So your well-loved stainless steel frying pan is starting to look a little too, well, loved. Don’t panic: Despite the name, stainless steel can, indeed, start to look burnt or discolored over time and with heavy use. Good news is this is totally normal, and these stains are rarely permanent.
Here are a few of our favorite cleaning tools and household products to use on stainless steel pans, depending on the degree or type of burn. So whether you’re dealing with nasty splotches of polymerized oil, burnt food, or rainbow-hued heat tint, we've got you covered.
5 Methods to Clean Burnt Stainless Steel pans
If you've found yourself with a burnt stainless steel pan, don't panic. Wipe as much as you can off with dish soap, a sponge, and warm water. Once you're down to the remaining stubborn residue, turn to one (or more) of these solutions you likely already have the materials for.
Bar Keeper’s Friend
Bar Keeper’s Friend is a multi-purpose cleaning powder that works by using oxalic acid to dissolve rust and calcium deposits, then a mild abrasive to help scrub away burnt food and oil. That oxalic acid sets Bar Keeper’s friend apart from something like baking soda, which—as an alkaline ingredient—isn’t as effective when it comes to tackling alkaline stains like rust, calcium, and lime.
Vinegar and Baking Soda
When combined, vinegar (an acid) and baking soda (a base) produce carbon dioxide bubbles that can help loosen bits of stubborn stuck-on food. First, sprinkle baking soda all over the affected area, then use a sponge to scour the inside of the pan. Once you’ve removed as much of the mess as you can, add a small amount of vinegar: the mixture should foam up immediately. Scrub thoroughly, then rinse and repeat until the stain is fully dissolved.
Salt
If you’ve ever used coarse salt to scrub out your unfinished cast iron skillet, you know that it’s an effective tool for scouring away charred, sticky messes. Sprinkle coarse salt over the areas that need cleaning, then let sit for about five minutes before scrubbing with a rough sponge, scouring pad, or lemon for an all-natural solution.
Baking Soda
While not quite as effective as Bar Keeper’s Friend or other powdered cleaners, baking soda is still a solid, cheap option for cleaning stainless steel cookware that you likely have on hand already. Make a paste of baking soda and water, using it to cover the burnt parts of your pan. Once you’ve gotten it as clean as possible, rinse out the pan, repeating the process if needed.
White Vinegar
Vinegar isn’t just a natural disinfectant—it’s also an effective tool for tackling messes like grease, grime, and hard water stains. Simply boil water and a few tablespoons of white vinegar together in your stainless steel pan—just enough to cover the mess in question—then dump it out and wash with soapy water. For more stubborn messes, try the above method of combining vinegar with baking soda.
Ready to Clean?
With the sheer number of options available for cleaning burnt stainless steel cookware, you can feel a little less nervous using your pan on a daily basis. So don’t be shy about cranking the heat—as long as you have a few simple pantry ingredients on hand, you can almost always restore your pan back to its original shine.
