Didn't stick to the pan. How to clean a burnt pan

Every housewife faces the same problem - food sticks to the pan during cooking. And the solution, it would seem, is simple - to buy an expensive and high-quality non-stick pan. But even she is not able to help in some cases. Therefore, we have selected for you a few life hacks that will help you avoid trouble in the kitchen.

What's the matter

Why does food stick to the pan at all? No, it's not a lack of culinary talent or skill, but chemistry. During heating or cooking, the molecules on the surface of the food react with the molecules in the pan, which is what causes the food to stick.

Here are a few tips to help you choose the right pan for your taste:

  • If you don’t want to suffer with fried fish or vegetables, take a non-stick pan. But be sure to lubricate it with oil - at least a little, so that the life of the pan is long.
  • Cast iron pans with their recesses often stick to different foods if you do not know how to prepare the pan for frying. Cast iron must be thoroughly heated, and then generously greased with oil - so that it gets into all the recesses and depressions on the surface of the pan.

  • Steel pans are suitable only for pros - almost everything sticks to their surface. The fact is that the steel pan needs to be heated evenly and set to the ideal temperature - only after that generously grease it with oil and start cooking. Otherwise, sticky food cannot be avoided.

What to do?

  • A universal way to avoid sticky food in a pan is to cook it in oil. Nothing new, you say. But the oil must be properly heated - so that it almost smokes, but does not boil. In this case, it will spread and protect the surface of the pan and food.

  • Keep in mind that all the food in the pan absorbs some of the heat, and the oil doesn't get as hot (hence, it doesn't coat the pan as well). That is why it is worth giving preference to a pan with a thick bottom - it keeps the temperature better.
  • Do not fill the pan with food to the brim - it is better to fry the food in small portions. Then they will turn out more beautiful, and the likelihood of them sticking to the pan (and to each other) will decrease significantly.
  • Before cooking, remove excess moisture from food - this can be done with a regular paper towel.

  • When cooking vegetables and meats, stir them regularly or shake the pan so that the oil is evenly distributed in the pan and the food does not have time to stick.
  • If pancakes are stuck, grease the pan more abundantly with oil and heat it well; if cutlets stick, add a little water.
  • If none of the above helps, use a win-win option: line the bottom of the pan with parchment. Simply cut out a circle the size of a frying pan, line the bottom with it, and proceed with regular frying in hot oil. Products will no longer stick, checked.

Ecology of life. Lifehack: It's no secret that working in the kitchen brings the most trouble when it comes to cleaning. A burnt pan can add to the difficulty. We cook and clean the kitchen several times a day and often it takes a lot of effort and time. Those who love to cook know dozens of gastronomic secrets that make their lives much easier, but others, as a rule, experience only difficulties and stress.

It's no secret that working in the kitchen brings the most hassle when it comes to cleaning. A burnt pan can add to the difficulty.

We cook and clean the kitchen several times a day and often it takes a lot of effort and time.

Those who love to cook know dozens of gastronomic secrets that make their lives much easier, but others, as a rule, experience only difficulties and stress.

For example, when washing dishes, it is often difficult to remove excess grease and food that easily sticks to the pan.

In addition, there is nothing worse than spending a lot of time preparing a dish, so that, in the end, it burns tightly to the bottom of the pan.

In order to help you avoid these problems, today we dedicate our article to 9 curious tricks that will help you avoid burning food. Record!

1. Use olive oil


A little oil in the bottom of the pan is one of the most effective ways to keep food from burning.

Pour a little oil into the pan, spread it evenly with a paper towel to cover the entire bottom.

Before you start frying, you need to wait until the pan is hot (of course, not before the oil starts to burn).

2. Add some salt

If the pan is made of aluminum, food will stick to it more easily because it is a porous material.

In order to prevent this, you need to apply a thin layer of sunflower oil and add a handful of salt, distributing it over the entire surface.

Try not to overdo it with salt, because it can ruin the taste of food. If you feel like you've added too much, remove the excess with a paper towel before the pan heats up.

3. Use apple cider vinegar


Aluminum and other porous materials need to be "sealed" before you start cooking to keep food from sticking.

A good option is to cover the bottom with oil and, after heating, add some vinegar.

