All Questions
78 questions
47
votes
7
answers
31k
views
How do you clean a seasoned cast iron skillet?
I have a seasoned cast iron skillet, and I don't want to mess up the seasoning when I'm cleaning it. What do I use and what don't I use to get it back to clean?
I've heard not to use soap and to ...
- 962
13
votes
5
answers
195k
views
Cast iron pan has black residue on it
I have a small cast iron pan which I am working with, trying to make sure I understand seasoning/cleaning before moving on to a larger one. I seasoned with flaxseed oil (4 light coats, hour in the ...
- 389
15
votes
15
answers
33k
views
Can I boil milk unattended (and still keep the pan clean)?
Many recipes call for first bringing milk up to boil.
I normally boil 1 quart (1 litre) of milk in a 3-quart stainless steel heavy bottomed pan:
use low heat
keep scraping the bottom of the pan ...
- 1,457
12
votes
7
answers
95k
views
Gummy residue from baking spray/oil
I'm sure everyone's seen this - that brownish stuff left behind when you grease an area of a baking dish that gets left exposed to the heat. Soap doesn't bother it too much, and it likes to gum up my ...
- 58.6k
37
votes
12
answers
162k
views
How can brown stains be removed from pots and pans?
I haven't been cooking for long — recent college grad — so I'm doing a lot of experimentation and making a lot of rookie mistakes. One of them is shown here for your viewing pleasure:
My ...
- 1,065
23
votes
6
answers
24k
views
Cure for burns from hot peppers / capsicum oil?
So, I foolishly ignored advice about wearing gloves while handling hot peppers. I thought since they were "just" anaheim peppers I'd be fine... I was wrong, and I repent.
Does anyone know of a way ...
- 10.9k
18
votes
6
answers
83k
views
How do I fix improperly seasoned cast iron pans?
I'm quite new to cooking as a whole.
A few months back I bought a set of VonShef cast iron pans. When seasoning them, I unfortunately made two errors. First, in my naïveté, I used vegetable oil as ...
- 181
21
votes
13
answers
97k
views
How to clean a clogged Misto oil sprayer/spritzer?
I use a Misto oil spritzer. You fill it up with oil and pump it up and spray a pan with it.
It's gotten clogged up so that it just squirts a steady stream of oil (not a spray).
Any ideas how to ...
- 725
12
votes
9
answers
68k
views
How to clean a burnt cast iron pot?
I have this cast iron pot that my friend completely burnt. I was wondering what might be done to save this pot. I realize that this question seems similar to this one but in that one his skillet is ...
- 4,636
7
votes
6
answers
6k
views
How do you minimise hand washing between every step to keep tools clean?
Say you cooking beef steak:
You have to unwrap the beef from its packaging, lay it down, get blood on your hands, wash hands, sprinkle salt, wash hands, grind pepper, rub the seasoning into the beef, ...
- 251
34
votes
12
answers
19k
views
Why not put knives in the dishwasher?
What is it about the dishwasher that harms knives?
The only reasons I've found are:
You could get cut... I personally have a greater change of getting cut by trying to wash them by hand.
The blades ...
- 10.9k
24
votes
6
answers
18k
views
How do you properly clean a cutting board and knife to prevent cross contamination?
I have one very nice cutting board that I like to use with my chef's knife. Because I only use this single cutting board and chef's knife, if I have a recipe that calls for cutting raw meat as well ...
- 1,530
17
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Is there any way to remove stains (e.g. from curries and pasta sauces) from plastic containers?
I like using microwaveable plastic containers to bring my lunch in as they are my lighter than the Pyrex/glass versions. However, reheating my food up creates unsightly stains.
- 629
6
votes
8
answers
5k
views
Buying my first set of pots and pans
I have NO idea what I'm doing :). I'm looking to buy some pots/pans for my appartment (just moved out). Considering these:
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-MCP-12-MultiClad-Stainless-12-Piece/dp/...
- 61
5
votes
7
answers
69k
views
How did rust appear on my cast iron in a matter of minutes?
So this has been an on-going saga the last few days, and I've already posted several related questions here, and I am feeling quite defeated.
I have/had a beautiful 16" cast iron dutch oven from ...
- 223
23
votes
5
answers
9k
views
What exactly is this residue and how do I clean it off?
I have a grill pan with some cooking residue on it. I'm not exactly sure which food caused it (usually oven cook chips, pizza or grill sausages, burgers, sometimes mackerel) but something left this ...
