How would you clean a baking sheet with such a stain on it?

I personally love Bar Keeper's Friend for cleaning my pots and pans when they get that dark. Baking soda is great, too, but you can also use BKF on a sheet pan that has gotten yucky over time. Works wonders with a non-scratch scrubbing sponge.

I use this method with just a squirt of dish detergent. I usually put the pot or pan on to boil while we're eating, and by the time we're finished, the gunk is loose enough to remove easily.

Bon Ami is another good scrubber. Not quite as effective as Barkeeper's Friend, but gentler (and cheaper). You can use steel or copper pads to clean pans, too, but that's not usually a good idea on aluminum as it can scrape off the metal, too.

You could try pouring boiling water onto your baking sheet if it has a lip/sides all the way around. Otherwise? Try soaking it in a tub or sink full of very hot/boiling water before scrubbing.

On stainless steel I have used one of the spray-on oven cleaners soaked overnight, followed by a good scrubbing and occasionally, BarKeepers Friend. The oven cleaner is probably not advisable on aluminum or Caphalon.

I don't see what vinegar baking soda accomplishes - the soda neutralizes the vinegar and you end up with some salty fizzy water....

phoxx, the oven cleaner sounds like overkill. You really just need to boil some water in the pot for a while.

I guess the moral is to lower your cooking temps, clean the pan each time you use it and don't let it get to this state.

@Palmetto: I don't care how careful I am, things stick. Especially when you need to sear something at high heat. Also, regulating temperature is difficult on a circa 1950 electric push button rental stove.

Thanks for the advice! I've tried the vinegar and baking soda before (cold), and boiling water, but never the two together, though Bon Ami usually does the trick. Hopefully this will do the trick on my currently icky frying pan.

I have used this trick with just baking soda and water. Let it boil, let it cool, black stuff comes off. For less serious messes, just let the pan soak overnight with water and baking soda. It will clean right up in the morning.

Dude, That pan is still dirty.

baking soda and vinegar are the magic cleaning tools for everything.

i have a coffee thermos on my coffee maker and it got to the point of no return, black black even though we wash it out. I can't get my hand in there and I've tried a variety of antics in the past.

i finally got it clean: vinegar soak, added baking soda, soak, did what I could with a scrubby pushed around with a wooden spoon, and finally, what really helped finish it?

2-3 denture cleaning tablets. awesome.

1 vote for Bar Keepers Friend. Amazing stuff. When you're as bad a cook as I am and you burn your food on a regular basis, you get to know these things.

I think that pan looks like it has many stories to tell! I have a sheet pan that I can't get back to the shiney new state. I have actually resided that what does not scrub off is now part of the pan's history.

My trick is to submerge the pan (and I do this with baking sheets often) in water mixed with water softener (found in the baking aisle). I leave it overnight and in the morning everything scrubs off so easily - the grunge almost slips off - it's worked for me for even the toughest stick-on mess. If it's hard to scrub off after the overnight - just add a little more water softener and let it sit another couple hours.

This works best for me. Wipe out any oil or bits from cooking with a paper towel. Add either bottled or fresh lemon juice, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup. add a drop or two of dish soap, and a little water to cover bottom of pan.
Put on burner on med. Simmer 5 minutes or so and let cool. Then just wipe clean with a Chore Boy cleaning pad and hot water with a little more dish soap. This method will bring the stainless back to shiny new. Don't start cooking with a dirty pan. You are just baking it in so it is harder to remove next time. The lemon juice smells so much better than vinegar (but probably works similar). An especially stained pan may need to stand over night with the lemon solution. Good luck ! You will love your stainless again!

What is in Bar Keeper's Friend that makes it so super-effective?

I also just switched from Teflon (the birds dying from Teflon fumes at normal cooking temps convinced me!). Generally I just use cast-iron for all normal cooking (skillets) so woo-hoo for clean-up! That's really just cheating. But I do have stainless steel for my pots, and trust me if anyone can make crusted-on burnt stuff in a pot, that would be me. So thanks for the great idea!

Bar Keepers Friend only goes so far. For ultimate clean--the magic eraser is king. try it!

I've had some pretty bad cleanings I've had to do on my stovetop and some pots and pans. For what I've needed, Bar Keeper's Friend has always done the job for me.

The real key is this. As SOON as you're done cooking, and while the pot/pan is still warm (not hot or you burn yourself), take a wet rag/paper towel/dish towel and wipe around the surface. This cleans up a lot of the gunk that is going to harden and crust as it dries, making the real burned-on stuff easier to get with Bar Keeper's Friend.

Oh yeah, and like some others said.

It's a cooking pan. It's SUPPOSED to get a little worn-looking over time. It's like having a couch that never looks like it's ben sat on. What's the point?

I would recommend maybe considering a cast iron skillet to perform the types of cooking you have been using this pan for... This kind of patina/buildup would actually be considered highly desirable seasoning on the cast iron and the last thing you would want to do is scrub it off as it keeps the food from sticking and the cast iron from rusting.

Cast iron is perfect for searing at high temps, and can be virtually non-stick when well seasoned. I have also found it to be great at helping distribute heat more evenly on a less that optimal (cheap stove) burner.

Regular clean up would be to wash it with hot water and a brush (no soap) after each use, dry and rub a tiny bit of a neutral oil or shortening over the surface to protect the seasoning in between uses.

Even brand new, pre-seasoned cast iron skillets are easy to find under $20...

