We recently bought a 12" All-Clad fry pan. Nice size for sauteeing
chicken, chops, etc. But keeping the thing clean is a challenge. Globs
of hardened oil adhere to the stainless steel liner. We have tried
plastic scrubbers (Dobie), overnight soaking, Bar Keeper's Friend, etc.
Nothing seems to touch these stains.

So far, I have resisted the impulse to scour with abrasive pads and
cleaners. They are likely to scratch the ss surface, making it more
likely that food will stick, and stains will adhere even worse.

Someone at Williams-Sonoma suggested EZ-Off oven cleaner. Has anyone
tried that? Any other ideas?

Or is it best to just ignore the oil buildup? On a cast iron pan, we
would probably call it "seasoning". But on the shiny ss, it looks like
schmutz.

--
Julian Vrieslander

I have a stainless steel pressure cooker that I used Easy Off oven cleaner
on when I burned some rice. That stuff was welded to the pan. Easy Off
worked like a charm, sprayed it on and set it outside in the sun for a half
hour, and then put it in a dishwasher on the high heat cycle with a dab of
dish soap. Good as new.

Sid

"Julian Vrieslander" wrote in
message
...
Someone at Williams-Sonoma suggested EZ-Off oven cleaner. Has anyone
tried that? Any other ideas?

in article
,
Julian Vrieslander at wrote on
12/27/03 11:59 PM:

We recently bought a 12" All-Clad fry pan. Nice size for sauteeing
chicken, chops, etc. But keeping the thing clean is a challenge. Globs
of hardened oil adhere to the stainless steel liner. We have tried
plastic scrubbers (Dobie), overnight soaking, Bar Keeper's Friend, etc.
Nothing seems to touch these stains.

So far, I have resisted the impulse to scour with abrasive pads and
cleaners. They are likely to scratch the ss surface, making it more
likely that food will stick, and stains will adhere even worse.

Someone at Williams-Sonoma suggested EZ-Off oven cleaner. Has anyone
tried that? Any other ideas?

Or is it best to just ignore the oil buildup? On a cast iron pan, we
would probably call it "seasoning". But on the shiny ss, it looks like
schmutz.

scrubbing stainless may scratch the surface, but that has absolutely no
bearing on what sticks to it or not. Where did you hear that scratching
stainless steel would make it more likely food will stick?

Stainless Steel is not non-stick.
And nothing you can do will change that.
You cannot season stainless steel. And it should be clean each time you use
it. One of the advantages of stainless is that it cleans up beautifully and
you don't have to be afraid to scrub it, like with non-stick coatings or
anodized aluminum.

It's the cooking technique that determines whether the food sticks to
stainless or not. Never add oil to a cold pan, only a pre-heated one.
That's a good place to start.

Get yourself a good grease cutting detergent, as a first step.
I use Ajax and am amazed at its grease cutting properties.
I haven't been able to cook anything that Lemon Ajax and a blue ScotchBrite
sponge can't clean!

Try soaking it for a couple hours in hot, hot water with a squirt of Ajax
dish detergent. Then go at it with the blue ScotchBrite sponge, with more
detergent applied to the sponge. Give it some elbow grease, it should come
clean. If that doesn't work, SOS or Brillo should finish the job.

Seriously, I have had some pretty greasy, icky messes in stainless steel
pans, and this method leaves them spotlessly, shiny clean.

One caveat, though: Scratches on cookware is a sign that they are being used
as they were intended. Pots are tools, meant to be cooked in, washed,
scrubbed, etc. I just don't understand people who are afraid to use and
scrub their stainless steel pots. Funny how it's always an All-Clad pan
they are afraid to scrub. Why is that?????

Sheryl Rosen wrote:
vbsnip
Funny how it's always an All-Clad pan
they are afraid to scrub. Why is that?????

I scrub the heck out of mine, and the SO really gets mean with it. Being
raised in a very poor family, he had no silver in his childhood, and
scrubbed the heck out of baby's silver cup yesterday. Ugh. Anyone know
how to get brillo marks out of silver?
TIA
blacksalt

Julian Vrieslander wrote:
Or is it best to just ignore the oil buildup? On a cast iron pan, we
would probably call it "seasoning". But on the shiny ss, it looks like
schmutz.

The brown crust is polymerized oil.

I don't get it on the inside surfaces, but it's prevalent
on the outside. You can leave it on for that "professional
kitchen" look, or take it off to return the pans to just-like-
brand-new.

