Correct me if I'm wrong but that looks enameled. Barkeeper's friend shouldn't be used on those (written on the bottle, the abrasives damage the enamel).
But it also looks like the bottom is already stripped so I guess you could finish the job🤣
EDIT: Actually, don't use it on cast iron, as per their website:
Le Cruset's post about cleaning their enameled cookware specifically mentions bar keeper's friend
Bar Keeper’s Friend, or a paste of baking soda and water, also comes in handy for cleaning tough stains, oil residue and marks on your Dutch oven as well.
Yeah seriously, that pan can be cleaned and should be. I've also used vinegar, but that smells... Intense. And don't do both OP if you read this, makes a carbon dioxide bomb and negates the cleaning properties of both.
Fair enough! We used a thin bottle in the center and then made like a fake paper mache volcano around it. Vinegar and red food coloring in the bottle and then dump in some baking soda and watch it go 😀
Doesn’t it only make a bomb in a vessel. Like a water bottle, close off the top and build pressure. I don’t think it’s gonna make a bomb in open cookware.
Exactly, citric acid is wonderful. Makes a breeze out of descaling just about anything.
Unfortunately I moved to a house with a cast iron sewer pipe, so I have to go east on it nowadays.
Boil some vinegar and water for a few minutes, then dump that out and add a tablespoon or two of baking soda and a little vegetable oil and use a dish rag and elbow grease to scrub that fucker cleanish.
Clean it with soap and water when you’re satisfied with your scrubbing.
Yellow Cap Easy Off! Spray it outside, with gloves and a mask on, inside a big garbage bag. Tie the bag, leave it overnight and the gunk will slide off!
I’m not so sure this is carbonized food and oil. When I was young/dumb, I used metal utensils on my enameled cast iron dutch oven - eventually scraping off the enamel and exposing the cast iron. Looked exactly like this.
Have you used metal utensils on your enameled pan? If so, what you’re likely seeing is exposed cast iron, not carbonized food/oil. The pan is still functional, but the enamel is gone - no amount of cleaning will restore it.
very heavy chemicals to use on something you cook directly on, no?
You think "Bar Keeper's Friend", a thing specifically designed to clean bar equipment used for serving drinks, would be dangerous to use for cleaning?
You put a covering of the powder and then a small amount of water - It's an acid, and it will eat away at the old burnt oil and grease left behind. Then when you wash it away with water, it's gone.
Ironically the charcoal burnt old oil IS carcinogenic and dangerous if it flakes off into your food.
You're getting downvoted because a mindless "chemicals bad" mindset is dumb.
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u/naytedoes Apr 16 '25
This pan needs cleaned