How to clean a scorched pan...without breaking a fingernail!

My Husband's Grandfather gave us money for our wedding to buy a good set of Pots & Pans.  I went with Maxam KT17 17-Piece 9-Element Surgical-Stainless-Steel Waterless Cookware Set, by recommendation of my Grandpa.  He didn't necessarily recommend that particular set, but he recommended pans that had the 9 layers of different metal. (We don't do Teflon Non Stick pans in my family)   I don't know if you know it or not, but my grandpa knows everything.  (And my grandma is the best cook too, don't even try to argue)

Scenario 1:

Do you know what it's like to SCORCH spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a stainless steel pot.  It's awful. 

I let the pan soak for a while and tried to scrub it with no luck.

Then somehow, in the back of my head, I remembered hearing that vinegar will making cleaning a scorched pan a breeze.

If I remember correctly, I barely had to scrub the pan.

Scenario 2: 

I don't know what we did to this pan, but there was some residual residue on the bottom of it.  It didn't feel "gunky" when we can our hand across it, but you could tell it wasn't clean.  And in poor blogger fashion, I of course don't have a picture of it. 

Then of course I remembered ..... VINEGAR!!!!!

Genius, I tell ya!

Here's how it works:

1. Pour enough white vinegar in your pan to cover the bottom

2. Add in an inch or two of water

3. Bring to a boil, and let it boil for 5-10 minutes or so

4. Turn off heat and let set for a few minutes, but don't let the pan completely cool

5. Dump out the vinegar water mix, and use the green side of the sponge and some soap to gently scrub the pan.  Everything should easily come off! If I remember correctly, the scortched spaghetti sauce literally just peeled off the bottom of the pan.

If you pan is really bad, you may have to do this twice.



I've heard baking soda works as well.  I'll have to try that next time and report back!