Use steel wool, liquid dish soap, (SOS pads, if you have
them), moderately hot water, and elbow grease. It's less
work than it seems it might be.

I have yet to scratch the shiny surfaces of my All-Clad
with one.

--Blair
"Knock steel."

In article ,
Blair P. Houghton wrote:

Use steel wool, liquid dish soap, (SOS pads, if you have
them), moderately hot water, and elbow grease. It's less
work than it seems it might be.

I have yet to scratch the shiny surfaces of my All-Clad
with one.

I have used 3M ScotchBrite pads, steel wool, and SS scrubbers on AllClad
pots before. These pads make very obvious scratches in the finish. I
don't know why you don't experience this. Perhaps AllClad changed their
SS alloy formulation.


In article ,
Sheryl Rosen wrote:

scrubbing stainless may scratch the surface, but that has absolutely no
bearing on what sticks to it or not. Where did you hear that scratching
stainless steel would make it more likely food will stick?

I was simply assuming that a textured or scratched surface (of any
material) is more likely to provide a foothold for adhering contaminants
than a surface that is polished smooth. Craftsworkers often sand mating
surfaces before applying glue or cement, for this very reason.

It's the cooking technique that determines whether the food sticks to
stainless or not. Never add oil to a cold pan, only a pre-heated one.

I have heard this, and I usually try to do it, but I don't understand
why it would make a difference.

Get yourself a good grease cutting detergent, as a first step.
I use Ajax and am amazed at its grease cutting properties.
I haven't been able to cook anything that Lemon Ajax and a blue ScotchBrite
sponge can't clean!

Try soaking it for a couple hours in hot, hot water with a squirt of Ajax
dish detergent. Then go at it with the blue ScotchBrite sponge, with more
detergent applied to the sponge. Give it some elbow grease, it should come
clean. If that doesn't work, SOS or Brillo should finish the job.

I tried a hot soak with Dawn liquid (which is also supposed to be very
good at grease cutting) and then worked on the pan vigorously with a SS
scrubber pad. Those cooked-on spots just laughed at me.

One caveat, though: Scratches on cookware is a sign that they are being used
as they were intended. Pots are tools, meant to be cooked in, washed,
scrubbed, etc. I just don't understand people who are afraid to use and
scrub their stainless steel pots. Funny how it's always an All-Clad pan
they are afraid to scrub. Why is that?????

Maybe because they are so expensive, and we are afraid to ruin them. On
AllClads, that SS liner layer is actually quite thin. I wouldn't be
surprised if a few years of serious scrubbing with an abrasive pad could
wear through the liner.

We also have a couple of ScanPan frypans. These are advertised as
having a high-tech ceramic coating that is harder than steel and
virtually impossible to damage. But we see the coatings on our ScanPans
wear off, or separate from the aluminum substrate, etc. (and, yes, we
have already had pans replaced under warranty).

None of these things last forever, except maybe the simple cast iron
stuff.

--
Julian Vrieslander

Julian Vrieslander wrote:

Someone at Williams-Sonoma suggested EZ-Off oven cleaner. Has anyone
tried that? Any other ideas?

I've used EZ-Off for burnt-on crud in my cheap, 15-year-old Revereware
(on the stainless-steel interior, not on the copper bottom). Worked
great. I plan to try it on some old baking sheets that look kinda
cruddy despite serious scouring.

writes:

I've used EZ-Off for burnt-on crud. I plan to try it on some old
baking sheets that look kinda cruddy despite serious scouring.

Metal bakeware should never be scoured, the darker it gets the better it bakes.