It should evaporate completely over low heat before you start the cooking process.

4. Use Natural Butter

The natural butter contains important nutrients for our body, and the oily compounds make it easier to cook food without burning.

Depending on its origin, oil can be a source of essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Use a small teaspoon of butter to grease the pan before cooking scrambled eggs, sausages, and croquettes.

To prevent burning, do not overheat the pan and add a pinch of salt.

5. Avoid using metal spatulas and spoons


If you are cooking in a non-stick pan, you should not use metal spoons or spatulas because they can damage the coating and accelerate wear.

Instead, you can buy wooden spatulas, as well as those made of nylon or plastic, which do not create scratches on its surface and therefore prevent food from sticking.

6. Do not use metal sponges

Such wiry or simply hard sponges can enlarge the pores in aluminum pans and scratch the coating on non-stick ones.

Use soft sponges or brushes to keep your pans in good condition.

7. Avoid storing pans inside one another


If you have Teflon pans, never store them one inside the other. This material is very sensitive to any touch and can be easily damaged during such storage.

8. Dry the skillet well before storing

Once you've washed your pans, let them air dry before storing them in a cupboard.

Residual moisture can cause mold and cause food to burn.

9. Always grease the pan


The main key to keeping food from sticking to the pan is to always brush the bottom of the pan with a little fat or oil.

If you notice that the pan is dry again, add a little more oil and spread it over the bottom by tilting the pan.

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Follow these simple tips and you will see that you can cook effortlessly, because your food will no longer stick to the pan.

At the same time, you will not only get wonderful and tasty dishes, but also save time when washing dishes and your pans will look perfect, without a single spot. published

Many housewives appreciated the benefits of cooking in a cast iron pan. But such dishes are not equipped with a non-stick coating that is fashionable today, and troubles happen to it: it happens that instead of a beautiful dish, you get very fried, or even burnt products. But there are little secrets that will help eliminate this problem forever. Today we will talk about why everything sticks to a cast-iron pan, what to do and how to get rid of it. How to make meat, chicken and scrambled eggs no longer stick?

Causes

If your kitchen assistant began to burn, it means that mistakes were made in its use:

  1. With a new frying pan, improper preparation for its operation is possible.
  2. A mistake in caring for dishes that have been serving for more than one year. If it was washed or stored incorrectly, it will definitely start to burn.

In any case, the solution is very simple: the cast-iron product must be ignited and then oiled over the entire frying surface.

Why heat a frying pan?

Cast iron is a hard material with many pores visible to the naked eye. Both oil, necessary for frying, and water, causing unpleasant consequences, can equally easily get into these pores.

If you have just purchased a new cast iron pan, remember that it needs pre-preparation. The dishes must be washed and put on the stove to warm up.

Important! Thus, all unnecessary chemistry that could be used to create dishes will come out and burn out of it. Also, calcination will help create a kind of film on the dishes, thanks to which the food will not burn.

Benefits of calcination:

  • All dirt that has fallen on it from the store and from production is removed from the dishes.
  • Getting rid of excess odors.
  • Making your own non-stick coating
  • Rust and corrosion protection.

Accordingly, both completely new dishes and those that have not been used for a long time must be calcined.

How to heat a frying pan?

A cast-iron frying pan has been serving housewives for decades, it is reliable, retains heat for a long time and it is very convenient to cook on it. But if the cast iron pan sticks, you should follow these steps:

  1. Clean the inside of the cookware from burnt food.
  2. If it was not possible to remove all the contaminants the first time, you can pour a little water into the dishes, add soda, and boil the solution for 3-5 minutes. After - the water is cooled, drained and the surface is cleaned again.
  3. Next, rinse the pan with cold water and leave to dry.
  4. After drying, salt about 1 cm thick is poured into the pan, and it is calcined on fire for about half an hour.
  5. Next, the pan is allowed to cool, the salt is removed and its entire surface is lubricated with vegetable oil. You can choose sunflower, olive, linseed or any other oil.

Important! Lubrication allows you to create a film penetrating into the porous material on the dishes, which protects the surface from burning.

There are several nuances that should be taken into account by all housewives who wonder: what to do so that the cast-iron pan does not burn.

