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Clean your skillet/frying pan, pots, pans, bakeware and cookware

Burning food in the pan or skillet seems to be my speciality these days. Thankfully I now have these tips to help me make good the burnt in food and charcoaled residue that I once called lunch

General advice on burnt on food

To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet/frying pan, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil. Your stove-top-skillet will be much easier to clean now.


Or clean burned food from pots or pans, wet the burn, sprinkle with salt and leave for 10 minutes. Scrub well


Or cover the burned area with a paste of bicarbonate of soda (Baking soda) and water. Leave it on overnight, then scour. (Be aware, however, that bicarb and other alkaline substances will etch the surface of an aluminum pan if they are left on for more than an hour.)

Enamel Pans

Enamel pots, pans and baking trays can get a build up of grease. An easy way to remove this is to, cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of powdered detergent. Put a wet towel over the top and leave for a few hours. This should loosen the baked on baked on grease enough to wash with ease

To remove burnt food from enamel cookware cover the bottom of the pot with water and add 4 or 5 table- spoons of salt. Leave it to soak overnight and then bring the mixture to a boil. The pan should then be easy to clean.

Non-Stick Pots And Pans

To remove stains on non-stick finishes, mix two tablespoons baking powder, One and a half cups chlorine bleach and a cup of water. Put the Mixture in the stained pot and let it boil for about 10 minutes. Wash with soap and water, dry, then rub a little vegetable oil on the surface. Don't allow the mixture to boil over or it might leave spots on the exterior finish of the pot.

Cast Iron Cookware

Cast iron pans can be a pain at the best of times. If you have to resort t commercial cleaners only use them on the outside of the pan and really rinse the whole thing well afterwards

Try to avoid continually washing the pan with soap and water, try sprinkling with salt and wiping clean. This will keep the food from sticking when frying. The item then needs only to be washed every other use. A light coating of cooking oil will prevent rust

Pancakes won't stick if you rub the griddle with salt first.

Cleaning copper pots and pans

A little salt and vinegar will clean copper bottoms on pots and pans. Just sprinkle on, rub lightly and wash as usual. Or, rub with a wedge of lemon dipped in salt. Wipe off with a wet cloth, dry and apply lemon oil or wax

Tomato ketchup will also clean copper pots..

Rusty Baking Dishes

Rust can be easily removed from your metal cookware by scouring them with a slice of raw potato and detergent.

The following was sent in by Sandeds
To clean food burnt on to pots and pans I use dryer sheets. I run HOT water in the pot or pan and throw in a dryer sheet while water is running. Then I just wipe off the burnt food. I've only had to use 'elbow grease' with it once when I didn't do it right away. I swear by it.

