Pan Cleaning

[Troutman10]

Not sure where to post this. I boiled for the first time yesterday. I need to clean the inside and bottom side of my vollrath full size steam pan. What's a good way to get the soot off the bottom? Or should I just leave it that way and worry about the inside only? Any help is appreciated!

[spencer11]

just leave the bottom and wash out the inside with water and scrub it. if there is a black band of burned suagr around the edge that dosent really come of.

spencer

[happy thoughts]

Soot and built up niter could create hot spots which can cause scorching. Hot soapy water should take care of the soot. For the niter, some people use vinegar. What I've found that works best is a cleanser called Barkeeper's Friend. It's a nontoxic powder like Comet, but not abrasive. It does a super job with a little elbow grease. Find it the same place you'd find Comet.

[3fires]

We used barkeeper's friend or vineger and both seemed to work equally well for the niter. For the soot, mixing up some wood ash with water works very well. If your burining wood you should have no shortage of good white ash. Don't get it on your hands though as it will be very close to lye.

What I got in a habit of doing was to fill the pans with water and let sit for a few hours or a day with a bit of vinegar if possible. then, the niter just wipes right out if it isn't already dissolved.