Badly burnt stainless steel saucepan - ideas please.

[feetheart]

REALLY badly burnt fruit compot last night - thought gas was off, it wasn't!!

Got most of it off with elbow grease but some of it's not shifting - what can I use? Vinegar? Baking Powder? Bicarb?

Good quality pan but think I might have tested its limit this time

Tried a wire wool? Or what do Kima nd Aggie use, is it boiling coca-cola

We are watching this discussion avidly as we have a similar situation

Silvery - thanks, not sure about wire wool, last resort possibly. Coke is possibility though will need to shop.

Somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of my brain remembers something about ketchup being good for removing burnt stuff from pans. Leave it to soak for a while in it.

Seem to remember cooking rhubarb in the pan with water helps, just turn off gas before water disappears.

Or biological washing powder in a small amount of water.

We have LOTS of rhubarb. Was going to make jam but can sacrifice a bit for sake of saucepan :)

I don't know if this will work in this specific case but but I wash my jam pans with white vinegar and natural sea salt and it works a treat. Could be worth trying.

Put dishwasher powder/tablet in saucepan.

Add water.

Boil. And boil.

It stinks put the fan on.

The black stuff will float to the top - most satisfying

May dull the stainless steel though

Have gone with biological washing powder first - just soaking it now but wondering whether to heat it up?
How about you Squigglywiggly?

Thank you all so far.
Will report back.

Feet - I would boil the solution the heat will help I think

Someone on mumsnet suggested leaving it out overnight for snails to eat the burnt food off a few weeks ago. No idea if that works but I remembered it!

Currently I'm soaking it again with washing up liquid.... When get a minute will try bio powder and boiling it I think as have no rhubarb!

boil with washing powder in - works a treat every time.

• I've had plenty of opportunities to put it to the test!

Boil salt water in it for 5-10 minutes.

Mixture should be very salty (but not a paste).

Wipe clean and repeat as required.

Looks like bio washing powder is working without heating it up.

Off to pick blackberries, will scrub it some more on my return.

ariel

I did this. It needed wire wool in the end. But that did work.

If you boil Bio powders the enzymes get killed anyway. Vinegar boiled is pretty good, bio stuff just left to soak also good. If you get all the stuff off and just have black marks left, something mildly abrasive eg metal polish, white toothpaste, Cif, might do it.

Use a balled up piece of foil for the final scrub if needed.

cover the bottom of the pan in salt, pour coke over the top then boil for 15 mins. just about an inch layer of coke should do.

works every time for me :)

Bio washing powder worked a treat, all gone by time we got back from blackberrying. Very impressed, and relieved.

HUGE thank you everyone, hope yours works out OK Squigglywiggly

Caustic soda overnight. shifts anything.