How to clean that filthy pan again
Do you ever have trouble with baked-on rice, peanut sauce or caramel in your pan? So annoying — you’d rather just chuck the pan out the window, right? Here’s how to avoid spending the entire evening scrubbing and get that pan clean in one go.
First of all: don’t leave the pan sitting for too long, but clean it as soon as possible! There are several ways to do this. Read on and learn:
Soaking
Fill the pan with warm water until all the baked-on bits are submerged. Add a few drops of washing-up liquid: 2 to 3 drops for smaller pans, while 4 to 5 drops is more than enough for larger pans. Give it a good scrub with your dish brush and then leave the pan to sit for a few hours, preferably overnight. The next day, you can easily scrub out the loosened food residue.
Baking soda and vinegar
Dealing with stubborn grime? Then use baking soda and vinegar. Fill the pan with a shallow layer of water, just enough to cover the dirty areas, and mix in 250 ml of vinegar. Bring the water in the pan to a boil without a lid. Once the water starts boiling, your pan will already begin to look a little cleaner. Remove it from the heat and sprinkle in approximately 30 grams of baking soda. Don’t be alarmed: the mixture can foam up vigorously when you combine the baking soda and vinegar. Leave it to work for 30 minutes. Then scrub away the food residue with a sponge. Still have stubborn spots? Sprinkle half a teaspoon of baking soda over them and scrub again.
Sticky layer of sugar
Just made caramel sauce or fudge? Delicious, but that sticky layer in the pan is absolute hell. To clean your pan again, bring plenty of water in the pan to a boil. While it boils, the sticky caramel will loosen. When you pour out the water, most of the grime will already be gone. Is there still some residue left in the pan after draining? It will be as soft as butter and you can easily wipe it away with a sponge.
