I noticed that my dutch oven is getting stains in the bottom, in the enamel. Is this normal? Am I not cleaning it well enough or am I doing something wrong? I got the Batali line of dutch oven cookware in the creme color, so you know anything will show up on that.
Staining in the bottom of my DO
- Thread starter sattie
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
I have several pieces of Le Creuset, sattie. They have a cream-colored interior and they are showing stains, too. I always clean my cookware but the stains remain. I don't mind because I consider them to be "seasoning" and show me that I really love and use my Le Creuset a lot.
Barb L.
Master Chef
Same here- the NY times bread did mine - no biggy for me, I know they are clean.
Uncle Bob
Chef Extraordinaire
Miss Sattie...You might try Astonish Paste, or Le Creuset also makes a cleaner. I've never tried either, so I can't vouch for their effectiveness.
mozart
Senior Cook
Hi Sattie:
Stains come primarily from food dyes, natural or added, bonding to the enamel I believe. High heat is the main accelerator of this and if not cleaned initially, will build up easier over time.
Cream color interiors are very good for allowing the cook to judge the correct browning of foods without burning. Dark interiors don't show the stains as much but they are there.
So here is what I have found:
Whitish- gray stains from hard water and minerals seem to be removed by using white vinegar.
Dyes and darker stains usually come off with a baking soda paste allowed to rest for a while on the surface and then scrubbed with a nylon pad.
If this doesn't work, some dish detergent mixed with water up to the highest level of the stains and boiled for a few minutes may help. Also you can add baking soda to that.
As a last resort, 1 tsp bleach per pint of H20 may also do the trick.
This is all dependent on how heavy the staining is and over what period.
Of course, you can just forget it, keep the lid on the pot, and spend this cleaning time doing something you enjoy
.The staining comes from browning meat. I know this because that is pretty much all I have done with it apart from adding additonal ingredients to make a stew or roast. If that is seasoning, thats great. I'm not to concern about having it be sparkly clean. Just wanted to make sure that was something that was suppose to happen.
Mozart, thanks for the cleaning tips... it's pretty light staining at the moment. But I suppose that over time, perhaps the bottom of my DO will be brown!
Mozart, thanks for the cleaning tips... it's pretty light staining at the moment. But I suppose that over time, perhaps the bottom of my DO will be brown!
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
Try cleaning it with BKF - Barkeeper's Friend. If that doesn;t work, accept the stains as a sign that you really cook!
