Here is a simple way to clean a burnt pan, start by filling the pan with warm water and adding 2 tbsp of baking soda. Mix the solution slightly and let it soak for 30 minutes. Then add 1 tbsp of liquid dishwasher detergent and let it soak for another 30 minutes. Next, pour out the water and add the hottest water you can from the tap and a tsp of bleach. Use a scrubbing brush and clean. The baking soda and bleach work to remove burnt on food, while the dishwasher detergent acts as a degreaser and releases the burnt on bits. The hot water from the tap and the scrub brush finish the job.
1 tablespoon? That seems an awful lot.
That aside, welcome to the SDMB!
Well, it was a really badly burnt pot…
Sounds like there’s Scotch-Brite in our future. Hubby burned the popcorn while cooking it on the stove, so the pot now has black polka-dots on the bottom. I did an initial scrubbing, tried boiling some vinegar in it, and there’s not much improvement.
Might try baking soda tomorrow, but for today, I think I’m done with the kitchen.
Yeah, I thought that might be the reason. You’re not likely to need a brand-new pot to last you another fifty years.
Glad you’re having visible results with the method you’re using.
When it’s time to go nuclear. Sure, it’s awkward trying to use a power drill in something the size of a pot, and you need a very light touch so you don’t grind right through, but as the last resort before throwing the pot away, when it works, it works like a charm.
If you really want that pot try bacon fat. Get a thick layer of bacon fat on the bottom and leave it there for a while. Maybe weeks. It’s a remarkably good but slow solvent for burnt stuff in pans, even removing old black marks rebaked many times over.