Secret to Shiny Pans

Treasure Hunt: On separate occasions, I found two nice stainless steel pans at the Goodwill stores. One was All-Clad and the other Emeril, also made by All-Clad. The All-Clad pan was almost brand new. Looked like someone used it once to make eggs, then decided that cleaning was too much work, so the pan was donated as is -- with a big old grease in the shape of a fried egg. Well, my gain. A new All-Clad 8 inch pan would have cost $85 and I got it for $4.99. After giving it a good scrubbing, it was as good as new.

On the other hand, the Emeril pan was in sad shape. Hardly used but someone really really burned it. It was discolored, black burnt marks and baked-on grease all over. It looked pretty pathetic. But for $2.99, I thought it was worth a try to give it its shine back and make Emeril proud.

Easier said than done. I scrubbed and scrubbed but the stubborn grease and marks wouldn't come out. I scrubbed it five days in a row with all sorts of ways but none seemed to work.

Let me count the ways:

1. Gentle scrubbing with detergent and warm water as recommended - nope!


2. Boiling water in the pan to dissolve the grease - nope!


3. Scrubbing with CLR Metal Clean - some progress but the burnt marks and grease stayed.


4. More scrubbing with baking soda - nope!


5. Using crushed tomato to make the discoloration disappear - nope!


6. Dare I try oven cleaner?? - nope.


7. Finally, I tried Bar Keepers Friend and OH-MY-GOD, it worked!!!

My New Best Friend: I am totally amazed. What is this thing? How did it do it when all failed??? People, if you ever need to clean your stainless steel pots and pans, this is it. Forget everything else.
Proof: See the "after" effects? I should have taken a "before" photo but who was thinking about taking pictures of dirty pans... Anyway, I'm very happy except for my arms and hands.
Extra Bonus: I also cleaned the burner covers with BKF. They are shiny again. Wow! I'm so excited that my pots and pans will be shiny from now on.

Little yet satisfying pleasures in life. Ahhh...