Burnt pan!

[punkrockcaveman]

My last meal of rice on the fire went a bit wayward and I let my eye off the ball... now I've got a lovely crusty black mark at the bottom of the pan! Gutted. I've tried two different oven pride style products no luck, so I was thinking some fine wet and dry paper or some wire wool might do the trick? Or is this a big mistake?

Cheers!

 

[Toddy]

What's the pan made from ?
So long as it's not aluminium, you can just leave it to soak overnight with hot water, a squirt of fairy liquid and a couple of teaspoonsful of baking soda.

Once that's soaked as much as it can, just find the Astonish paste and use some elbow grease, and a green scourer. It'll shift

If it is aluminium, miss out the baking soda and don't use bleach or vinegar.

The Astonish paste, or just the old fashioned stuff used to scrub steps, Vim/ Ajax works fine, but the latter two do have bleach in them.

You can boil up vinegar or coke in the pot and that'll help shift it too, but they'll change the surface, especially if it is aluminium.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Thanks Toddy! It's stainless steel, I'll have a look out for astonish in the shop

 

[Toddy]

Stainless steel will take bleach. It will strip a miniscule layer off it and leave it really, really shiny but it'll help dissolve the carbon stuff too.
If you have coke in the house you could try that for an hour or so too.

Honestly, I just use the Astonish stuff (there's a star drops version that's just as good and a lot cheaper, just your luck if the local shop has it or not) and a green scourer after soaking for a while.

Some folks swear by Brillo pads, but I always end up with my hands in a mess with those so I stick to the paste and elbow grease.

You might find that some of it will chip off too with a hard plastic spatula once it's been soaked for a while.

Someone elsewhere was giving me advice on Induction hobs and I thought about my pots, the stainless steel ones I've been using for over thirty years and they're still good, still sound, and yes, I have burnt stuff in them on occasion :blush:

I haven't seen it for sale in years, but there used to be stuff called CarboSolve that was claimed to digest burnt on stuff too.
Kind of lethal to skin, etc., though.

M

 

[Robson Valley]

Just a carbon battle scar. The framework of all biological things.
If it's small, it can't add much flavor to the next meal.
Just don't empty the pot in front of guests.

 

[AussieVic]

Since its SS, you can boil in a pot with some dishwasher powder (or caustic soda).
20 or 30 mins

 

[Herman30]

I would do as AussieVic says.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Just a carbon battle scar. The framework of all biological things.
If it's small, it can't add much flavor to the next meal.
Just don't empty the pot in front of guests.

Very true, but I find that stodgy stuff really sticks to any burnt on stuff and makes a nightmare of cleaning. When it's a clean surface, even when something sticks I can usually just soak it in water for half an hour or so and the crude will just slough off. Not with this burnt bit unfortunately

 

[Billy-o]

I'd use some metal pot scourer ... the stuff made of lathe turnings .. coarse like, not the brillo stuff which is both too fine and too full of gunk ... add a bit of detergent. Alternatively, treat it like rust and use some wet and dry.

These ones - https://www.webstaurantstore.com/im...eel-standard-weight-scouring-pads-12-pack.jpg

 

[Toddy]

@Billy-o
A bit OT, but those scourers ? do they leave wee bits of metal broken off like Brillo ones do ?
I got fed up with shredded fingertips and threw the last lot of Brillo out.

 

[Billy-o]

No, they dont. Toddy. If you scrub brutally with them, you'll get sore fingers. But. that's it. Thing about the Brillos is, if applied energetically to a task, you can get the metal slivers going into your fingers ... which of course stay sore for ages then with a sort of low-grade recurring inflammation. They also rust ... these swarf ones are stainless ... well, I don't recall a non-stainless one.

 

[Toddy]

@Billy-o

Excellent Thank you. I will acquire some.
You described my unhappiness with the brillo ones to a T.

M

 

[SaraR]

handle end of a suitable spoon and elbow grease....

 

[SaraR]

I'd use some metal pot scourer ... the stuff made of lathe turnings .. coarse like, not the brillo stuff which is both too fine and too full of gunk ... add a bit of detergent. Alternatively, treat it like rust and use some wet and dry.

These ones - https://www.webstaurantstore.com/im...eel-standard-weight-scouring-pads-12-pack.jpg

These are really handy and I always pick up a few whenever I find them. They are gentle on the hands but efficient in removing stuck on bits of whatever. They are great on non-metal items too, as long as you moderate the force applied.

 

[aris]

I'd use some metal pot scourer ... the stuff made of lathe turnings .. coarse like, not the brillo stuff which is both too fine and too full of gunk ... add a bit of detergent. Alternatively, treat it like rust and use some wet and dry.

These ones - https://www.webstaurantstore.com/im...eel-standard-weight-scouring-pads-12-pack.jpg

This will do it. You can find them at most supermarkets too. I use them on very well seasoned cast iron too. Just scrub until you see silver - there will be no damage. If there is any staining which does not come out - try Barkeepers friend. This stuff is amazing in getting rid of stains - but wear gloves. If you want a mirror polish back after it is clean - Autosol.

 

[punkrockcaveman]

Thanks for all the help with this folks! I tried a very coarse pad with no luck, and lost my patience and gave it a go with wire wool, that shifted it in seconds! Gave it a good soapy wash afterwards to get rid of any metal residue. It was a fine wire wool so it hasn't left any scratches, if anything it's polished it up a little

 

[Oliver G]

Being lazy I'm a big fan of chemical cleaning, Caustic soda for organic fouling (carbon and food) and citric acid for non-organic fouling (rust). Follow up with a bit of purple scotchbrite and you're sorted.

 

[bob_the_baker]

Bit late I'm afraid, but I have heard tell of just leaving the pan out under a bucket for the slugs. A molluscs radula being one of the toughest things in the natural world.