If you’ve ever cooked with a stainless steel pan, you know that they can be tricky to clean. Whether you’ve got burnt-on food or just a general build-up of grease and grime, it can be difficult to get your pan looking shiny and new again.
But with a little elbow grease (and the right cleaning supplies), it’s not impossible. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to clean a stainless steel pan.
How To Clean a Stainless Steel Pan
If you’re like most people, you probably use your stainless steel pan on a regular basis. But what you may not realize is that there is a special way to clean a stainless steel pan.
If you don’t clean it properly, you run the risk of damaging the pan.
The Cleaning Procedure:
1) You’ll need to find a pot big enough to hold your pan, f it’s a tiny fry pan or a large one, use an appropriate sized tub that you can boil water in (so a metal container). Then, fill it with water until the base of your pan is just below the surface, and get up to boiling. If your boiling pot is really big, you may need to use two stove burners.
2) Put a generous amount of baking soda (a half cup to a full cup) in the pan before placing it in the water. Bring the baking soda-water solution to a low boil, then set asidYe for 15-30 minutes. Flip and turn the pan to ensure even coverage in the baking soda water. After a while, the discolored debris should start coming off.
3) Take the pans out of the large pot, being careful not to burn yourself. You will need to make a thin paste with the baking soda and water inside the pan. Using this abrasive scrub the hot pan to remove any remaining stains. A cloth will suffice as a handle for the pan.
4) Use a toothpick or an inexpensive paring knife, or one of those dental tools to clean around the rivets and remove the rest of the embedded dirt.
Sidenote: If the pan is only dirty on the bottom of the cooking surface, then just add water to the pan and baking soda, and boil the solution inside the stainless steel pan. No need to use another huge pot to put the pan into. This is how to clean a stainless steel pan with baking soda!
Feel free to watch the video below that I made demonstrating the baking soda to clean stainless steel pans method.
Cleaning Mistakes With Your Stainless Steel Pan
The most common mistake people make when cleaning their stainless steel pans, is using abrasive cleaners. These cleaners will scratch the surface of the pan and cause permanent damage. It is recommended that you do not use steel wool, SOS pads or abrasive cleaners on your pans.
Because stainless steel is an alloy, there are other factors to consider. If you scratch the surface, you basically open up the metal to corrosion, and oxidization (rusting). Not to mention, that with your damaged cooking surface, food will stick and be susceptible to a metallic flavor. It becomes an unhealthy piece of cookware.
Why Stainless Steel Cookware Is Awesome
When looking for safe, long-lasting, and versatile cookware that can be used for a variety of tasks, including sautéing, baking, and boiling, stainless steel is a perfect choice. Because of its high heat retention and uniform cooking, this pan is ideal for baking in small quantities.
Because of its low maintenance requirements, stainless steel is a great choice for first-time cooks like college freshmen. After each use, simply wash with hot, soapy water or use the baking soda-water solution method, to get rid of stubborn oil stains.
When it comes to kitchenware, stainless steel is another go-to material. Many common kitchen items, such as pots, pans, griddles, roasting pans, cookie trays, muffin pans, and baking sheets, are made of stainless steel.
A three-layer construction of stainless steel, copper or aluminum, and stainless steel, is one of the greatest solutions for cookware made of stainless steel. This multi-layer construction not only takes advantage of the copper’s or aluminum’s superior heat conductivity to provide a more uniform cooking surface, but it also helps to lock in the copper, so that leaching is not a concern.
Compared to inferior cookware made solely of low-quality stainless steel, this design is not only more durable, but also easier to clean, as it is dishwasher safe and features a sleek, polished finish.
Conclusion – How To Clean a Stainless Steel Pan
Stainless steel cookware is a great investment because it lasts a long time and requires little maintenance. Stainless steel cookware doesn’t need to be seasoned or cleaned with special care like cast iron does, so it’s much more convenient in the kitchen.
Most stainless steel cookware can be cleaned in the dishwasher, unlike nonstick cookware (as discussed in the cooking with stainless steel vs. nonstick article), but if you want to hand wash it, all you need is some dish soap, warm water, and a sponge.
When bits of food get stuck, or the dreaded oil gets burned on, occasionally, there’s a simple trick anyone may use to easily restore the stainless steel to it’s original glory! If you made it this far down the page, then you know what it is. Our baking soda – water solution – boiling the pan trick!
I’ll just say that if you own a professional cookware set, you’ll be very pleased that you stumbled across this baking soda cleaning technique. I believe this cleaning method can extend the useable life of your expensive kitchenware.
Give it a go, guys. I’m positive you’ll be thrilled with the results. If you watched the video, you know how well this works.
Cheers!