How do you remove brown stains from pots and pans?

How can you tell an experienced chef from an amateur? A chef will have a kitchen as clean as his or her food is tasty.

Okay, okay, maybe we got that from Ratatouille, but the idea behind it is true. Any chef worth his salt knows that taking care of your equipment is half the battle. The pristine pots and pans in your kitchen says just as much about your cooking abilities as the food you serve your guests.

For the most part, keeping your kitchen in tip-top shape is easy. Sharp knives just require a little regular maintenance, and cleaning your oven really isn’t as difficult as it sounds. But even washing your pans carefully after each use can’t protect you from one common cooking conundrum: brown stains on the sides and bottoms of your pans.

Over time, oil and grease can stain your pots and pans brown. They’ll still work just fine, but if you’re all about keeping your kitchen sparkling clean, the stains have got to go.

But scrubbing with a little bit of soap and water often just doesn’t do the trick. For those stubborn, cooked-on stains, you’ve got to get creative. Different cooks recommend different methods, so you might have to try a few of these to find out which works best on your pots and pans.

Perhaps the simplest solution is scrubbing away the stains with some crumpled up aluminum foil. The harsher surface can sometimes get off the gunk that a normal sponge can’t.

If that doesn’t work, you can try making a paste from baking soda and water. Wet the baking soda just enough to create a thick paste, and cover the stains in it. Wait a few minutes, and wipe it off with a heavy duty steel scrubbing pad. The grease and oil should start to come off. Rubbing the stains with a cloth dipped in undiluted white vinegar can also be effective.

If DIY cleaning isn’t really your style, you can always turn to an old favorite: Bon Ami. This nontoxic cleaning powder is surprisingly powerful, and combined with steel scrubbing pads, can get rid of almost any stain.

With these tips in your cleaning arsenal, your pans will be looking as good as new in no time.

Photo credit: Trinette Reed via Stocksy

This is little off the beaten path, but try a solvent gun cleaner (not oil).

I recently (last week) caused a catastrophic burn on one of my skillets when I let it get entirely too hot before throwing a steak on it. After a few hundred cubic feet of smoke, a smoke alarm that sounded more like an air-raid siren, and a stubborn decision to let my steak cook anyway I was left with an interior that was about 100x worse than your picture. (The steak turned out perfect).

I tried the standard google recommendations of lemon juice, vinegar, and oven cleaner. They barely put a dent in it.

On a whim I grabbed a can of Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber® Solvent / Degreaser, and decided to give it a try.

Wow! A thorough spraying, a steel wool pad, and a surprisingly little amount of elbow grease later the gunk was, I'd say, 99% gone. I still have a slight lightish brown tinge to my previously shiny surface, but I think that's as good as it's going to get.

Your profile says you live in Virginia, so there's at least a slight chance you have some of this. If not, you should be able to find some at a Wal-Mart.

Needless to say, wash it thoroughly after you've cleaned it.

Update

My pan was All-Clad stainless steel. Guns are steel, and typically devoid of any aluminum parts. If your pan is aluminum I wouldn't suggest trying this, because I don't know what would happen.

Another update

I didn't think this answer would end up getting many up votes. Since it has, I want to stress that you shouldn't just use any arbitrary gun cleaning product you have laying around. You should make sure that it's strictly a solvent/degreaser. If it indicates that it "protects" in any fashion, then avoid it. A great many solutions include an oil based protectant. This is most certainly not edible. You don't want anything that leaves behind a residue. This stuff very clearly strips everything off the metal and evaporates very rapidly. Regardless, wash your pan very thoroughly afterwards.

Whether you run your pots and pans through a dishwasher or hand wash them, sometimes your cookware needs an extra boost to get clean. Cleaning pots and pans with baking soda can provide this boost. The baking soda adds a gentle scrubbing effect to get rid of stuck-on food and tough stains.

Here's what you need to know about using baking soda to clean cookware and bakeware.

How Often to Clean Pots and Pans With Baking Soda

Because baking soda isn't abrasive, you can use it anytime your pots and pans need a thorough cleaning. This can be as often as every time you use them, or you can reserve this method for the most stubborn, stuck-on food and stain situations.

Watch Now: How to Clean Pots and Pans With Baking Soda

Materials

• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Lemon

The Spruce / Letícia Almeida 

How to Clean Enameled Pots

Porcelain-enameled cast-iron cookware, such as Le Creuset, has a seemingly bulletproof, relatively nonstick surface, but it can get crusty like any other type of pan. The secret to removing stubborn buildup is boiling water with baking soda.

