To prevent the steel frying pan from burning. How to clean a burnt frying pan

Almost everyone has experienced food burning on a frying pan, saucepan, saucepan, or whatever else. What do they do to prevent it from burning? As a rule, either cookware is purchased with a non-stick coating, or much more fat is used than can be dispensed with. Both methods have significant drawbacks: the non-stick coating is short-lived (and supposedly harmful to health), and excess fat in food can lead to excess weight...

Of course, another alternative is known - cast iron cookware. But cast iron must be properly calcined (so that it acquires non-stick properties) and used correctly in the future. In short, cast iron cookware is a very smart option, but it requires a smart owner who can cope with a certain list of rules for using cast iron cookware and adhere to them. For most people, this is not an option, since “there are enough problems without cast iron.” In general, this option is not for everyone.

And now I present to you the cheapest and most durable non-stick coating... Ta-dam! Meet the revolutionary discovery of the last century - parchment paper! :) Yes, it itself is non-stick, due to its dense structure.

Thus, by placing a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of absolutely any cooking container, you are actually guaranteeing that the food will not burn. This method is equally good for a saucepan, a multicooker bowl, and a frying pan, even the most “sticky” one in the world!

VISUAL EFFECTIVENESS

In order not to be unfounded, for greater clarity, I demonstrate the process and consequences of a practical experiment, the essence of which is cooking 1 chicken egg by frying in a scorching frying pan, parchment paper and without a single drop of fat.

I took the most ordinary frying pan (similar to cast iron) to which everything sticks quite well, without a significant portion of fat. Place a “circle” of parchment paper on the bottom of the heated frying pan and beat in the egg. Actually here it is:

It was cooked over medium heat, covered. Let me emphasize once again that the cooking took place without adding fat at all. And this is the result:

As a result, nothing sticks to anything: the paper does not stick to the pan, and the scrambled eggs do not burn to the paper. I took out the fried egg right with the paper and just flicked it onto the plate.

To make it even more convincing, I cut the fried egg in half and turned one half over to the side on which it was fried. This way you can see with your own eyes the degree of frying of the egg and that it is not burnt at all.

Of course, in reality, it is not entirely correct to call fried eggs prepared in this way, since in essence they are baked. But our question now is not whether frying without oil is considered frying, but rather the non-stick capabilities of ordinary “stick” kitchen utensils.

And so, you have seen firsthand the effectiveness of this method: a sheet of parchment paper has the same effective properties as any other non-stick cookware. The only difference is that the paper coating is renewable! :) In other words, we can say that this is an “eternal” non-stick coating.

QUESTION PRICE

Baking parchment (parchment paper for baking) is sold in almost any supermarket and even home store, in the department along with foil, baking sleeves, etc.

The price of a standard 5-meter roll is usually no more than one dollar. This roll is enough for 20-30 “circles”, depending on the desired diameter. Thus, the cost of one “circle”, and therefore one food preparation process, is 4 cents, on average. Is it worth paying “that kind of money” for the opportunity to cook food without unnecessary complications, special utensils and fats - it’s a purely personal matter...

For me personally, only one question remained open: “How safe is this?”, however, given the fact that this method has long been known in the professional kitchen, and even when cooking in the oven, at home, it is used very often (in fact, originally parchment That’s what paper is sold for), I think it’s quite safe.

In any case, this method of making your cookware non-stick has a right to exist: cheap, simple and absolutely effective...

Cleaning the kitchen is a process that takes many hours every day. And if a frying pan is burnt, you have to spend a lot of effort and time cleaning it. Why do we endure these inconveniences and what can we do to prevent the pan from burning?

Those who cook often and with pleasure know many secrets and ways to save time when cooking and cleaning in the kitchen. There are similar secrets when it comes to using frying pans.

A frying pan is a utensil that food can easily stick to. If you fry food in oil, excess fat remains in the pan. Grease and food residue can be difficult to remove when washing dishes.

