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What's the Best Way to Clean This Baking Sheet?

Shel_B

By Shel_B
in Kitchen Consumer

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dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

Interesting idea. Baked on gunk may be other than polymerized oil, may include polymerized oil. I am a bit skeptical about it removing polymerized oil but have not ever tried such a techniquie.

 

Me too.

 

Dryer sheet has chemicals to remove static electricity, I don't know how it can remove baked on oil.

 

Will have to do a side-by-side when I get a chance.

 

dcarch

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Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted

I have an 8" x 8" pan I'm getting ready to toss. I'm going to put it into a hot oven oiled up and let the oil polymerize. I've restored several cast iron pans lately so I think i should have success with this pan. I will then try the dryer sheet trick and see if it works.

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

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weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted

Dry ice blasting would be the best way, not very feasible for most people, but still  the best. 

That's the best answer I've seen today for a $20 (new) sheet pan that I take out of the garbage.

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

Dry ice blasting would be the best way, not very feasible for most people, but still  the best. 

 

That actually is a very effective non-invasive, non- destructive method to remove surface coating of any kind. It may not be out of the question if you collect many impossible to clean baked-on stains on cookwares and find a place which has that kind of equipment to work on them. May not be too expensive.

 

dcarch

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dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

Lye in ethanol (~35%, both available in food grade) or potassium methoxide in methanol (the short cut) will remove any organic residue with usually a day.

 

Alkali can do damage to aluminum.

 

Aluminum in lye can be exothermal and very reactive.

 

dcarch 

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rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

"""   Aluminum in lye can be exothermal and very reactive.  ""

 

'Drano' as far as I remember it from the Olden Days

 

perhaps what Duvel suggests is different

 

however the Pan is Al.

 

Id really go with the AutoMotive item with the Daisy's on the can.

 

I look forward to trying it

 

once I stop shoveling snow..............

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Porthos

Porthos

Posted
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In regards to the cleaning method with dryer sheets mentioned by GlorifiedRice I ran the following test:

 

Pan cleaned and ready to mess up:

 

Ready to Damage.jpg

 

After polymerizing the surface with Crisco (Smeared with Crisco, baked for 1 hour 20 minutes at 400 F):

 

Ready to Test.jpg

 

Warm water and dryer sheets applied:

 

Attemped Fix in Place.jpg

 

The result:

 

After the Overnight Soak.jpg

 

My conclusion: The dryer sheet method may well work with dried-on food bits but doesn't pass muster for polymerized oil.

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Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
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Shel, did you ever try andie's vinegar method?  It seems like the most promising of the non-caustic solutions.

 

Not yet.  Believe it or not, I've not had any sugar in the house except for about a cup or two of vanilla sugar, and no plain vinegar, just expensive vinegars for cooking, salad, etc.  I picked up some sugar yesterday and later today or tomorrow I'll grab some inexpensive vinegar. Then, over the weekend, when I'm planning to use the oven, I'll give it a try.

 ... Shel


 

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Porthos

Porthos

Posted
Posted

Yes, it is steel. However, the dryer sheets still failed to loosen or dissolve the polymerized oil. I seriously doubt that the metallurgy of the substrate to which the polymerized oil had adhered to affected the ability of the dryer sheets to loosen or dissolve the oil.

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted

Oven cleaner will definitely take it off but it's not great for the aluminum.  :smile:

 

About 30 years ago I started seasoning my raw aluminum and steel pans just like I do cast iron and I never looked back.

 

Black pans just plan work better and I hate scrubbing pans anyway.

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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dcarch

dcarch

Posted
Posted

Yes, it is steel. However, the dryer sheets still failed to loosen or dissolve the polymerized oil. I seriously doubt that the metallurgy of the substrate to which the polymerized oil had adhered to affected the ability of the dryer sheets to loosen or dissolve the oil.

 

BTW, I was kidding you. I want to thank you for taking the time to do the experiment.

 

There are 100,000 "helpful" kitchen tips. Like rice can keep your salt dry, like baking soda can be a deodorant, --------------.

 

dcarch

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Shel_B

Shel_B

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

 

Black pans just plan work better and I hate scrubbing pans anyway.

 

Some years ago I bought a black Le Creuset "Dutch" oven.  I'd already had a white one of about the same capacity, and had used a friend's orange-colored one several times.  I discovered that I could reduce the oven temp by 25-degrees with the black pot and get the same results as with the other pots.

 

I have two 8 x 8 baking dishes, one being a dark brown glass Pyrex (Visions, I think it's called) and the other a white Corningware dish.  They definitely cook differently.  I always make certain foods in specific dishes, never changing.  For example, my brownies are made in the brown Pyrex, my baked rice in the Corningware.  Here they are, side-by-side:

 

Visions Corningware.jpg

 

I wouldn't say that dark pans work better, but they certainly work differently, and depending on what result you want, they could be better, or worse.

 

What this has to do with the best way to clean a sheet pan eludes me, but it seemed like a good place to address your comment.  I like the examples and explanation in the link.

 ... Shel


 

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Martin Fisher

Martin Fisher

Posted
Posted (edited)

I always make certain foods in specific dishes, never changing.

I do too. And I use Pyrex bakeware for certain applications. 

 

I wouldn't say that dark pans work better, but they certainly work differently, and depending on what result you want, they could be better, or worse.

Well, of course that's true.

I was speaking for myself.

If one doesn't appreciate the better browning, non-stick surface, durability and easy cleaning, and if one enjoys the exercise involved in scrubbing pans, they're not going to view black seasoned pans as being better.  :smile:

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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Edward J

Edward J

Posted
Posted

If one doesn't appreciate the better browning, non-stick surface, durability and easy cleaning, and if one enjoys the exercise involved in scrubbing pans, they're not going to view black seasoned pans as being better.  :smile:

You're not the first one on this thread to make that observation, and I hope you won't be the last.....

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