling Water
Lime is a common ingredient in many dish wash soaps and liquids. Steel and enamel stains should be easier to remove with the help of acids.
- The pan is to be filled with water and then add several quartered lemons (cut into 4 pieces) into the water. Bring the water to a roaring boil on the stovetop.
- Give it a few minutes to sit there. Before washing the pan, as usual, let the water cool. You can see the food bits floating to the top very soon after the water came to a boil.
- Let it boil for another five minutes or so, then take out the lemons and pour the liquid down the sink.
It can be noticed that a few sets of tiny fragments of charred leftovers, are to be instantly removed using dish soap, a scrub brush, and a short rinse to make the process complete.
As acids could harm copper and cast iron, this is not a choice for this type of cookware.
Even though all the natural approaches are feasible, we cannot expect a better result from the natural methods all the time.
To make any impact at all on the debris, sometimes, it may take several rounds of thorough washing of the pan in hot water.
Baking Soda And Aluminium Foil
This method works effectively. Probably you may have the aluminum foil in your kitchen cabinet. It is believed as a fairly good cleaning tool.
- Make the burnt pan rinse with hot water first. Then let it drain for some time. As the next step, sprinkle two teaspoons of baking soda inside the pan.
- If you have combined the baking soda and hot water to make a paste, start scrubbing with a piece of aluminum foil.
- The size of the aluminum foil equivalent to a golf ball is enough for this purpose.
- Make it rinse with hot, soapy water to complete cleaning after continuing to scrub until all of the charred material has been removed.
- You can expect a better result or some really good outcomes from this approach.
- You can be surprised by how effectively the foil removed the dirt, even if a slight touch-up with more baking soda is required after the initial scrape.
Dishwasher Tablet
Technically speaking, a dishwasher tablet is not a pantry item. It is to be bought separately. It is to be added to the shopping list of your grocery purchase.
A dishwasher tablet can be used to clean tough stains. These are made in helping to break down caked-on food in the pan.
- Fill the burnt pan with water, and then drop it into a tablet.
- Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to simmer for 10 minutes. The burnt bits should lift right off.
- Concentrated dishwasher cleaning agents are used to make dishwasher tablets. It is assumed that these can cut through tough grease and leave your dishes sparkling.
- Even oven grease can be removed with the help of this potent formula for cleaning. To clean your dirty pan, fill a sink with hot water and grab a dishwashing tab from your stock.
- After this as a next step in using the dishwashing tablet, start to gently scrub the pan with warm water. Cleanse the area with a scrubber until all food debris has been removed.
The result is a thoroughly clean pan that does not require any additional alternative method of cleaning in less than 5 minutes.
Warm water helps the tablet maintain its shape rather than crumbling instantly between the fingertips and helps the tab gradually dissolve while you scrub.
Try With The Ketchup
Usually, copper pans tend to oxidize when they burn. The ketchup can work better in getting rid of that.
- Spread some ketchup on burnt or darkened spots of the pan, and let it sit for 30 minutes
- Then wash the ketchup in the pan completely
- Apply a thin layer of the tomato ketchup to the damaged region of the pan, and then wipe it clean after 15 minutes
- Just spread ketchup at the burns, and make it a thick layer of ketchup
- Let it sit for about 30 minutes, and scrub away
Ketchup is acidic. Thus it is not a good choice to use on a cast iron pan. Ketchup is well known for restoring dull and tarnished pots and pans.
But it may not be sufficiently acidic by itself to clean the severe burns from pans.
The acetic acid present in the ketchup effectively breaks down the copper oxide that forms when you burn food, so you can use the condiment to clean up burnt pans.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I could add that while having a burnt pan can feel like a nightmare, it is a problem that many people encounter in their kitchens.
It might be the result of attempting to cook something new that ends up burning even if you step away from the stovetop for a short period.
To help you overcome this concern and continue experimenting in the kitchen, I’ve included several methods for cleaning burnt pans that won’t be too difficult or affect the pan’s ability to cook.