I admit I am also a lazy cow too. So I use 3% hydrogen peroxide to clean any of my stainless steel pans that have burnt on mess. From carbonized sugar to overly caramelized meats this does the trick. I burned the chutney once and had a charcoal mess about a half an inch thick.
It also restores the shiney surface, if it hasn't been scratched by anything yet.

Pour in a generous amount to cover and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or so.
Ventilate area well.
Check frequently as the spots lift off and the stains vanish and replenish level as it simmers away. No need to scrub or scrape just let it do it's thing.

The easiest thing to do is just turn the stove onto high and leave your pan on until all the burnt on stuff turns to ash. Watch it carefully or the pan will blue and you will have to throw it away, but if you're confident with some heat and a bit of smoke, it saves a hell of a lot of mucking about.

My pans were all perfect until we got a flatmate and I told her she wasn't allowed to use my expensive pans. The first thing she did was burn the crap out of them and they've never been the same since, so I have to do this about once every couple of months. It actually makes them less sticky for a while too.

Another great trick is to pour ordinary table salt into the pan, enough to cover the burnt bottom with a thin layer. Pour about 2 inches of water into the pan and set it to simmer - keep it on a rolling boil for a little while, until most of the water evaporates. Take it over to the sink and use the paste that has remained to scrub the burnt crap off. It works every time!

The #1 thing with stainless steel is COOK ON MED-LOW HEAT remember HOT PAN COLD OIL FOOD DON'T STICK!! (courtesy The Galloping Gourmet) has worked for me for 30 years.

I have seen a lot of the above methods work to get off the burned gunk but as for getting the stainless shine back...

Absolutely nothing beats CAMEO or KLEEN KING. It's a little harder to find but hardware/houseware stores carry it or you can do a web search. I LOVE my stainless and like keeping it as beautiful as possible for as long as I can.

The only way to do that is to thoroughly scrub the big stuff off, then sprinkle the bottom of the pan (in or out) take a paper towel in a circular pattern and barely scrub. Wash it with dish soap and voila! Total Shine!!

Another thing about stainless....tri-ply burns far less than other kinds. Five-ply is even better!

Yeah, I second the "just boil some water" solution.

My wife is a chef, which makes me the sous chef, and, believe me, we burn some stuff onto stainless steel and enameled iron (Le Cresuset). Just bring a couple of inches of water to a boil. When a wooden spoon can *easily* remove the troublesome areas then turn the heat off and allow it to cool.

Voila, clean pot/pan.

If you have ever burned a stainless pan sooooo badly that the outside of it 'rainbowed' try this:
Toilet bowl cleaner. Just rub it on with a wet cloth. Some work better than others.
The best is "ZAP" bathroom restorer.
I got this idea from watching the commercials...they cleaned totally yucky faucets with it.
So I thought "Mmmm stainless faucet...stainless pan." It was truly an "AHA" moment.

Half a lemon with some baking soda, and scrub! Works well for any stainless steel that's not looking so fresh - including the kitchen sink.

That's great advice! How would you recommend cleaning enamel pots? The same way?

Vinegar and baking soda react with each other to make a nice fizz. However, I doubt that fizz does anything at all to clean the pan. I would use them separately for maximum benefit. If you put vinegar in the pan to start, the acid will help dislodge the food. If you rinse and make a paste of the BS, the abrasive nature of it will help to scrape off what's left. Used together they negate each other, or at least the acid in the vinegar. To clean enamel pots, try smearing them with a film of automatic dishwasher detergent, which has bleach in it and a nice sticky consistency (or use diluted bleach).

I think others have mentioned it but the best thing to do is "deglaze" the pan just as you would when cooking. Only this time you get the pan hot (with just a little water to avoid more burning), and then add more boiling water, scraping the surfaces with a wooden utensil until all that burnt stuff melts right off. I think anyone who cooks often knows this and it's certainly easier and safer than using elbow grease and/or harsh chemicals.

A handful of loose tealeaves thrown into boiling water in the pot. (If you are into teabags, open them up and set the leaves freeeeeee). Boil till there's almost no water then put the lid on. Leave overnight and the next day leave the pot out in the sunshine. Throw the tealeaves in the compost then more sun to the pot. The crud will just dry and crack off. This even works on Le Creuset (don't boil it dry). Best of all on stainless steel.

Here's the lazy woman's way to clean a blackened stainless steel pan (don't try it with any reactive metals or anodized aluminum pots):

Get a can of Easy-off Oven Cleaner
Spray blackened areas
Let sit for a few hours (or over night if stained really bad)
Rinse and scrub any remaining stained spots with a mesh scrubber and baking soda/Barkeepers Friend/ or non-bleach cleanser.

Repeat for stubborn stains!

The easiest way to remove black cooked on stains is fabric softener. Either put boiling water and a sheet of fabric softener in the offending pan, or water and liquid softener. Soak for a while, scrub off.

Tough stains in your bathtub got you down? Whether they be stains from everyday use, or from drain cleaner or bleach, read below to find some good tips for winning the war against unsightly stains. This is a work in progress - add your wisdom if something works or does not work for you, or if you have any additional tips to share!
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After having spent days working on cleaning my stainless coffee thermos I tried this and was very impressed. I read through several comments on how to do this with other products but the soda and peroxide seem the most benign, the least expensive and best of all they were right here in my house. Forget all the other suggestions. Use this one... it really works with no effort other than rinsing out the thermos when you've let it set awhile.

This worked great! No harsh chemicals and no scratches.