And sometimes the food completely burns to the pan. Most likely, many have encountered this situation: a lot of time is spent on preparing a dish, but at the most crucial moment something distracts and the entire contents of the frying pan are already firmly stuck to it, and the smell of burning has spread throughout the kitchen.

What can you do to prevent the pan from burning? You can avoid problems by knowing some of the nuances of using this cookware.

Why does food burn?

As soon as non-stick frying pans appeared on sale, it seemed that a solution to all problems had been found. Now you can fry food without using oil and not worry that the food will remain in the pan, making it difficult to clean.

Such dishes are indispensable for those who are on a diet and have excluded fatty foods from the diet. In addition, it is convenient to cook pancakes without using oil, and they turn out to be low-fat and lower in calories.

But sooner or later, even a non-stick frying pan begins to stick to food residues, and frying pancakes is out of the question. Why is this happening? There are a number of reasons:

low quality of cookware (branded cookware with a non-stick coating is suitable for use for 2-3 years, and if you buy something other than the original, there is a high probability that within a month the frying pan will become useless in the household);
mechanical damage to the surface (during operation and improper handling of dishes, scratches and microcracks gradually appear on the ceramic, Teflon or other coating);
The “expiration date” of the frying pan has expired (while cast iron cookware can last for decades, other materials are not so durable).

With these flaws, Teflon and ceramic cookware loses its properties, and food begins to burn to its surface.

Thus, if a ceramic frying pan is no longer non-stick, you need to get rid of it immediately. Food cooked on spoiled dishes can be harmful to health.

Scratches can also occur on pans made of aluminum, stainless steel and other materials. It is necessary to replace the dishes if they have lost the integrity of the outer layer.

New cookware requires special treatment before use, this will help extend its service life and prevent burning.

Food burns on the pan, why does this happen? A chemical reaction occurs between the metal of the cookware and the food. If products are saturated with proteins, then burning occurs especially actively. To slow down this chemical reaction, you can use effective and long-known methods for pans made of different metals.

If a cast iron frying pan burns

As you know, the most delicious pancakes are made in a cast iron frying pan. But this is only possible if the batter does not stick to the bottom. This frying pan can be protected from burning as follows:

New dishes must be washed with hot water and wiped with a towel until dry.
Cover the bottom of the pan with a centimeter layer of salt and keep in the oven or on the stove for 1 hour. The salt should be stirred periodically.
After this, remove the salt from the dish and grease the inside of the bottom with vegetable oil.

Fat and oil provide such a frying pan with non-stick properties. Due to the uniform distribution of heat over the surface of a cast iron frying pan, it produces very tasty food. Cooking pancakes in such a pan is simply a pleasure.

What to do if aluminum cookware starts to burn

An aluminum frying pan on which food burns can be revived. To do this you need to use this method:

Heat a clean frying pan over medium heat.
Cut some bread into cubes and evenly cover the bottom of the dish.
Fry the crackers for 5 minutes over low heat.

Using this method will reduce sticking to the aluminum coating.

The stainless steel “broiler” burns

Stainless steel pans do not burn if you fry food in oil. Gouges and scratches appear on any metal, including stainless steel. The heated oil fills these imperfections and allows food to fry without allowing it to stick to the surface of the stainless steel pan.

If the enamel frying pan starts to burn

Such dishes require delicate handling; they should not be heated, as this will completely damage the coating. But if you begin to notice that pancakes or other food have begun to stick to the bottom, do not rush to throw away such a frying pan. Use the following method:

Clean the bottom of the cookware thoroughly with detergent.
Dry the surface, removing moisture with a kitchen towel.
Rub the pan generously with any fat or lard.

It is advisable to carry out this procedure every time before you start cooking on this cookware. In this case, you need to fry by adding a large amount of oil.

What can be done to prevent food from sticking to the pan?

What is needed to ensure that the frying pan retains its non-stick properties longer, and you do not have to constantly wash the bottom of burnt food? Use little tricks that will help make life easier for the housewife.

