how to clean burnt pots & pans…
Dear Readers,
It may be, that on occasion, something will accidentally burn!
It may be burnt cherry pits, for example…
Although, using my very wildest imagination, I could imagine this might happen with elbow macaroni, yielding a beautiful, black curvy pattern on the bottom of the pan–or maybe carrot slices, or even diced onions, producing something akin to the ancient onions of Pompeii…but I am just guessing that this might happen to someone, somewhere…
Actually, my dear readers, I am having a little, tiny scorching problem…you see, the pots take a long while to heat up, & in the meantime, there are so many things to see & do! I may hear something called “the ice cream truck” go by, & just roll out to take a peek at their amazing array of red, white, & blue space rockets (space travel being one of my areas of interest, after all)…or the children might be doing something especially fascinating…or some new insect I’ve never seen before might fly by, & I need to pursue it in my space kayak for a little ways, to make its acquaintance…
My nemesis, Smoke Detector, has explained this all to me many times in a very loud voice…under no circumstance leave the kitchen when the pots are on the stove! Burning! Dangerous!
And he is, of course, quite right! (Thank you, dear Smoke Detector, for saving our lives many times over!)
But, in case this should ever happen to you, help is on the way! All you need is some baking soda & vinegar!
Gather round all the children, for this is very cool…
After soaking the pan in hot, soapy water, remove any loose bits of charred material.
Put a nice thick layer of baking soda on the bottom of the pot, & add some vinegar…& you will see an amazing chemical reaction!
(described simply by the equation NaHCO3 (aq) + CH3COOH (aq) —-> CO2 (g) + H2O (l) + CH3COONa (aq))
You can let it soak for a while, maybe a half hour or so, & then use a scrubby or whatever the pot will withstand to remove the scorched stuff! Repeat as necessary. You may still see the faint outlines of Pompeii, carrot rings, or elbow macaroni…but don’t worry, these will fade with time!
Do you know of any other great home-style cleaning tricks or tips?
love,
Clay Ball
