The Best Way to Clean Stuck-On Food off Pans

There’s no way to avoid it: An abundance of dirty dishes is an inevitable part of any home-cooked holiday feast.

While the last thing anyone wants to do after roasting a barbecue or baking dozens of gingerbread cookies is deal with dirty dishes, your casserole pans and cookie sheets won’t wash themselves. So, the least you can do is make your dishes as easy to clean as possible, because the only thing worse than washing dishes is scrubbing dishes with stubborn food stuck to them.

With these simple tips from resident chef Mark Garcia, in partnership with Finish Ultimate, you’ll have the perfect game plan to get through the toughest stuff so you can get back to enjoying holiday cheer as soon as possible.

The best tips for cleaning stubborn food residue

If only Santa’s elves could wash dishes for us during the holiday season. With professional advice, fortunately you won’t need it. Although it may seem simple, mastering the perfect dishwashing strategy can be more difficult than you think. Who better to turn to for help than culinary experts in cleaning dirty dishes?

According to Chef Garcia, the best strategy for cleaning dirty pans that have stubborn residue is to start by scraping as much as possible. “When you encounter stuck-on food, be sure to remove as much residue as possible before loading the dishwasher,” he says. You can use several strategies to get rid of stuck-on stains, such as purchasing an abrasive tool or scrubbing with a sponge. Once you’re as done eating your food as possible, Garcia says your dishes are ready to go in the dishwasher, and your cleaner will take care of the rest.

The surprising part of this tip is that pre-rinsing the dishes is only recommended if the food in the pans is very stubborn. For non-stick pans, you can just load them as is, and the cleaner will do the rest. Finish also recommends that when loading your dishes into the dishwasher, you make sure to place the items with the most stubborn messes face down. This way, your machine’s spray arms can blast it with the highest amount of pressure possible.

Other cleaning methods for stuck foods

While the methods used by the professionals above should take care of most of the lingering mess, there are some other home remedies that may help, too.

ketchup

One amazing and effective kitchen trick that can help you eat food out of pans is to scoop out the ketchup. This may seem surprising, but vinegar is an essential ingredient in your favorite condiments. Vinegar is made of acetic acid, which can break up messes like burnt-on food scraps. In addition, most kitchens always have ketchup on hand, so you don’t have to worry about keeping a special product in stock. Simply spread ketchup on the stuck area, leave it for about 30 minutes, then wipe it off before washing. For more specific information on how to use ketchup to clean pans, check out our full article here. Spoiler alert: it works.

Baking soda and vinegar

If you’re looking for a good way to soak your dishes, try this home remedy to get rid of stubborn food residue and keep your pan looking its best. All this method requires is baking soda, white vinegar, and lukewarm water. Plus, it’s an easy way to avoid putting too much grease in the dishwasher: all you have to do is leave the dish soaking for a while, and cleaning the pan will be a breeze.