When using cookware made of any material, you must follow the following rules:

Use oil or fat. The bottom of the pan should be greased with a thin layer of oil and ensure that it is always present. If the oil is absorbed into the food, you need to add it and redistribute it throughout the dish.
Use apple cider vinegar. It makes sense to do this if the frying pan is made of aluminum or other porous metal. The vinegar is added after the bottom of the pan has been oiled and heated. The vinegar will evaporate quickly if you keep the pan on low heat. Only after the vinegar has evaporated can you start cooking.
Add a small amount of salt. After the frying pan is greased with vegetable oil, salt is added and distributed over the entire surface of the bottom. It is very important to take a moderate amount of salt, as excess salt can harm the taste of the food. If you accidentally added a lot of salt, it is better to remove the excess with a napkin or paper towel.
Do not use metal spoons or spatulas for mixing food. This note is especially relevant for cookware with non-stick ceramic and Teflon coatings. Metal spatulas can render such a frying pan unusable. However, the use of wooden or plastic spatulas and spoons is appropriate for any material, as they do not leave scratches on the surface of the dishes.
Avoid the use of hard and metal sponges. To extend the life of the cookware, you should use soft sponges that will not damage the coating or increase the porosity of the metal.
Store pans dry. Care must be taken to ensure that no moisture remains on the dishes. Why is it dangerous to put a wet frying pan in the cupboard? Mold may appear on it, which will disrupt the non-stick properties.
Do not store pans inside each other (especially Teflon pans). The coating may be damaged if it comes into inaccurate contact with other objects. It is better to place such pans separately and not pile other dishes on top.

A frying pan is an indispensable item in the kitchen. It’s hard to imagine preparing many dishes without it. Any housewife enjoys cooking when the dishes are pleasing with their appearance and quality. By paying due attention to frying pans and following simple operating rules, you can extend the service life and preserve the appearance of the cookware for a long time.

When frying various foods, food in a frying pan often burns. To prevent this from happening, you need to prepare it before first use by creating a non-stick oil film on the inner surface.

You should properly care for the frying pan, wash and clean it. Do not use metal brushes, squeegees, or abrasive detergents for washing. Solutions of soda or mustard will help remove burnt food.

The surfaces of cast iron and aluminum frying pans and stainless steel cookware quickly rust when exposed to moisture. Therefore, manufacturers treat them with a special lubricant. This composition, if ingested, is harmful to human health, so the lubricant is washed off after purchase. As a result, the surface loses its protection and may become rusty. In this case, it will be difficult to cook anything on it.

When food hits the surface of the pan, it reacts with the atoms of the metal from which the cookware is made, forming compounds with them. This applies most of all to foods containing protein.

If a frying pan burns, you need to make a protective film on its bottom. It must be harmless to the human body. You can create such a protective film from vegetable oil.

Creating a non-stick coating

To create an oil film on the surface of the pan, you need to perform a number of steps:

Clean the surface with paper. Wash the pan on both sides with warm water and a mild detergent. Rinse under running water and wipe dry.
Sprinkle a 1 cm thick layer of salt on the bottom of the dish. Heat it for 1-3 hours on the stove or in the oven, stirring the salt occasionally. The oven can only be used for frying pans that have a removable handle. The temperature in it should be set within 180-220° C. Foil should be placed on the bottom, onto which oil will drip.
Pour in salt, which by this time will have turned brown.
Grease the bottom with vegetable oil and heat the pan. When using the stove, only the inner surface is lubricated; when heated in the oven, both sides are lubricated.
Wipe dishes with napkins or cloth.

Radical way. Remove the hot pan from the oven, grease with oil and place back. Turn off the stove only when the grease has completely burned out. During treatment, a strong smell of burnt oil will be felt in the apartment, so you need to turn on the hood or open the window. You should work in thick gloves.

Calcination promotes uniform heating of the surface. The first 5 times after processing, you need to cook fatty and non-acidic foods in dishes. Subsequently, each time you should pour a sufficient amount of oil into the pan. This will make the non-stick coating stronger.

