Removing stain from baking tray

Factual Questions
1

I have an excellent mini-oven and have enjoyed heating up spring rolls and prawn toast within it.
However the metal baking tray has some acquired some small brown stains.
I tried using a sponge and water (to no effect), then popped the tray into my dishwasher (the manual said this was fine.)
However the stains remain.

I’m not too worried as food still tastes fine, but would appreciate the wisdom of the Dope.
What causes these stains?
Should I be worried about contamination?
Can I safely get rid of them?

Thanks in advance!

2

Food/residue getting baked/burned on.

Almost certainly not.

The cheap/free answer is to either ignore it or line if with foil or parchment paper. I use my toaster oven, on average, once a day. I keep a sheet of parchment paper on it and when it gets dirty, I replace it. As long as I’m not cooking anything that’s going to drip onto it, I can usually go at least a week or two before the paper starts falling apart.

3

I’ve heard the suggestion of making a paste of cream of tartar plus vinegar for cleaning surfaces such as this.

4

Bar Keeper’s Friend

I use the regular powder all the time. They have a special formulation for cookware that I haven’t tried.

5

I consider it seasoning, like the seasoning on a cast iron pan; though often it’s spots, and not even across the whole pan.

I’ve never heard of anybody getting sick from it.

6

I like coarse bronze wool for scouring. It won’t remove discoloration but the surface will be well scrubbed. The relatively soft bronze is safe for most cook surfaces.

7

A steel wool based product like SOS or Brillo should remove them. A lye-based product like Easy-Off is even more likely to work but is somewhat messier.

8

I have a stainless steel scrubber I use for this sort of thing. (This product, though I don’t know if it’s available in the UK.) Unlike SOS pads, it doesn’t rust.

Actually, Googling further that 3M product might be available in the UK. Check your local stores.

9

Elbow grease. Applied to a SOS pad.

10

I came here to say this. Even if it doesn’t work on these particular stains, it is awesome stuff. I use it on cookware, rings, glass, kitchen and bathroom surfaces…anything really that I want spotlessly clean.

11

Heck yeah. Great in the microwave.

It makes my sister lose her good manners to see me do this: I have a very old cutting board that sits on the counter at all times, I scrub it with barkeepers and an acrylic scrubbie when it gets fuzzy or just unspeakably filthy. It makes my heart happy when it’s smooth again and no stains.

12

For cleaning such stains:
Step 0: (easiest)- learn to live with ignoring them. Or cover them with foil or paper. They are baked on, and so won’t react or contaminate the food you cook on them.

Step 1: physical scrubbing. Start with softer scrubbing pads, then bronze wool, steel wool, etc. Finally, you can move to an electric sander with a very low grit sandpaper on it. The risk is that you can damage the surface.

Step 2: Chemical warfare. Try to dissolve this burned-on food residue. Start with mild acids like Oxalic acid “Barkeeps Friend” (basically the acid in rhubarb plants) or mild bases like Sodium Hydroxide (lye) “Easy Off Oven Cleaner”. You could later move on to strong acids like hydrochloric or sulfuric acid, or strong bases like sodium hydroxide – but those have a much higher risk of damaging (actually dissolving) the cookware.

Step 3: Surrender – throw it away and buy a new one. Most cookware is reasonably cheap.

Note – too late for this item, but most such stains can easily be wiped off by a damp paper towel, if you do that before they are baked on.

13

Many thanks to everyone!

I’ll let you all into a little secret - this is the first time I’ve ever used an oven (aged 70 :astonished: ) - I’ve survived comfortably on a combination of microwaving, deliveries* and eating out. (There’s an excellent bakery in town too. :grinning: )

I shall consider your replies - but at present my thread winner is:

I am now ready to examine my local supermarket’s groceries (they deliver to my door :sunglasses: ) for all sorts of food that I can cook in an oven

  • my local curry place know my voice by heart, as I have ordered a couple every week for over 30 years.
14

The “dirty” baking sheets actually work better because they absorb more IR and heat up quicker. A good YT video on the topic:

15

That’s a little amazing.

16

I don’t bother with stains like that anymore. I assume it’s an aluminum pan and it will take a lot of abrasion to remove them if they don’t come off with solvents. It’s not worth it to me. We have a stack of aluminum baking sheets, the newest ones are reserved for actual baking, the older ones are all stained to some degree and get used for anything. Even the stained sheet pans are fine with parchment paper on them, which will prevent further stains.

17

You know what’s cool?
I have pizza stone that stays in my oven, most always.

We put everything on it. From pizza to cheesy toast and warming leftovers. Heating up tortillas.

Once or week or so it gets rinsed and stuck back in the oven.

Best thing ever.

18

They’re fine without parchment paper on them, too.

19

Sure. But if you need to grease them the stains may build up. Most of the time it doesn’t matter though.

20

When aluminum pans get “seasoned”, is it literally the same seasoning process as with cast iron? If I remember, seasoning cast iron is a chemical process where the oil breaks up and some of the atoms from the oil molecule bond with the cast iron. Is the same chemical process happening with aluminum? Or is the seasoning on aluminum pans different than the seasoning on cast iron?

Would it be worth it to pre-season an aluminum pan similar to seasoning cast iron? That is, coat the whole aluminum pan with oil and leave it in a hot oven to get an even coating over the whole thing.