We’ve all been here: One moment you’re focused on cooking, and then all of a sudden, the dog is barking, the baby is crying, and the phone is ringing. In the next moment, you’re faced with the frustration of scraping a burnt mess from the bottom of your favorite pot. Instead of reaching for harsh chemicals or tossing the pan altogether, there’s an easy and effective way to bring it back to life by using something you already have on hand: Liquid dishwasher detergent.
For this simple method, you’ll need to use liquid dishwasher detergent. Powder can work too, but don’t use the pods. First, remove any burnt food chunks that are easy to scrape out with a wooden utensil. Then, fill the burnt pot with water and add a few drops of liquid dishwasher detergent — remember, this is a concentrated detergent and a little goes a long way! Dishwasher detergent is made for more heavy-duty action, so normal dish soap won’t cut it in this situation. Bring the pot of water with detergent to a boil. Continue boiling this for about 20 minutes, allowing the detergent to break down stubborn residue sitting at the bottom of the pan.
After turning off the heat, let the water-detergent mixture cool slightly before discarding the gunky solution down the drain and scrubbing away the burnt bits with a sponge. Any residue should come out quite easily at this point. This method helps restore the pot’s shine, without using excessive manpower by scrubbing or scraping (and reduces the risk of any damage).
Other methods for cleaning burnt pots
If you don’t have dishwasher liquid on hand, don’t fret –- there are other ways to tackle burnt pots and pans using kitchen staples. For instance, Ina Garten reports that the trick to keeping her pots and pans looking shiny for 40 years is simple and low-effort. She soaks them overnight in hot, soapy water, and scrubs off burnt patches and crusts the next morning. This is a good option for something lightly burned –- a bigger disaster will require a bit more effort.
Baking soda is effective at dissolving burnt food, too. A mixture of 3 parts baking soda and 1 part warm water could be added to the burnt pot and left to soak, or boiled with a bit more water like the dishwasher soap method. Or, for an even stronger solution, the combination of vinegar and baking soda creates an effervescent foam that can lift the burnt residue. This one is a bit surprising…but if you’ve burned sugar on the bottom of the vessel, a thick layer of ketchup is a secret cleaner that can help clean the burnt pan. It can be spread on top of the residue overnight; the acidity helps cut through the hardened bits and makes them a lot easier to scrub out.
If it seems like something more abrasive or heavy-duty would help, try using using coffee grounds to clean your pans. Another option is boiling lemons in water for a few minutes; the acidity in lemon, as the ketchup, helps break down burnt residues.