- 333
15
votes
4
answers
10k
views
Removing long-term residue from teflon
Over time, teflon manages to become coated by polymerised oils, similarly to the intentional seasoning on an iron pan. This tends to make the pan just too sticky for such as fried eggs.
I have tried ...
- 29.9k
14
votes
8
answers
42k
views
How do I eliminate a lingering smell of fried food?
Some great friends of ours cooked us an amazing meal in our home three nights ago. The meal included gourmet french fries cooked in a home use deep fryer. While the fries were outstanding the ...
- 2,638
13
votes
7
answers
12k
views
How to keep my stainless steel skillet clean
I have a KitchenAid skillet that I love. But I can't seem to get it cleaned easily.
It has a brushed exterior and the bottom of the interior is grooved or ribbed.
For now, I run cold water on it when ...
- 233
11
votes
6
answers
167k
views
How do I remove aluminum foil from the bottom of my oven?
I had this brilliant idea to put aluminum foil at the bottom of my oven while I cooked pizza at very high temperatures. I was hoping it would catch any toppings that fell off so I could quickly remove ...
- 1,734
10
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Does soap kill germs?
This accepted answer about knife cleaning seems to presume that soap sanitizes:
...in household use soap is required to sanitize your knife blade.
However, a cursory search seems to undermine the ...
- 413
8
votes
4
answers
20k
views
How do you clean cheesecloth?
Do you only rinse it with water and accept stains? Boil it? Soak it in bleach? Put it in the washing machine? Put it in the dishwasher? Are they disposable?
- 1,120
8
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Why are stone ware and dutch oven items exempt from bacteria?
As I am doing the dishes, I come upon my wife's stoneware "pans". These pans, I am told, do not need soap. "Just like a dutch oven". In fact, soap will ruin them.
Now I did this with dutch ovens ...
- 377
5
votes
3
answers
9k
views
Cleaning brown/gray spots on overheated stainless steel stock pot
So my roommate forgot about his boiling water and burned one of the pots pretty bad. The bottom is a dark brown/gray with colored spots underneath (electric range).
What are some household remedies ...
- 1,804
1
vote
6
answers
12k
views
Is it normal to wash an apple, or other fruits, with dish washing liquid?
I've never seen anyone do that until yesterday. So I wanted to know is this appropriate for when preparing apples for any meal, how about other fruits? Unlike plates, fruits can absorb chemicals.
- 385
27
votes
4
answers
16k
views
What are the benefits and drawbacks of washing dishes in hot water?
When hand-washing dishes, it seems commonplace to wash dishes in hot water.
This LifeHacker article about washing your hands in hot water versus cold water points out that:
It's certainly true ...
- 397
16
votes
6
answers
127k
views
How do I remove turmeric stains from metal/plastic cookware?
As much as I value tumeric for its rumoured cancer-battling qualities, I find its tendency to stain anything it comes into contact with (including 'stainless' steel) discouraging to the point that I ...
- 3,218
11
votes
6
answers
6k
views
How to look after non-stick cookware so it lasts?
Over the course of the last 4 years I think I seem to have been working my way through non-stick pans at a ridiculous rate, I think I'm on my 3rd frying pan and 4th wok - or something of that nature.
...
- 1,775
10
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Should I clean all of my cooking utensils after being exposed to mothballs (naphthalene) for over a week?
While I was away on vacation my roommate put mothballs in the kitchen cabinets where the pots and pans and cutlery are stored. I have removed them and thrown them out ( not sure if I was overreacting ...
- 111
10
votes
5
answers
3k
views
How to make gas bbq ready for cooking after a long non use
I have a gas bbq which I haven’t used in 3 years and today I turned it on to see if it works and to my surprise it does. Now it has been filled with webs and other stuff to I turned it on.
What should ...
- 251
9
votes
4
answers
149k
views
Getting stains off of a glass top stove
I have had a glass top stove for about three years now. I have two spots that have stained black. The stains look like a patch of burnt food, however they are flat to the surface. I have tried to ...
- 5,821
8
votes
7
answers
22k
views
Cleaning habanero oils off of tools
I made some habanero salsa last night for the first time (my god, was it delicious) and took care to clean everything that was used. I figured I was good when I had no problems taking my contacts out ...
- 225
8
votes
4
answers
31k
views
How to remove garlic smell from refrigerator/ice maker
Is there a certain cleaner or chemical that will remove a lingering garlic odor from an ice maker or other food processing equipment?
About a month ago, my wife and I noticed that the ice from our ...
