I use baking soda that has been sitting in my fridge for too long to be effective. A tablespoon or so with some water makes a great polishing paste.

My parents use bleach. I'm not kidding. "It gets everything off."

I use a green scrubby very gently.

I use Bar Keeper's Friend and it really does the job.

But if your glaze has gotten really porous with age soaking it with some Efferdent (sp? you know, that fizzy denture cleaner stuff) can work on some of the deeper stains after you tend to the stains on the surface.

I also use bleach; I'm pretty sure I learned the technique from Le Creuset themselves. You fill the pot with water, then add a tablespoon of bleach, and let it soak for at least 24 hours. No scrubbing necessary!

I'll throw my vote behind the bleach method too. Works amazingly well - just be sure to fill the pot all the way to the top with water, otherwise you'll get a ring at the top where the ceramic didn't get bleached.

Second on the baking soda, though I usually use quite a lot (like half a cup) barely moistened into a mildly abrasive paste. Wipe it on, let it sit for a few minutes, scrub and rinse. Even if a little is absorbed into the finish, it won't hurt you when it leaches into your next recipe.

On the other hand - stains give you stove cred. Think of it as the patina they are always talking about on Antiques Roadshow. This stuff gets put into 350 degree ovens, so the stains are not a health issue, are they? My 30 year old Cousance (a Le Creuset predecessor) gratin dish has all this wonderful blackness in the crannies of the handles that I am certain contribute, at least psychologically, to the good taste of the food.

Baking soda.

I know that bleach, washed out would be all right for a pan, but just the thought of using bleach in something I cook in, gives me the shivers.

Plus, I don't keep any bleach in the house.

Good question!

@ PunchNYC -- No, the patina isn't harmful. All the bacteria have been burned off, and basically it's just polymerized (?) carbon. same think with raw cast iron pans and good woks.

I was going to ask this same question.

My target enameled pot looked very similar (minus the dark burn spot) and I used the Barkeeper's Friend. Used a bunch as a paste and let it sit around 20 minutes. It helped lighten up the bottom and cleaned the sides up well.

I was hoping to get it a little more clean on the bottom, but if bleach is the answer. I leave it as is. Maybe I'll try the efferdent though.

I haven't tried it yet, but I heard denture cleaner works wonders. I suppose both are enamel, so it makes sense.

I have a bottle of Le Creuset's cleaner and it has worked well for me so far. It even helped get some black sharpie marker off the fridge when my 4 year old son decided to create an impromptu art project when no one was looking!

That being said though, I haven't encountered any major burns yet and my pot is fairly new.

Enameled cast iron doesn't need a patina. It's not the same as plain cast iron. Staining doesn't worry me, but I'd rather clean the pan, and not burn anything in it. Le Creuset's cleaner works wonderfully well.

I use a slightly different baking soda method to get cooked on stains out of other types of pans. I add a fair bit (at least 1/4 C) and a couple cups of water to the pan and boil it for a few minutes on the stove top then wash with plastic scrubber or brush once it is cool enough to touch. This method even gets out things like burned on milk that seem unscrubable.

It might not work on the stains but it is a low cost, low elbow grease option so could be worth a try. Certainly nothing about it would damage the pot.

My Le Creuset was a gift (hand me down) from my Grand-mère because it was now to heavy for her. She had it refinished for me (she had the bright orange outside with the white finish inside) and it was chipped from years of every day use. The refinish is great but the color changed to blue for the outside and black for the inside... I feel like the black finish dimishes the risk of burnt mess!

Barkeeper's friend is a miracle worker!!!

I recently stained my pot (didn't mind the lamb shank stains) but smoking a duck in the creuset (I know, I know) instead of a wok, not a good idea! So, I appreciate the timeliness of the question and will have to check out these options. I'm wary of the bleaching thing, eventhough it's the cheapest, but won't it leach into the next food you cook? Should you boil water in the pot after this method?

Household bleach degrades to salt water rather quickly, so there is not a lot of worry that it will retain in the ceramic. You could always rinse with vinegar to neutralize any bleach.