To prevent food from sticking to a properly prepared frying pan, you need to adhere to the following rules:

Use only a clean and dry frying pan. Do not fry wet or cold foods.
Heat the oil before adding food.
Do not put too much food in the pan. When frying, a large amount of moisture is released, which does not have time to quickly boil and turn into steam.
Do not turn food over too quickly. Sometimes when frying, food burns slightly at first. Just reduce the heat and wait a little. After a minute or a minute and a half, a crust forms on the surface, which easily comes off the pan.
Do not use metal brushes or abrasive detergents to clean dishes. They scratch the non-stick oil coating.

If the coating is damaged and the pan begins to burn, you need to heat it again. After use, the frying pan should be washed, wiped dry and stored in a dry place.

Using hot oil

Experts advise frying foods in hot oil. This is due to the fact that when heated it loses its viscosity faster than cold. Hot oil spreads over the surface of the cookware, filling all the small cracks and scratches. Therefore, protein and other organic substances do not come into contact with the metal and do not form scale.

When raw foods fall into a frying pan with hot oil, they fry, releasing water. It evaporates, turning into steam. It forms a layer between the product and the oil film, preventing it from burning. A layer will not form if the oil is cold.

There are two ways to get hot oil:

Pour it into a cold frying pan and heat it up. This makes it easier to determine the sufficient heating level.
Heat the pan and add cold oil. On a hot surface it should be used one and a half times less than on a cold surface.

You can determine that the oil has heated to the required temperature by the following signs:

the surface is covered with ripples;
A drop of water entering the oil quickly evaporates.

Don't wait until the oil starts to burn. The quality of the food will be worse, and the surface of the dishes may deteriorate.

Food preparation

To prevent food from burning, food must also be prepared for frying. It is forbidden:

fry foods just taken out of the refrigerator. First you need to let them warm up at room temperature;
place wet food in the pan. They should be dried by dabbing with a napkin, or excess moisture should be removed by running a knife over the surface.

You can brush a damp piece of meat or fish with oil before placing it in the pan.

Removing food debris

If food is already burnt, it must be carefully removed from the surface without damaging the dishes. Do not scrape off burnt food immediately after cooking. It is necessary to fill the dishes with hot water so that it covers the problem area. You can add a tablespoon of mustard powder. After half an hour, the pan should be washed with a dishwashing sponge. A solution of baking soda helps to clean the surface.

Do not use acids or alkaline substances. You can pour salt into the pan and leave it for 3 hours, and then wash it with soda or mustard.

If nothing sticks to the pan while frying, then you simply never fry.

Vegetables and fish, for example, are guaranteed to stick to almost any frying pan, unless you follow some rules that many people are not even aware of.

In general, there is a certain pattern in what food sticks to the pan and why, as well as several simple ways to help avoid it.

However, do not panic if the chicken breast or cutlets still stick to the pan, because the situation can always be corrected, and we will share with you all the main secrets.

WHY DOES FOOD STICK?

It is important to understand that during the frying process certain chemical processes occur that cause molecules on the surface of the food and in the hot pan to react. This is a completely natural process and has nothing to do with your culinary skills, so don’t blame yourself for being crooked.

But let's not bore you with a crash course in chemistry, but simply say that high-protein foods, such as meat or fish, stick to the pan more than vegetables. It’s easier to deal with stuck vegetables, but more on that a little later, but for now let’s talk about the relationship between the frying pan and the degree of food sticking to it.

TO WHICH PAN FOOD STICKS LESS

Of course, the safest option for beginners in the culinary business is a non-stick frying pan.

Just don’t think that you need to fry on it without any oil, because that’s not true.

It is necessary to add oil, only in the case of a non-stick frying pan you can literally use a drop and not be too careful about the temperature to which it has heated up.

A cast iron frying pan must be heated and lubricated with oil. Yes, yes, precisely lubricate. The oil should penetrate into all pores and cracks, forming an absolutely smooth surface to which food will no longer stick.