Question one

The first thing housewives are interested in is what layer of salt should be poured in order to successfully ignite the pan? Salt is needed to extract all the dirt and moisture from porous cast iron, so do not skimp. The layer should cover the entire bottom of the dish, at least half a centimeter.

Important! To prevent the salt from burning, after heating it should be stirred. To do this, you can use a wooden spatula.

After you have calcined the pan, the salt is removed. To do this, take a soft dry cloth or napkin.

Important! Cast iron cools very slowly, but you need to be patient and wait for the dishes to cool completely. Otherwise, you may get burned.

Question two

The next question that should be discussed in more detail is how to ignite a cast-iron pan so that it does not burn. The most convenient thing is to ignite it in the oven, but this method is not available to most modern housewives. Therefore, you can use the oven or take the dishes with you to nature and ignite them on a fire.

Important! In extreme cases, you can do this on the stove, only in this case it is necessary to ventilate the kitchen well during and after processing the dishes.

  1. When calcined in the oven, oil is lubricated not only on the inside, but also on the outside. And in order not to wash the entire oven from oil smudges later, cover the bottom with foil or put a baking sheet.
  2. If you use dishes for frying pancakes - before cooking, coat it well inside with vegetable oil, then heat it up and then start cooking.

Do not forget about the correct care of the dishes. Then it will definitely serve you for a long time and will not make you worry about burnt food.

Care

If the cast iron pan sticks, it is most likely due to improper use. Consider the basic recommendations for the care of cast iron. To prevent food from burning on the dishes, it is enough to follow a few simple rules.

Rule 1

Do not clean the pan with hard brushes or abrasive powders. This handling option will inconspicuously lead to the fact that the products will begin to stick. If grease remains on the surface, you can remove it with a soft cloth or napkin. In the presence of sticky food, the pan is soaked with soda or detergent for several hours.

Rule 2

Cast iron cookware must be stored dry. After washing, it can be dried on the stove. If water remains on the dishes, this will lead to rust, and cooking in such a pan becomes not only inconvenient, but also dangerous.

Rule 3

A cast iron pan obliges you to use it as often as possible. With constant use, it is lubricated with oil, and its surface is less susceptible to corrosion, and food does not stick.

Important! If you have not used the cookware for a long time, rinse it and dry it before cooking.

If your dishes are no longer new, and are damaged by soot or rust, you need to clean them. How to do this, we will consider further.

We clean the pan

The two main problems that users of cast iron cookware face are soot and rust. The methods for cleaning these contaminants are simple, but differ from each other.

Nagar

There are many ways to clean the frying pan from carbon deposits. Let's consider the main ones.

Vinegar and salt

Salt and vinegar will help us clean the cast iron from soot:

  1. They must be mixed so that a porridge-like mass is obtained.
  2. Apply a homemade cleaning agent to a sponge and rub the dirt on the inside of the dish.
  3. The outer part can be treated with special chemicals from soot or vinegar.
  4. After the procedure, the pan is washed and dried on the stove.

Important! If the soot is very strong, cleaning may take several days, while the product is soaked in a cleaning solution.

Soda, glue and soap

Another option if the cast iron pan burns:

  1. Mix 0.5 kg of soda, two bottles of stationery glue, a cut bar of laundry soap.
  2. The whole mixture must be mixed with water, placed in a large saucepan so that it covers the entire pan.
  3. Next, the pan is set to heat up, they wait for the boil and the separation of soot.
  4. After - the pan is taken out and washed, mechanically cleaning the soot that has not come down.

Important! The same method can be used without glue and soda, it is enough to prepare a stronger solution of laundry soap.

Calcination

Another option is to roast the pan over an open fire. But if it is not possible to get out to the site or into the forest, this method can be upgraded to a home one. For this we need an oven:

  1. Line a baking sheet with foil.
  2. Place dishes upside down on it.
  3. Set to bask for 2 hours at 250 degrees.

Important! During home calcination, strong smoke is possible in the room, so before starting work, open all windows, and if there is a hood, turn it on as well.

How to remove rust?

In order to remove rust, the housewives also came up with many options. Let's talk about a few.

