stainless steel problem

"Vince Poroke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Bought a 5 qt stainless steel pan and used it yesterday for the first time to brown some pork
chops. The food stuck but that may be my fault because I tried to move them to soon. After
cleaning the pan it is already stained after one use. Any way to get rid of the staining? Will the
staining cause any ill affects with cooking other items in this pan. By the way it is a Calphalon
5 qt sautesse, don't know if that makes a differences.

Stainless can get dark, blue-gray marks when it is over-heated. The marks will cause no problem. If
you have food stains or dark, varnish-like oil baked on the cookware you can remove it with heavy-
duty oven cleaner. Just put the pan in a garbage bag and spray with oven cleaner (I find that the
original formula in the yellow can works best - don't get the fume-free). Let the item sit for
several hours and then rinse. It should look like new.

Vince Poroke said:

Bought a 5 qt stainless steel pan and used it yesterday for the first time to brown some pork
chops. The food stuck but that may be my fault because I tried to move them to soon. After cleaning
the pan it is already stained after one use. Any way to get rid of the staining? Will the staining
cause any ill affects with cooking other items in this pan. By the way it is a Calphalon 5 qt
sautesse, don't know if that makes a differences.

If the stains are blue or white, they're oxidation or chemical adsorption. Use Barkeeper's Friend,
or any other oxalic-acid containing product, according to directions.

If the stains are brown and plasticky, they're polymerized oil. Use an SOS pad (fairly lightly) and
plan for elbow grease and possibly scratching the surface.

--Blair "Someone'll demur. I know it."

"Blair P. Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Vince Poroke said:

Bought a 5 qt stainless steel pan and used it yesterday for the first time to brown some pork
chops. The food stuck but that may be my fault because I tried to move them to soon. After
cleaning the pan it is already stained after one use. Any way to get rid of the staining? Will
the staining cause any ill affects with cooking other items in this pan. By the way it is a
Calphalon 5 qt sautesse, don't know if that makes a differences.

If the stains are blue or white, they're oxidation or chemical adsorption. Use Barkeeper's Friend,
or any other oxalic-acid containing product, according to directions.

If the stains are brown and plasticky, they're polymerized oil. Use an SOS pad (fairly lightly)
and plan for elbow grease and possibly scratching the surface.

--Blair "Someone'll demur. I know it."

D'OH!! Sorry about that!!

Read on, please:

Blair P. Houghton said:

If the stains are blue or white, they're oxidation or chemical adsorption. Use Barkeeper's Friend,
or any other oxalic-acid containing product, according to directions.

If the stains are brown and plasticky, they're polymerized oil. Use an SOS pad (fairly lightly)
and plan for elbow grease and possibly scratching the surface.

From my own experience trashing stainless pans, I've found that good old plain old baking soda and a
damp sponge (light abrasive) will easily remove most spots or stuck food stains. (I once, in the
early days of my career with stainless, melted a nylon spatula in a stainless pan -- I was certain
that the whole thing was toast, but after I cooled the pan down COMPLETELY, baking soda lifted the
nylon right off.)

Baking soda will do nothing for the bluish or rainbow discoloration of overheating. White vinegar
(acid) has rescued me from that infamy innumerable times.