I love the Le Creuset cleaner. It still takes a fair amount of elbow grease if the stain is really set, but it works wonders!

I've burned mine twice, over a campfire and on the stove and I got this tip from Martha Stewart's Home Handbook: fill the pan about 1/3-1/2 full with cold water. Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt (I usually add more for bad burns). Let pan sit overnight. In the morning put the pan on the stove and bring water to a boil. Let water boil for a while. Take pan off of stove and scrub it. A lot of the burn should come off. But for really bad burns, I've had to do this numerous times. But it worked better than Bon Ami etc.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!

@Niamh, thanks for the tip! Recently, I learned that baking soda's benefits increase with heat ... maybe that's why your heated method works so well.

I accidentally burned oatmeal in my LC sauce pan (inherited from my mom!) ... I was devastated. Baking soda is amazing for cleaning cookware (sprinkle b/s, spritz with water, scrub & let it soak ... but, it didn't work with this stain. So, I'm trying Niamh's method.

Efferdent? LOL! That does make sense. Wow & I've had Efferdent here for my teen's retainers & never thought to try that.

Someone suggested that I deep fry something to get the stains out ... hmmm

I have found that for really burnt on crud, the Le Creuset cleaner does not work very well. Bar Keeper's Friend, however, does the job.

Isn't it possible to burn the enamel itself if the pot was on a burner while empty? My mom always taught me that pans that had been "burned out" this way were no longer safe for food. I'm not talking about burned-on food. The picture looks like it might be damage to the enamel. I burned a very thin enamel pot recently, and when I tried to scrub off the burned stuff, I scrubbed a hole right through the pot! The enamel had been chipped in that exact place on the other side.

I was just given a 50 year old Le Cruset from my husband's grandmother, she swears by soaking it overnight with a little OxyClean & water. It looks gorgeous after all this time, so I am apt to believe that she knows what she's talking about.

I also use baking soda. I fill it part way with water and shake in a bunch of baking soda. Then I just let it boil. I've bought a number of Le Creusets for really cheap at the thrift stores because they looked like they were ruined. But boiled for a little with baking soda and they were as good as new

Gonna second the magic eraser! Great for the exterior stains as well.

The magic eraser is full of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, and was never intended to be used on vessels intended for food!! At least trace amounts of those chemicals can be expected to be left behind in a slightly damaged surface like this!

I'll second (or third) the suggestion of bar keepers friend -- but suggest the liquid version, which is a little stronger. Just pour it on, rub it in a little, and leave it for a while, scrub a bit, rinse and repeat as necessary.

I don't understand why people object to the way this looks. It's like people who shine copper as if it just came from the store. I guess some of us just prefer the "used" look. It certainly isn't dirty.

Bleach all the way!

I have an 9-year-old creamy white le creuset and it definitely has a patina ... even with the use of Bon Ami or Bar Keepers. The new black le creusets seem the way to go ... especially when making moles which do the majority of the staining in mine! I never heard of the bleach or denture tablet methods ... something to try. Great Q.

Bon Ami always works for me.

A kinder, gentler solution than chlorine bleach would be an oxygen bleach product, such as oxiclean. It takes longer to work than chlorine bleach, but it is much, much less caustic to whatever it is you are cleaning. I use it to get out the stains in my porcelain sink, coffee pot, even tea mugs. Use a few tablespoons, add water to cover the stain, and let soak overnight. Most organic (i.e. food based) stains will be easily removed.

Boil a good handful of baking soda and let sit. It really works wonders with no effort. I like Bar Keepers Friend, but it did not work on my stains the way the baking soda boil did.

Dilute chlorine bleach works and is probably the safest thing; it breaks down into water, salt, and oxygen over time, and it's very water soluble, which means it rinses off easily.

While I agree bleach sounds a bit scary and I'd try the other methods first (baking soda and bar keeper's friend both work for me), bleach is used for emergency water purification, so small amounts, well-rinsed, aren't going to hurt you, I don't think.

