Yes, You Can Restore Burnt Cookware With Just Water: Here's How

Burnt cookware is not only unsightly and frustrating, but it could also be affecting the quality of your food (making it taste burnt or bitter). And in some cases, consuming burnt remnants of food stuck to your pans, especially nonstick pans, may be a little hazardous to your health. The good news, though, is all you need to do is boil water to loosen up that stuck food and burn marks. 

You don't need powerful chemicals to achieve a thorough clean when it comes to your pots and pans. Surprisingly, hot water on its own is an effective way to deglaze stuck on food bits and other char marks. Boiling water can actually coax harder-to-remove stains off the surface of your cookware and loosen up hardened food, which allows you to get pans clean easily, sans the expensive and harmful chemicals.

Fill your pan with water from the tap, crank the heat to about mid-level, and just let it sit over the heat until you can lift off the stuck contents. Then discard the liquid and wipe your pan clean with a microfiber cloth. This method is especially good for cast iron cookware, since it's not meant to be exposed to harsh chemicals or basic household cleaners like dish soap. However, for really stuck on stains, you can revive your burnt pots with one kitchen staple: liquid dishwasher detergent. 

Boiling water is a great first step – but there could be some stains that are just too stubborn to remove with plain water alone. Once you've gone through the process of boiling water in your cookware, it might be time to combine this technique with other tried-and-true methods. In order to ensure you don't damage your pans, use a non-corrosive sponge with a soft outer later (those standard green-sided sponges can actually cause micro scratches). This is especially important when you're cleaning non-stick pans, as you may inadvertently disrupt the Teflon coating, causing unwanted health risks.

To use minimal chemical products, add cut up lemon to your boiling water to see if this assists in the stain lifting process. Alternatively, try a salt or sugar scrub with a soft sponge if the stains remain despite your previous efforts. Another go-to method is using this pantry staple that can cut through burnt grease: cream of tartar.

If none of these methods clean your pots to your desired result, try adding a bit of dish soap to boiling water, drain, and then lightly scrub the remaining food bits that started to release. And if all else fails, add some vinegar to water and bring to a boil, remove it from the heat, and then add a little baking soda. Then scrub off any little bits. These methods can help burnt pans without the use of rough materials or dangerous cleaning products that might actually damage your kitchen essentials.