But the most difficult thing is to fry in a steel frying pan. It heats up quickly but not always evenly, and even if done correctly, food can still stick. To cook in a steel pan, you will need more oil and it is especially important to heat it thoroughly.

HOW TO AVOID FOOD STICKING TO THE PAN

The easiest way to prevent food from sticking to the pan is to use oil. You may have noticed that cold oil is quite viscous, and when heated it becomes more fluid, which allows it to fill all the microcracks on the surface of the frying pan and reduce the area of contact of the food itself with the frying pan.

This leads to the first rule - always heat the oil. It should almost smoke, but still not boil. As soon as you place the food in a hot frying pan, the temperature of the oil will instantly drop, so remember that it is better to always fry in a pan with a thick bottom and not skimp on oil, especially if we are talking about a steel frying pan.

Try to fry food in small batches to avoid improper frying and sticking. This will certainly take a little more time, but the likelihood that you will get a beautiful dish with an appetizing golden brown crust is much higher.

And one more secret: pat food dry with a paper towel before frying. This simple method will help remove excess moisture and make the frying process easier.

Remember at the very beginning we said that fish, due to its molecular structure, is guaranteed to stick to the pan during frying?

It's time to talk about a very simple way to avoid this. By the way, it is suitable not only for fish, so take note.

Before you start cooking, cut a circle out of parchment along the diameter of the frying pan, place it on the bottom, then heat the frying pan, add oil and fry as usual. Your favorite dish will no longer stick.

WHAT TO DO IF FOOD STICKS TO THE PAN

Even if you did everything according to the instructions, food may stick. But don't panic.

If at first a piece of meat or chicken breast sticks, then there is a high probability that as soon as these products brown a little, they will come off on their own. You can also rock the pan a little to speed up the process, or move the pieces around while frying with tongs.

Vegetables start to stick much faster than other foods, so the best way to save the situation is to stir them regularly at the very beginning of cooking and use more oil.

But in the case of cutlets, it is better to add not oil, but a little water. You won’t get that same treasured crust, but the appearance won’t suffer.

If you often cook omelettes, but they always stick, then try lifting the edges with a spatula first, and then rocking the pan, as is the case with meat.

But when frying pancakes, they haven’t come up with anything better than greasing a hot frying pan with oil. The first pancake is lumpy only because the frying pan is not yet hot enough at this point.

Advantages of stainless steel cookware:

does not interact with food products, such as tomatoes and wine
in such dishes you can prepare excellent sauces by dissolving products using caramelization

Disadvantages of stainless steel:

Stainless steel heats up unevenly
very often different foods stick to the surface of stainless steel cookware if precautions are not taken

Why does food stick to stainless steel cookware?

Burning of food is caused by chemical reactions that occur between the food and the metal from which the frying pan is made. Protein-rich foods are especially prone to sticking because proteins are able to form complexes with metal atoms, such as iron in the pan.

What to do to prevent the pan from burning - use hot oil

Since heated oil is a liquid, it fills indentations and small cracks on the surface of the pan. Although the frying pan seems even and smooth, at the microscopic level, even on the smoothest metal surface you can find gouges and scratches. Hot oil is less viscous than cold oil, so it immediately fills all the recesses.

If you add a small amount of oil to a hot frying pan, it heats up very quickly, frying the outer layer of the food, and the water evaporates, forming a layer of steam that “lifts” the food above the oil film and prevents it from sticking to the hot surface. If the oil is not hot enough, there will be no steam effect and the food will stick to the pan.

Why does oil “hiss”?

The hissing sound occurs because water evaporates from the surface of the oil. When the sizzling stops, the oil will heat up very quickly, so you need to be careful not to burn the food.

Food is fried when the oil temperature rises to 100 degrees or more. The byproduct of this process is water, and even when the food is frying, we will hear a hissing sound. Once the food is completely cooked, the water will not evaporate and the sizzling sounds will stop.