1. Boil Water

   Fill the pot or pan with about 1 quart of water—or more if necessary to cover the burned area. Bring the water to a boil on medium heat.

   The Spruce / Almar Creative

2. Add Baking Soda

   Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and then stir with a wooden spoon. Let the mixture simmer for several minutes.

   The Spruce / Almar Creative

3. Scrape the Pan

   Dump out the pot and rinse the pan with warm water, and then dry.

   The Spruce / Almar Creative

How to Clean Copper Bottoms on Pots and Pans

Return the copper bottoms of your pots and pans to their shiny selves using baking soda, vinegar, and a half lemon.

1. Cover the Bottom

   Turn the pan upside down, and sprinkle baking soda all over the copper bottom. Pour vinegar over the bottom of the pan.

   The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

2. Scrub With a Lemon

   Use a half lemon as a "scrub brush" to scrub all over the bottom of the pan. Scrub up along the sides, too, as needed.

   The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

3. Rinse and Dry

   Rinse the pan thoroughly, and then dry it with a cloth.

   The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

How to Clean Nonstick Frying Pans

Nonstick frying pans can benefit from a mixture of baking soda and water to remove lingering food smells and flavors. Baking soda also works as a mild abrasive to help clean stubborn stains and scorched oil.

1. Create a Paste

   Cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of water. Sprinkle baking soda liberally over the water to create a thin paste.

   The Spruce / Letícia Almeida 

2. Rest, Rinse, and Wash

   Let the pan sit for several hours, and then rinse and wash the pan.

   The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

3. Remove Stubborn Stains

   Remove stubborn stains on nonstick pans by boiling a solution of 4 tablespoons baking soda and 1/2 cup water in the pan. Let the pan cool. Then rinse, and scrub the stain with straight baking soda and a nonstick-safe nylon scrubbing brush.

   The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

How to Clean Roasting Pans

Clean any roasting pan with stuck-on food using baking soda, water, and vinegar.

1. Sprinkle the Surface

   Sprinkle the surface generously with baking soda.

   The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

2. Create Fizz

   Combine 1 cup of hot water and 1/3 cup of vinegar, and pour the solution into the pan. The baking soda and vinegar will fizz for a moment.

   The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

3. Soak and Scrape

   Let the pan soak for a few hours. Then, scrape the surface with a spatula or other suitable scraper, and continue to soak.

   The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

4. Wash and Rinse

   Wash the pan with straight baking soda and a scrubbing brush, and then rinse.

   The Spruce / Letícia Almeida

How to Clean Burned Pans

Anyone who has ever burned a pan knows how hard it is to clean off scorch marks. Next time this happens, cook off the burn with baking soda and water.

1. Make a Paste

   Cover the bottom of the pan with baking soda, and add water to make a thin pasty solution.

   The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

2. Heat the Pan

   Heat the pan on the stove until it comes to a boil, and then remove it from the heat. (You don't want to burn it again!)

   The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

3. Wait and Wipe

   Wait for the solution to cool, and wipe or scrub the pot to remove the burned-on food.

   The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska

It doesn't take long for new cookie sheets to start looking old with brown stains that don't come off no matter how hard you scrub. Return your cookie sheets to gleaming perfection with a thick paste with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.

1. Mix Baking Soda With Hydrogen Peroxide

   Mix baking soda with a small amount of ordinary household hydrogen peroxide to create a thick paste.

   The Spruce / Almar Creative

2. Apply Paste

   Apply the paste all over the stained area of the cookie sheet.

   The Spruce / Almar Creative

3. Wait

   Wait two hours.

   The Spruce / Almar Creative

4. Rub Off the Paste With a Cloth or Sponge

   No heavy scrubbing is necessary. If any stain remains, rub it with your fingers; it should come right off.

   The Spruce / Almar Creative

5. Flip and Repeat

   Flip the cookie sheet over, and repeat the process on the bottom side. 

   The Spruce / Almar Creative

6. Wash and Dry

   Wash and dry the cookie sheet as usual.

   The Spruce / Almar Creative

Tips to Keep Your Pots and Pans Clean Longer

• You should always allow pots and pans to cool before washing them; particularly hot stainless steel cookware can warp if submerged or splashed with cold water.
• Avoid using steel wool, scouring pads, oven cleaners, bleach, or strong abrasive cleaners—all of these can scratch your cookware.
• Thoroughly dry your pans immediately after cleaning them to prevent water spots and white dried calcium spots from developing.

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