Important! If you notice traces of rust on the dishes, do not hesitate, because when in contact with food, it releases substances dangerous to humans, which can result in serious health consequences.

First way

We mix vinegar and water 1: 1, soak the pan in this solution for 2-3 hours. After - we clean it with a mushy mixture of salt and vegetable oil.

In the presence of old rust, this method may not be suitable. More “strong artillery” is needed.

Second way:

  1. First, the dishes are well cleaned with Pemolux powder.
  2. Next, use a metal brush.
  3. If there are still traces of rust in the pan after such a strong impact, you can use sandpaper.
  4. After all work, the pan is thoroughly washed and dried.

Third way

Also, experienced housewives are advised to make a kind of non-stick coating for dishes. To do this, it is well lubricated with vegetable oil and calcined in the oven at 180 degrees for about an hour. After - the dishes are allowed to cool and the remaining fat is washed with a napkin. The coating is created due to the fact that the porous material is clogged with oil, and does not give water a chance to get inside.

Important! If you decide to follow this tip, keep in mind that any detergent that dissolves grease will remove the non-stick coating.

Now that your dish is sparkling clean, it's time to choose the right recipe from those offered in our selection.

footage

In skillful hands, food on cast iron always turns out delicious, and so that it does not burn, use simple care rules and tips on what to do so that the cast iron pan does not stick. Delight yourself and loved ones with new dishes every day!

Benefits of stainless steel cookware:

  • does not interact with food, such as tomatoes and wine
  • in such dishes you can cook excellent sauces by dissolving products using caramelization

Disadvantages of stainless steel:

  • stainless steel heats up unevenly
  • it is very common for food to stick to the surface of stainless steel cookware if no precautions are taken
Why does food stick to stainless steel cookware?

Food burning is caused by chemical reactions that occur between the food and the metal the pan is made of. Protein-rich foods are especially prone to sticking, as proteins are able to form complexes with metal atoms, such as the iron in a frying pan.

What to do so that the pan does not burn - use hot oil

Since the heated oil is a liquid, it fills the depressions and small cracks on the surface of the pan. Although the pan appears flat and smooth, on a microscopic level, even the smoothest metal surface can be found with gouges and scratches. Hot oil is less viscous than cold oil, so it immediately fills all the recesses.

If you add a small amount of oil to a hot pan, it heats up very quickly, frying the outer layer of the food, and the water evaporates, forming a layer of steam that "lifts" the food above the oil film and prevents it from sticking to the hot surface. If the oil is not hot enough, there will be no steam effect and the food will stick to the pan.

Why does oil "hiss"?

Hissing sounds occur because water evaporates from the surface of the oil. When the hissing stops, the oil will heat up very quickly, so you need to make sure that the food does not burn.

Food is fried when the temperature of the oil rises to 100 degrees or more. The by-product of this process is water, and even when the food is fried, we will hear a hiss. Once the food is completely fried, the water will not evaporate and the hissing sounds will stop.

    1. Make sure the surface of the pan is clean. Small stuck food particles can cause food to stick further to the surface of the pan.
    2. Make sure the surface of the food you will be toasting is dry and not too cold. Food from the refrigerator is best left for a while at room temperature. Cold meat products easily stick to the surface of stainless steel pans when cooked. Remember that if there is water on the surface of the food, it can lower the temperature of the oil, which contributes to burning. You can either blot the surface of the food with a paper towel, or in the case of cooking fish with skin on, run the blade of a knife over the surface of the skin to remove excess moisture. This method will also help cook fish with a crispy crust. NOTE: Some cooks prefer to add a little oil to the surface of dry foods to prevent sticking to the pan.
    3. Make sure the oil is hot. Either add cold oil to a hot frying pan, or start cooking by reheating a cold frying pan and cold oil. Both methods are equally good, but most prefer to add cold oil to a hot pan. The advantage of this method is that one and a half times less oil needs to be added to a hot pan than to a cold one, since the oil covers the surface better. Hot oil is less viscous and spreads immediately. You will also need less oil to fill the micro cracks in the surface and provide a kind of barrier between the food and the pan. In addition, this way the oil heats up faster and will not be used up quickly. NOTE: Some cooks still prefer to add cold butter to a cold pan because it will make it easier to tell when the pan is at the right temperature.