- 546
6
votes
9
answers
9k
views
What to do about beetle infestation of wheat products? How do we prevent reinfestation?
Today my wife went to make some bread. She noticed some very small insects in the whole wheat and regular flour. Upon further inspection, many of our wheat based products were infested with these ...
- 1,190
4
votes
3
answers
4k
views
How can I clean white burn marks in the center of my glass top burner?
I have this glass top burner for almost 5 years. It was fine until I cooked food in Aluminum Pot and Aluminum frying pan... the base of these pots leaft white marks on the glass. It looks like part of ...
- 41
1
vote
1
answer
4k
views
Dishwasher safe bakeware?
The few times I've placed a standard muffin pan (or other bakeware) in the dishwasher I've regretted it. The pans end up with spots of rust remarkably quickly.
What kind of materials/finishes are ...
- 293
65
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Why does plastic never dry properly in a dishwasher?
Whenever I get tasked with unloading the dishwasher, I'm always amazed at the amount of water that's still stuck (always in droplets) to our plastic kitchen utensils and storage containers.
We have ...
- 2,717
39
votes
3
answers
84k
views
Dishwasher safety - "top shelf" vs. "bottom shelf"
The instruction manual for some of my kitchen equipment says "Dishwasher safe (top shelf)".
What difference is there between what an object on the top shelf of a dishwasher experiences, and what ...
- 3,606
32
votes
4
answers
242k
views
Is it normal to see flames inside my self-cleaning oven?
I spilled some sauce in the oven, so I decided to clean it today.
I wiped the bottom and glass door, but the rest of the stuff was crusty and stuck to the bottom of the oven. I started the cycle and ...
- 432
28
votes
11
answers
4k
views
What is the best way to clean a grater?
A grater is a very useful instrument in the kitchen and it's fun to use. You can use it for a lot of food: cheese, citrus fruit peel, nutmeg, all kinds of vegetables, etc.
But cleaning a grater is a ...
- 13.4k
22
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Why clean a pot (used to cook rice) with cold water?
Some people have told me that it's better to clean a dirty pot (used to cook rice) with cold water, rather than the hot water I use for all the other dishes. What would be the purpose of this?
- 7,950
22
votes
2
answers
6k
views
What is the point of washing produce in cold water?
You can find tons of tips online saying you should always wash your produce. What is the point of it though? I mean with some hard produce, say carrots you can obviously give them a good scrub with a ...
- 323
22
votes
3
answers
65k
views
Pots and Pans in the dishwasher
Settle a longstanding feud in our household for me: is it safe to put pots and pans in the dishwasher?
Assume we have both stainless steel and various non-stick pans. Assume we have frypans, sauce-...
- 8,912
20
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Why is the dishwasher not recommended for my All-Clad MC2 line of pot and pans?
I just looked on the All-Clad website (faq 7 and faq 13). It says that because the MC2 has a brushed aluminum alloy exterior, it mush be hand washed. Why is the dishwasher bad for it?
It's just soap ...
- 4,274
19
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Removing turmeric colour from mortar and pestle
We have a large granite (I think) mortar and pestle, and while keeping it clean generally doesn't seem too difficult, I have absolutely no idea how to avoid it staining when it's used with turmeric ...
- 365
18
votes
4
answers
31k
views
Can I clean enameled cast iron with steel wool?
I've got a new enameled cast iron skillet that I've been cleaning with stainless steel wool along with a standard dish rag.
It occurs to me that scratches in the enamel might eventually cause ...
- 678
13
votes
4
answers
18k
views
How to clean and maintain cast iron lids
I have a number of cast iron lids that fit skillets, dutch ovens, etc. Most have the little cone-shaped spikes on the underside to collect and return moisture to the food.
I have no issues cleaning ...
- 33.3k
13
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Is it safe to only rinse visible residue from container if I then refrigerate the container?
I like to eat off silicone containers. I've noticed that if I rinse them right away after eating, there will be basically no visible residue left on the surface.
Now let's say that, err, I had a ...
- 183
13
votes
6
answers
5k
views
What are some recommended methods of cleaning wooden cutting boards?
Supposedly, wooden cutting boards should not be submerged in lots of soap and water because too much moisture leads to rot. How can one optimize for cleanliness while also caring for the board?
- 539
12
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Why doesn't chainmail ruin a cast iron's seasoning but metal scouring pad will?
I've often seen small swatches of stainless steel chainmail sold for the purpose of cleaning a cast iron pan. How is that this does not scratch/ruin my cast iron's seasoning, when a metal scouring pad ...
- 407