Make sure the surface of the pan is clean. Small stuck food particles can cause food to further stick to the surface of the pan.
Make sure that the surface of the food you will be frying is dry and not very cold. It is better to leave food from the refrigerator at room temperature for a while. Cold meats easily stick to the surface of stainless steel pans when cooking. Remember that if there is water on the surface of the food, it can lower the temperature of the oil, which promotes burning. You can either blot the surface of the food with a napkin, or in the case of fish that is not skinned, run the blade of a knife across the surface of the skin to remove excess moisture. This method will also help you cook fish with a crispy skin. NOTE: Some cooks prefer to add a little oil to the surface of the dry ingredients to prevent them from sticking to the pan.
Make sure the oil is hot. Either add cold oil to a hot pan, or start cooking by heating a cold pan and cold oil. Both methods are equally good, but most people prefer to add cold oil to a hot pan. The advantage of this method is that you need to add one and a half times less oil to a hot frying pan than to a cold one, since the oil covers the surface better. Hot oil is less viscous and spreads immediately. You will also need less oil to fill microcracks on the surface and provide a barrier between the food and the pan. In addition, this way the oil will heat up faster and will not be used up quickly. NOTE: Some cooks still prefer to add cold oil to a cold pan because it will be easier to tell when the pan has reached the desired temperature.

Here are some tips on how to tell when the pan is hot enough for food to stick to the surface.

The oil should “ripple” and spread fairly quickly over the surface. If the pan has been hot enough, this process will only take a few seconds.
It is best to place food in the pan before the oil begins to burn. If you wait too long, the pan will become very hot, the oil will burn and darken, and may damage the surface of the pan.
If you want to check if the pan is hot enough, you can drop a few drops of water, which should evaporate immediately, or a larger drop will sizzle and float on the surface due to its own steam.

With time and experience, you will learn to determine exactly when to put food in the heated oil.

Do not put too much food in the pan as this will lower the temperature and release more liquid. If too much moisture gets into the butter, it won't be able to reach the temperature needed for caramelization. As a result, the food will cook unevenly. It's best to cook food in small batches, preheating the pan and adding oil if necessary after each batch. Also, unless otherwise indicated in the cooking technology, there is no need to cover the pan with a lid, as in this case the steam can soften the food. Ideally, fried food should have a crispy exterior, although this will depend more on the food item (fried steak tends to have a crispy exterior, whereas fried carrots do not)
Don't turn food too quickly. Even if the food sticks a little to the pan, it most likely won’t last long, so don’t worry. If you are using a stainless steel frying pan and the food is sticking to the surface, then you need to reduce the heat a little and try turning the food again. The only exception is chopped vegetables, which must be constantly stirred so that they do not burn. Don't forget to add oil to them so they don't stick to the pan and cook evenly, and the pan should be very hot all the time.
Listen: you should hear the pan sizzling, not splattering. The sizzling sound means there is still water in the pan and the food won't burn. As soon as the hissing stops, the food is starting to burn. If food is properly fried in a small amount of oil, then it will have a crispy outside and soft inside. When the oil temperature is too low, the cooking process does not produce enough steam and the food becomes very greasy after absorbing a lot of oil. When food is fried in a small amount of oil, when heated, it brings the liquid inside the food to a boil, which then escapes as steam. The steam prevents the oil from getting inside the food and making it greasy, so the food will be soft and juicy on the inside, but crispy on the outside.

Which frying pan is better to choose

If you want to fry your food well, you need to choose a quality frying pan. It is worth paying attention to the frying pan made from stainless steel and aluminum plate. Such a frying pan will distribute heat evenly, and the food will not burn, since heating and cooling of the surface occurs very quickly. A fairly heavy metal plate ensures that the bottom of the pan remains flat and does not deform during use. After all, if the bottom is uneven, then the food will fry unevenly. Some cooks prefer to use a cast iron skillet for searing, but it is not suitable for making sauces.

We hope that our tips helped you find out what to do to prevent the pan from burning.