"Don Foreman" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:38:04 -0700, Frank Warner
wrote:

I'm sure there have been numerous posts here about cleaning stainless
steel, but I want to share my experience anyway.

I'm a pretty good cook, and I have the full complement of overpriced
pots and pans. My favorite is a set of All-Clad heavy duty stainless I
bought 10 years ago for around $800.

The other night I used the 10-inch skillet to brown some tacos. Simple
enough. Corn tortillas brushed with vegetable oil, filled with shredded
pork that had been braising all day. Tacos browned up nicely and
everybody was happy, including me. They're one of my favorite comfort
foods.

Unfortunately, the veggie oil burned onto the stainless skillet like
you wouldn't believe. Just a brown gunky mess that I couldn't remove
with normal washing. I set the pan aside, intending to deal with it
later.

That later was last weekend. First thing I tried was a good soak in
lacquer thinner followed by strenuous rubbing with purple Scotch-Brite.
This didn't even cut the oil. It remained baked on.

I've seen deposits like this turn to ash when I put my oven into its
clean cycle, so I put the pan in my heat-treating oven, cranked up the
temperature to 600 degrees F, and let it soak for 2 hours.

It came out an unholy black mess. No ash -- more like a badly done
powder coating that nothing, not even steel wool, would scratch.

In desperation I turned to the internets, where somebody recommended
Bar Keeper's Friend for the worst buildups on stainless utensils. I was
skeptical after all I'd done to it already. I was pretty sure I'd have
to send this pan to its grave, but I bought a can of the stuff anyway.
At $2 or so, it was a cheap experiment.

Lo and behold, to my astonishment, the first application of Bar
Keeper's Friend cut about half the black buildup off the pan. I applied
some more, making a nice thick paste and letting it sit for a few
minutes. With only minimal rubbing with Scotch-Brite, the rest of the
pan came spotlessly clean. I was freaking amazed.

What is IN this stuff? Should you be using it with bare hands? Should
you be using it around food at all? If it can do THAT to a baked on
mess like I had, what can it do to things you (presumably) want to
keep?

Anyhoo, that's my story. I'm sticking to it, and I'm keeping a can of
this stuff in my cleaning cupboard from now on.

-Frank
[Not affiliated with the makers of BKF in any way.]

The active ingredient is oxalic acid, which is also a pretty good rust
remover.

As regards use around food and with cookwa
http://growingtaste.com/oxalicacid.shtml


When it is still warm, pour in some vinegar.