It is so hard to stand there scrubbing your pot, trying to get all the burned food off. You're not even guaranteed to get all the crud off if you scrub the heck out of it.
Here's my pan, after I fried some chicken in it.
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| This is after trying to scrub... I just filled it with hot water. |
DO NOT ever scrub Teflon (or otherwise-coated) pots/pans with steel wool (you'll remove the nonstick coating). That would usually be my first thing to do...if this wasn't coated.
Here's the easy way!
1. Fill pan with water
2. Put about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of baking soda in the water (don't bother to dissolve it in).
3. Boil it until it's just dry.
**Be careful not to let the pot scald. When you set it on the stove, set a timer to go off in 10 minutes or so, so you remember to check.
Here's my pan, only just boiled dry:
4. Let it cool, then wipe off the burns with a sponge and soap in the sink!
I literally wiped off the burned gunk. There's a little black still in the pan, so I might repeat the process.
It's magic!
PS: Never use baking soda on aluminum. The sodium bicarbonate could react with the aluminum and discolor your pots and pans. You can use this with cast iron, though!