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Yvonne Glasgow is a professional writer with two decades of experience. She has written and edited for nutritionists, start-ups, dating companies, SEO firms, newspapers, board game companies, and more. Yvonne is a published poet and short story writer, and she is a life coach. Read more...

It’s easy to end up with burnt food stuck to your pots and pans. Even if you diligently watch your food on the stove, it doesn’t take long for it to burn. Here’s how to get your cookware clean.

Cleaning scorched pans might seem like a tough job, but there are some tricks to getting them clean. Keep in mind, what works for some ceramic pans might not work on cast iron. For most pans, it’s best to avoid abrasive cleaners and scrubbers that could leave them scratched.

It’s easy to clean burned food off your enamel and stainless-steel pans if you follow the right steps. If your pans are nonstick, you might not need to follow any of these recommendations. Nonstick doesn’t mean you can’t burn stuff on, though.

Try one of these methods:

You can skip the heating method for nonstick pans. If your pan is older and not working as well as it used to, you might need to do a little extra soaking to remove burnt-on food.

Here are some methods to make your nonstick pans spotless:

Cast iron is an entirely different cooking device than your standard kitchen pans. They cook differently, and they need different care and cleaning.

Cast-iron pans can take a lot more abuse than your general cookware. However, water is not their friend as it can cause rusting if you don’t dry them off completely before putting them away.

Coarse sea or kosher salt is the best scrubbing agent to remove burnt-on food from cast-iron pans. Use a damp cloth to do the scrubbing.

If that doesn’t cut it, you can use a plastic scraper made specifically for use on cast-iron pans. Don’t ever use scouring pads or steel wool on your cast-iron cookware, as these remove the seasoning from your pans.

Removing burnt-on food is frustrating, but with a little soaking and elbow grease, you can get any pan clean again.

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