A few tips on how to determine if the pan is hot enough to prevent food from sticking to the surface.

  • The oil should “ripple” and spread fairly quickly over the surface. If the pan was hot enough, this process will only take a few seconds.
  • It is best to put food in the pan before the oil starts to burn. If you wait too long, the pan will become very hot, the oil will start to burn and darken, and may also damage the surface of the pan.
  • If you want to check if the pan is hot enough, you can drop a few drops of water, which should immediately evaporate, or a larger drop will sizzle and float on the surface due to its own steam.
      With time and experience, you will learn when to put food into hot oil.
  1. Don't put too much food in the pan as this will lower the temperature and more liquid will come out. If a lot of moisture gets into the oil, then it will not be able to heat up to the temperature necessary for caramelization. As a result, the food will be unevenly fried. It is best to cook food in small batches, heating the pan and adding oil if necessary after each batch. Also, unless otherwise indicated in the cooking technology, you do not need to cover the pan with a lid, as in this case the steam can soften the food. Ideally, fried food should have a crispy crust, although this is more dependent on the food item (fried steak tends to have a crispy crust, whereas fried carrots do not)
  2. Don't turn food too quickly. Even if the food sticks to the pan a little, it is most likely not for long, so you should not worry. If you are using a stainless steel pan and the food is sticking to the surface, then lower the heat a bit and try turning the food again. The only exception can be chopped vegetables, which must be constantly stirred so that they do not burn. Remember to add oil to them so that they do not stick to the pan and fry evenly, and the pan must be very hot all the time.
  3. Listen closely: you should hear a hiss in the pan, not a splatter. Hissing means that there is still water in the pan and the food will not burn. As soon as the hissing stops, it means that the food starts to burn. If the food is properly fried in a small amount of oil, then it will be crispy and soft on the inside. When the oil temperature is too low, the cooking process does not release enough steam and the food absorbs a lot of oil and becomes very greasy. When food is fried in a small amount of oil, when heated, it brings the liquid inside the food to a boil, which then comes out as steam. The steam prevents the oil from getting inside the food and making it greasy, and then the food will be soft and juicy inside, but crispy on the outside.
Which frying pan is better to choose

If you want to fry food well, then you need to choose a quality frying pan. It is worth paying attention to a frying pan made from stainless steel and an aluminum plate. Such a pan will evenly distribute heat, while the food will not burn, since the heating and cooling of the surface occurs very quickly. A sufficiently heavy metal plate ensures that the bottom of the pan remains flat and does not deform during operation. After all, if the bottom is uneven, then the food will be fried unevenly. Some cooks prefer to use a cast iron skillet for sautéing, but this is not suitable for making sauces.

We hope our tips have helped you find out what to do so that the pan does not burn.

After acquiring such a necessary thing as a kitchen, many are disappointed because its surface sticks. The weak point of all cast iron products is the presence of pores that appear during the manufacture of products from this material. If the pores are not filled with vegetable oil, the contents of the pan get into them, it begins to stick, and as a result, cooking becomes a torment. It is not knowing why it sticks to a cast iron pan and what to do about it that makes us vulnerable when handling such utensils.

What to do if cast iron pan sticks?

In order for cooking to be enjoyable and the cast iron pan not to stick, it is necessary to properly prepare it for work, especially if you are using the product for the first time.

The most reliable and surest way to avoid trouble is to ignite the pan. The only thing we need to buy is refined.

We put the washed and dried frying pan on an open fire and ignite it until the emission of smoke is no longer observed. After the procedure, the dishes that have not yet cooled down are washed again with water, dried and filled with salt.

Salt is an important ingredient when a new product is purchased. It perfectly absorbs excess odors and moisture. We heat the pan with salt until the color of the salt changes, rinse again, dry it and proceed to the main calcination procedure.

To do this, the dishes must be greased with oil, let the excess drain, and then place the pan in the oven, turning it upside down. One hour at a temperature of 180 ° C will be enough for us, although some increase this period by two or even three times.

If the food sticks to the pan, it is the burning in the oven that will give the desired non-stick effect.

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