@loveyhowell: YIKES! Don't mix bleach and vinegar! Together, they create chlorine gas, which is toxic. Besides, vinegar and bleach are both acids, so one wouldn't neutralize the other.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned my boyfriend's method: plain white vinegar and water. Add vinegar to very hot water in your sink, let your pot soak in it, and then scrub the stains after it's soaked for a bit. I was devastated when my boyfriend used my green LC to deep fry and got grease stains all over the exterior — no amount of bar keeper's friend was up to the challenge, but he did this vinegar method and it came out spotless, including old stains I'd just learned to live with!

@loveyhowell @accidentalvermonter Vinegar is an acid (acetic acid), and bleach is an alkaline (sodium hypochlorite). After bleaching the pot out and rinsing well, you can use some vinegar to remove the remaining bleach. The trace amounts of bleach residue won't be enough to make any appreciable amount of chlorine gas. Copious amounts of water would be the best bet though.

put two tablespoons of biological washing powder in and slowly bring to the boil. Magic!

Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on the bottom of the dutch oven. Cut a fresh lemon in half, squeeze the juice on the baking soda and use the half of lemon as your scrubber.... stains disappear... and no chemicals used.

I tried the baking soda and although it didn't get out all of the old stains, it cleaned it well enough.

Thanks for the comments about the "patina" and to have a different attitude about it all.

Bravo

In reading through various threads on various sites on how to clean my Le Creuset pot, I finally decided on soaking it with 1 part bleach and 3 parts water. (The stains were gone in less than two hours.) My husband thought bleach may not have been a good idea, but I've read it's okay to clean kids toys with very diluted bleach so it can't be that bad.

Just to appease my husband, I emailed Le Creuset and here is what they recommended:

For cleaning we would recommend using a laundry detergent such as Tide or one that has an enzyme in it. Make a mixture of one part detergent and three parts water to fill the interior of the vessel. Allow this to boil for about 5-7 minutes. Afterwards, allow to the vessel to cool and proceed with cleaning with your dish detergent.

If needed, you may use a nylon or plastic scrubby to assist. Once your item has been cleaned, lightly coat the interior with white vinegar using a soft cloth or paper towel. This step is used to return some of the sheen back to the glaze. The longer you allow the vinegar to remain on the enamel the more of the sheen it will bring. Your item can be stored away with the vinegar on it until next use. When ready to use, wash and dry.

Since it's coming from Le Creuset directly, I will take their advice for future stain cleaning. I'm especially interested in bringing back the sheen by simply using white vinegar.

Did you notice, they did not try to sell me their cleaning product! What great service!

I had a couple newer cream-colored stock pots that had stains on the inside from countless stocks, soups and the like. I also have a cream-colored dutch oven with a bain in the inside bottom where a pot of applesauce scorched. I tried the vinegar and it didn't touch it. So I tried the baking soda/half lemon method (only I didn't have a lemon so I used a lime instead). It worked on the stock pots beautifully, but I'm afraid I'm stuck with the 'patina' in the dutch oven.

I use Easy Off. Spray it on the pan, let it sit a few then use a scrubbie to clean. I then fill the pot with a vinegar and water solution to neutralize the lye. Just remember to use in a well ventilated area and wear gloves!

This works! My search has ended... This weekend I discovered an excellent (non-toxic) way to bring Le Creuset back to that beautiful creamy interior color. To brighten the bottom back to it's original state, put 2 tablespoons of Oxi Clean stain powder into the pot, fill with water, stir to dissolve and place on the stove to simmer for one hour. Wash and rinse well.

I just poured some Clorox in to my wonderful Dutch oven and, VOILA! It was back to its lovely cream color! I would highly recommend it! Easy on the elbow, too!

Sammi M!

I tried this and got great results. I had two relatively new (3+) year-old pieces. One a dutch oven and the other a boulibase pot, which is a large soup pot, shaped something like a wok. The dutch over in particular had some large browning stains on the bottom due to the no knead bread someone else mentioned above and as well as the usual tomato and wine sauces and ribs that had cooked in there.. Results from the Tide method were AMAZING. I can not say the pieces look brand new because both retained the slightest, slightest, barely-there brown splotches in places, but really if you weren't looking closely you would think they were brand new. On one I had previously used the bleach method also and scrubbed lightly with Bon Ami. Obviously, neither worked as well.

