How to Clean Stainless Steel Cookware

Stainless steel is an alloy which consists mainly of iron, nickel and chromium. Cookware made up of stainless steel are widely used, on account of their several advantages. Stainless steel is a tough material and so stainless steel cookware does not dent very easily and can sustain high temperatures. It does not cause metal poisoning and hence it is safe to use stainless steel containers for cooking. Another reason why people prefer to use stainless steel cookware, is its brand new look. The presence of nickel in stainless steel helps steel to maintain its polished new look. In order to maintain this polished look, it is essential to clean stainless steel cookware with proper care. Here is a list of some common ways of cleaning stainless steel cookware:

Cleaning Burned Food on the Inner Surface
A lot of time is needed to clean the inner surface of any utensil which has burned food particles adhered to it. The utensil should be filled with water and heated till the water starts boiling. Then use a spatula to scrap out the burned material. If the burned spot is a mild one then you can pour out the water after one boiling and scrub the area with a nylon scrubbing pad in a circular motion, to get a clean surface. However, in case the greasy stain is a stronger one, you have to repeat the cycle of boiling water followed by spatula scraping, till you get the desired result.

Cleaning Brown Residues
Very often, it is found that cooking oils tend to stick at the bottom of the cooking pan in the form of brown and sticky solid-residues. Just pour some water into the empty pan and boil it till the residue comes out. Another way is to sprinkle a few spoons of baking powder and little water over the residue, so that a thick paste is formed. Then scrub the area with the help of a scrubbing pad. In this case, the baking soda makes the scrubbing action more effective.

Cleaning Burned Sticky Food Material
It becomes difficult to clean the utensil, when food substances like milk gets burnt in your it. Again, baking soda can come to your rescue. Dab some baking soda on the burned surface and then add vinegar. You will see some bubbles forming. Sprinkle some water over the foam and heat the mixture at a low flame for five minutes. Allow it to cool down and then scrub it off with a nylon scrub pad.

Cleaning Burned Food on the Outer Surface
This is indeed a bad situation. More so because, when you clean the surface, you have to be careful that no scratch appears on the surface of your cookware. You can use a regular cleanser like the Barkeeper's Friend as it would not scratch the surface. But make sure, it is followed by a thorough rinsing with generous amounts of vinegar, to get rid of the cleanser residue completely. A safer method is to clean it with baking soda using a soft cloth. However, this requires vigorous rubbing.

Cleaning White Spots
White spots appear on the surface of the cookware if the water used for cooking or cleaning has a high level of calcium. Make a mixture of vinegar and water by adding three parts of water to one part of vinegar. Boil the mixture in the cookware and then let it cool down. Later, wash it with warm, soapy water. You can keep away all white spots from the surface of your stainless steel cookware if you dry the utensils properly after every wash.

Many people use the dishwasher for regular cleaning of their stainless steel cookwares. However, this may rob your cookware of its shine and is also not recommended for daily use by most manufacturers. Therefore, the best way to clean stainless steel cookware is to wash them by hand.