Visitors comments

Boiling vinegar Comments By: Anon. I really burned milk in a brand new pan. I tried all these tips, but the only one that seems to be working is boiling vinegar in the pan.   saved the pan Comments By: Michelle using a baking soda paste (elbow grease and time) helped me scrub the remaining burns from cooking rice out of my pot!   stubborn burnt applejuice in pot , cannot remove Comments By: moe tried all your advice and burnt food will not budge , help ,it is a great pressure cooker made of stainless steel and applejuice burnt badly inside pot remains there on bottom inside pot   rusty pans Comments By: Candy Every time I make pinto beans and then put the pot in the dishwasher, the pot comes out all rusty. I clean it normally to get the rust off but it's still there. How do I get rid of the rust and make it not happen again? It's gotten to be really annoying and some pots I've just tossed in the trash!   Not a tip!!!! I need a tip though... I burned a nylon..... Comments By: anon ...spatula in a stainless steel pan. Actually I left it in the pan and it melted. I've scrubbed the pan several times with "Old Dutch" cleanser (it has bleach it in) yet I still have a Black stain in the pan. Help!!! I don't mind the stain if it's safe to still cook with it and it not affect the food.   burn sausepan Comments By: silvana sciberras pls help, i burn my sausepane. i try u clean it in any ways but it still have black burns. and sec my sausepac out side came bronze with the burn it"s not silver any more   Clean pots & pans easier Comments By: Mindy I hated to have to clean my pots & pans, I just found a new product Magic Sheets, OMG I love them, I burnt chicken & ribs in a huge baking dish & I knew I was in trouble, WELL I had purchased a box just for times like this. I couldnt believe it I thought nothing was going to get this clean BUT I have to say I am the queen of burn & now I dont have to worry this product really worked & fast too, the best thing is it is nontoxic & biodegradable. I am so pleased with it I had to share with you all   badly burned iron fry pan Comments By: Rebecca I have not found a tip that works   lemon Comments By: garyd rub a cut lemon on the bottom of a stainless steel pan, wait 5 minutes or so, then rub with a regular scouring pad, it gets burnt milk stains off no problem   where to purchase Comments By: Dianne I want to try the Magic Sheets Mindy was talking about, but I don't know where to purchase them. Any help on this?   Great Advise Comments By: Indiana How do you clean the bottom of your pans? Mine are so greasy and brown everytime I cook I have to clean the stove top. HELP!   Iron Frying pan with Rust! Great Remover!! Comments By: Nathaniel Penninger My mother does this all the time! Take the cast iron frying pan, skillet, and put lighter fluid in it enough to coat it one time. Then, light the frying pan. Let the fire go out by itself. After this, wash the cast iron pan out with soap and water and either dry quickly with paper towels or towel and/or you can place on your stove or in oven and turn them on to evaporate the water left. Good Luck!   Please help me to clean bottom of my pans Comments By: Lusilda Can't stand to cook in the condition my pans are in.Please give the best and simple way to clean them.   Cleaning ridged cast iron pan Comments By: Anon If your ridged pan is in need of a good clean, fill pan to about quarter of an inch or until ridges are covered with cooking salt and place on a very low heat and leave until salt has absorbed all the grease from the bottom. Through salt away and wash as normal   Black stain in metal pot Comments By: Sal I boiled 2 lobsters in a (I think) aluminum pot and it turned black. Tried boiling with dishwashing detergent (no good) tried scouring, (no good) am now trying lemon juice and water and boiling. Any good methods out there?   Removing discolored black stains inside alum. pots. Comments By: Jeanne S. - N. Virginia For many years I cooked in alum. cookware. Certain foods/things would turn the alum. metal dark. Simple solution - first clean food left in pot with soap & water. Then, use cream-of-tartar powder from your spice rack. Start out by using about 2 to 3 tablespoons of it to about a cup of water and let it soak on stove and then boil it. You can watch it starting to shine like new as it boils. Then, finish the shine by using a soapy brillo or SOS pad. Remember you must fill the liquid up to and over the dark line left in your pot. If large pot - adjust measurements accordingly. You may end up using a whole spice jar of the cream-of-tartar. But, that is very inexpensive. If necessary do it 2 times if first try doesn't remove it completely - I did this for many years and it works! I'd rate this a high 5 plus plus!! Good Luck! :)   What about the exterior? Comments By: Milton. I recently was frying some breaded meat and the oil was too hot that when the meat was introduced (no pun intended) the thing splashed all over the place and drip down the bottom. Now, the exterior bottom of my pan is sticky with what I can only assume is the burnt oil, but it isn't black, it's like a thick coat of semi-transparent thing? Any advice on how to clean without scratching the exterior finish?   Brand new cast iron skillet ruined... Comments By: Nora Feldish my husband decided he was going to make chicken wings with wing sauce in a brand new cast iron skillet, and in another small one, potatoe's with cheese. now these new pans are dimpled. after he was finished. ( i was sleeping when this happend.) he filled them with water and let them soak for the rest of the night. i poured the water out and dried as much as i could, and tryed to scrap blackened chicken grease, and the cheese off. What would be my next step to save these pans??