The Tide method worked way, way, waaaaaaay better. Also tried it on a small casserole piece, which is probably 25 years old and very, very badly stained BLACK from a popcorn burning incident. While that one is still stained it is probably 50 percent better and I would be curious to see what another treatment would do.

My experience with the treatment? It is weird to load up your cooking vessel with what turns out to be a fairly sludgey combination of Tide (I used powered for HE washer, because that's what I had on hand) and water and then boil. It is also not a cheap solution given the price of Tide and the size of my pots, but I am glad I have it in the cleaning arsenal. (Note, watch the pot, because the mixture can get very frothy and boil over.) But again was very happy with the result.

I have read many, many threads about cleaning Le Creuset on many websites. (Obsessed? Yes!) This was the most complete discussion and offered the best tips. I have been reluctant to scrub too hard with either Bon Ami or Bartender's friend. Years ago, I used Comet with bleach on some of my older pots and regret it. I think it was too harsh on the finish. But again for anyone else reading this thread. The Tide method really, really really worked. As a test case, I may try the baking soda in my little stained popcorn mess, just as a control experiment, but I can highly recommend the Tide method.

So that is my experience. Thanks Sammi for this suggestion.

Bleach is a base (pH 12.6) which, when combined with *ammonia* (another base, pH 11.5) reacts to form chlorine gas (and chloramine vapor). You can find a description of the chemical reaction here: http://chemistry.about.com/od/toxicchemicals/a/Mixing-Bleach-And-Ammonia.htm

Vinegar is an acid (pH about 2.8). When combined with bleach, it reacts to form water and salt.

I'm sorry to be a Miss Know-it-all - since this is important safety info, I felt moved to comment. :-)

Bleach is a base (pH 12.6) which, when combined with *ammonia* (another base, pH 11.5) reacts to form chlorine gas (and chloramine vapor). You can find a description of the chemical reaction here: http://chemistry.about.com/od/toxicchemicals/a/Mixing-Bleach-And-Ammonia.htm

Vinegar is an acid (pH about 2.8). When combined with bleach, it reacts to form water and salt.

I'm sorry to be a Miss Know-it-all - since this is important safety info, I felt moved to comment. :-)

I love the chemistry info up above. I wonder how many people have died from mixed chemicals.

Anyway, I'm in the process of cleaning up burnt chili from my pot. A mere two-day soak and scraping did nothing. What is working so far ... I poured oil in the pot and used a plastic scraper. Tthat really helped to loosen up the bits to get some of the food scraped off. I saw suggestions for baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and since it's not that acidic, I tried it. I am much closer and it took the stain rings off as well around the bottom so I suggest it also for removing stains. My next purchase is the LC cleaner because there is still remnants of the burned food.

I have seen many suggest using Bar Keeper's Friend. It is oxalic acid with a pH of 1.3, which is about the same as stomach acid (battery acid is a 0, the higher the number, the less acidic). Some have used it with success, and I admit that I did years ago. However, think of the LC enamel as you would your teeth. Many acid foods over time erode the enamel. So, I will never use it again.

Bleach just works for stains ... not for burned food so I won't use that idea.

This is really common misinformation on the Internet, but you'll notice that it's only disreputable sources (Yahoo Answers, About.com) - it's people confusing the warning about not mixing BLEACH and AMMONIA, which is deadly. Bleach and vinegar is actually a pretty good mixture - there's a 2006 study on Medical News Today (not sure if this site allows direct links) - that shows that bleach + vinegar is actually a great disinfectant, even improving bleach's ability on its own.

Also, to other concerns about using bleach in cleaning pans: bleach (a.k.a. chlorine) is used in water purification, as in your tap water.

That said: bleach's efficacy is weakened by heat and sunlight, and it breaks down into salt (sodium chloride) and sodium chlorate (which is toxic to humans and plants); in turn, sodium chlorate breaks down at high temps (250F) to create oxygen and salt (sodium chloride). So if you do use bleach, rinse well and let the pan heat a bit to break it down into harmless salt and oxygen.