---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =---
---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =---
Sheldon
````````````
"Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."

Julian Vrieslander wrote:

We recently bought a 12" All-Clad fry pan. Nice size for sauteeing
chicken, chops, etc. But keeping the thing clean is a challenge. Globs
of hardened oil adhere to the stainless steel liner. We have tried
plastic scrubbers (Dobie), overnight soaking, Bar Keeper's Friend, etc.
Nothing seems to touch these stains.

I feel like a shill for Dawn, but I've read good things about that
new Dawn Power Dissolver.

nancy

In article , kalanamak
wrote:

Sheryl Rosen wrote:
vbsnip
Funny how it's always an All-Clad pan
they are afraid to scrub. Why is that?????

I scrub the heck out of mine, and the SO really gets mean with it. Being
raised in a very poor family, he had no silver in his childhood, and
scrubbed the heck out of baby's silver cup yesterday. Ugh. Anyone know
how to get brillo marks out of silver?
TIA
blacksalt

No, but when it gets really, really bad, consider having it replated. I
did that once with a big serving spoon that went back to my childhood
days. Cost me maybe $18 and I did it for sentimental reasons. I'm
glad I did. JCPenney ran the special; they sent it out for replating.
--
-Barb
12-23-03: Tourtiere pictures and recipe have been
added to my site: www.jamlady.eboard.com
"If you're ever in a jam, here I am."

Melba's Jammin' wrote in
:

In article , kalanamak
wrote:

Sheryl Rosen wrote:
vbsnip
Funny how it's always an All-Clad pan
they are afraid to scrub. Why is that?????

I scrub the heck out of mine, and the SO really gets mean with it.
Being raised in a very poor family, he had no silver in his
childhood, and scrubbed the heck out of baby's silver cup yesterday.
Ugh. Anyone know how to get brillo marks out of silver?
TIA
blacksalt

No, but when it gets really, really bad, consider having it replated.
I did that once with a big serving spoon that went back to my
childhood days. Cost me maybe $18 and I did it for sentimental
reasons. I'm glad I did. JCPenney ran the special; they sent it out
for replating.

As Barb said, silverplate can be replated and looks virtually like new.

If it's sterling silver, you can have it professionally buffed and
polished for a nominal cost. It will also look like new.

Following either of those choices, threaten SO with his life.

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

Following either of those choices, threaten SO with his life.

When I was a child and did something uncouth, my family would say "Were
you born in a barn?" in a cross way. Well, this fellow was raised on a
boat, with even bathing being a niceity he often missed. I don't have to
threaten his life, I just remind him he's setting an example for his
toddler, and he has the old needle and thread out, mending his ways. One
(at least this one) cannot predict all the ways a toddler or a husband
can get into trouble, and therefore cannot prevent every mishap.
blacksalt
who has packed GGGM's china away for the duration

in article
,
Julian Vrieslander at wrote on
12/28/03 4:05 AM:

Maybe because they are so expensive, and we are afraid to ruin them.

That's exactly what I figured it was. That's the stupid part of it, to me.
You pay a shit load of money for something that's supposed to be "the best"
to cook in, then you're afraid to cook in it because you're afraid washing
them will ruin them.

On AllClads, that SS liner layer is actually quite thin. I wouldn't be
surprised if a few years of serious scrubbing with an abrasive pad could
wear through the liner.

Then what exactly are you paying for? I mean, if you think the SS liner
layer is so thin that you could scrub through it within a few years of
scrubbing with brillo, where exactly is the "HIGH QUALITY" you are
supposedly paying for? How are they better than my 40 year old Farberware
pans?



None of these things last forever, except maybe the simple cast iron
stuff.

I dunno. I have some Farberware stainless steel pans that are older than I
am. (I'll be 41 in May). They've been cooked in, burned in, scrubbed,
scrubbed and scrubbed, and neither my mother nor I have managed to ruin them
yet. And I have some that are about 10 years old, also not ruined. And I
have some that are about 6 years old.....even non-stick, and they are still
not ruined from scrubbing. And trust me, I am not a coddler. I don't baby
anything, especially pots and pans.

Pots and pans are designed to be cooked in and scrubbed afterward.
If you are afraid to do that in your expensive designer pots, maybe you
should hang them on the wall as artwork and get yourself some cheap pans to
actually cook in.

kalanamak wrote in :

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

Following either of those choices, threaten SO with his life.

When I was a child and did something uncouth, my family would say "Were
you born in a barn?" in a cross way. Well, this fellow was raised on a
boat, with even bathing being a niceity he often missed. I don't have to
threaten his life, I just remind him he's setting an example for his
toddler, and he has the old needle and thread out, mending his ways. One
(at least this one) cannot predict all the ways a toddler or a husband
can get into trouble, and therefore cannot prevent every mishap.
blacksalt
who has packed GGGM's china away for the duration


Understood. My SO was raised in very poor and unfotunate circumstances,
too, including child abuse. Over the years there hss been much gentle
"teaching". For a very long time I put many things out of harm's way.

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 08:13:56 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
wrote:


when it gets really, really bad, consider having it replated. I
did that once with a big serving spoon that went back to my childhood
days. Cost me maybe $18 and I did it for sentimental reasons. I'm
glad I did. JCPenney ran the special; they sent it out for replating.

A lot of things deserve replating. Certainly family items
do, but I also like to buy silver (which is usually silver
plated) at antique stores. I buy the item because the
pattern is pretty and I don't worry about how much silver is
left because it can always be replated.


Practice safe eating - always use condiments