Olive Oil Fire Disaster- Can pot be saved?

[scrambledeggs]

I put extra virgin olive oil on high heat by accident, and then covered it up. Next think I know it was smoking and I took the lid off and it flamed up like crazy. Now the bottom of the pot is all tarnished looking at weird. I tried cleaning it was "bar tender's helper" but it didn't do anything.

Is the pot ruined forever?

It's a 5 QT "All-clad clone", high quality stainless steel saucepot (Branded as Members' Mark Triplyclad from Sam's Club Set)

 

[Andy M.]

Spray with Dawn Power Dissolver and wait - be generous. Then scrub with BKF. You have to work to get rid of your mistake but there is good ss under there.

 

[Robo410]

you may have "stained the stainless" but the pan is still good

 

[Snoop Puss]

I've had some disasters with stainless steel pans. I once put a load of black-eyed beans on to cook and forgot all about them. At the time, I had no sense of smell so didn't notice as the beans gradually fused into a mass of coal-like stuff at the bottom of the pan. It took a lot of soaking and elbow grease to remove, but the pan returned to duty none the worse for the experience. I can't take the credit for this: I would have tossed the pan and bought another, but my partner was determined to resurrect it.

 

[Corey123]

Spray with Dawn Power Dissolver and wait - be generous. Then scrub with BKF. You have to work to get rid of your mistake but there is good ss under there.

And even at that point, all hopes seems lost, because once you get a blue burn stain on SS, it's awefully hard as **** to get rid of.

It's happened to me in the past. Couldn't get it out, so I just had to live with it. My big 17-qt. SS stock pot is the one in question.

If the pan is not one of my cast iron ones, I usually start one of my SS pans or pots dry on medium heat. It heats up just as fast as if it was on high heat.

Technically, the only time that you should use high heat for any type of cookware is when you are about to boil some water for something like pasta, hot cereal or rice.

Then I add the oil just when I'm about to introduce the food into the pan. Any cooked-on grease is removed with Dawn Power Disolver.

But at times, when cooking starchy food such as rice or potatoes, a white film is left behind in the cleaned pot or pan. That is when some BKF is a big help.

Or get a jar of Wright's Copper Cream (WCC). Because all of my SS cookware has a copper band at the bottom, it easily cleans off the tarnish with little effort.

But it's also good for removing that annoying white film that is left behind from cooking starchy foods and makes the pot or pan look like new again!!
Try it, you'll lke it!

One thing that I MUST reiterate is that you must NEVER EVER use any metal scouring pads to clean SS cookware, as this will scratch, mar and blemish the cookware surface for life! Always use a plastic one.

You practically have to treat SS cookware just as you would nonstick cookware.

Baby it, and use nylon or wooden utensils to turn and stir the food and it will last for years and years and years!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Another great technique used to get rid of seriously burned oil and food residue is to place the pot in a large and heavy plastic garbage bag. Place the bag outside and put a glass bowl of amonia in with the pan. Close the bag as airtight as possible and let sit overnight. This will usually allow you to easily wipe the metal clean with a damp paper towel. I son't think I'd do this with pans that have exposed aluminum or copper though. A completely clad stainless steel pan will be unaffected by the amonia, but the crud will come off easily.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Katie H]

If the pan is truly stainless steel, then you can use regular spray-on Easy-Off oven cleaner on it. I've used it many times with pans I've bought at thrift stores and yard sales. If the handle is other than stainless steel, don't get any of the oven cleaner on it.

Once you've sprayed the oven cleaner on the area you wish to clean, seal the whole thing up in a plastic bag - like the ones you get at the grocery store - and let it sit for an hour or so. Keeping air away from the oven cleaner helps it to maintain its effectiveness.

After you've done that, remove it from the bag and wash as usual. I've had fabulous results with this method. Some of the pans I bought that Buck thought were hopeless, came out looking like new.

However, I will agree with someone else who posted, you may have "stained" the stainless steel because of the heat generated from the hot oil/fire. If that's all that is concerning you, it's purely cosmetic and you should be able to use your pan as before.

 

[Run_Out]

Vinegar will remove the film from starchy foods. I do it all the time

later

 

[JMediger]

...Place the bag outside and put a glass bowl of amonia in with the pan. Close the bag as airtight as possible and let sit overnight. This will usually allow you to easily wipe the metal clean with a damp paper towel. I son't think I'd do this with pans that have exposed aluminum or copper though. A completely clad stainless steel pan will be unaffected by the amonia, but the crud will come off easily...

Goodweed - why / how does this work? Would it work on Calphalon Hard Anodized? Not that I have anything now that needs to get clean but I like having tricks and I like even more understanding why it works ...

 

[Corey123]

If the pan is truly stainless steel, then you can use regular spray-on Easy-Off oven cleaner on it. I've used it many times with pans I've bought at thrift stores and yard sales. If the handle is other than stainless steel, don't get any of the oven cleaner on it.

Once you've sprayed the oven cleaner on the area you wish to clean, seal the whole thing up in a plastic bag - like the ones you get at the grocery store - and let it sit for an hour or so. Keeping air away from the oven cleaner helps it to maintain its effectiveness.

After you've done that, remove it from the bag and wash as usual. I've had fabulous results with this method. Some of the pans I bought that Buck thought were hopeless, came out looking like new.

However, I will agree with someone else who posted, you may have "stained" the stainless steel because of the heat generated from the hot oil/fire. If that's all that is concerning you, it's purely cosmetic and you should be able to use your pan as before.

That's the good thing about Dawn Power Dissolver. It can be used on ANY type of metal or glass - even non-stick as long as the Teflon coating isn't scratched or broken.

 

[Caine]

Been there, done that, seveal times. Eventually, the burn marks wear off. In the meantime, it has no ill effects performance of the pan or whatever you cook in it..

 

[StirBlue]

Another great technique used to get rid of seriously burned oil and food residue is to place the pot in a large and heavy plastic garbage bag. Place the bag outside and put a glass bowl of amonia in with the pan. Close the bag as airtight as possible and let sit overnight. This will usually allow you to easily wipe the metal clean with a damp paper towel. I son't think I'd do this with pans that have exposed aluminum or copper though. A completely clad stainless steel pan will be unaffected by the amonia, but the crud will come off easily.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

Good Call. When we go camping and have camping pots, kettles, etc, we just rinse and wash as best as possible. Then we splash with ammonia and toss into a black heavy duty garbage bag (tightly tied in a knot). Once home, these black greasy cruddy things wash up pretty good. Some stains remain of course but they no longer mark everything they touch.