How can I revive my damaged ceramic skillet?
I have a big ceramic-bottomed skillet that is perfect for cooking all types of foods, from chicken to stir fry to curries. The problem is that after so many years of use, the cooking surface is blackened and is no longer non-stick. It's been washed and scrubbed hundreds of times. Is it possible to clean the blackened surface off or resurface the pan? Or is it time to throw my favorite skillet in the trash?
Answers ( 1 )
Well, ehh, maybe, maybe not. Scrubbing doesn't always help, in fact if you scrubbed hard, or used a metal scrubber, it may be you damaged the surface and that usually can't be restored. But if it's black from burnt on food, then removing that blackened surface and then re-oiling would be the only option for recovery. If it is burned surface that's baked on, lightly heating the pan on the stove with water, baking soda and vinegar may have some effect. Try it slow first, heat up the ingredients with a lid on and bring to a boil, then set on a low temperature and simmer (low boil) on the stove for 5 minutes. Make sure you add enough water not to boil off. That may help remove some of the buildup if that's what it is. And you may have to do that a few times to have an effect. Then let the pan cool down still on the burner, and after it's cooled down, take a plastic scraper or sponge and scrub off what you can. Rinse and repeat if necessary.
If you're able to get the burned surface off, then let it sit and cool. After it's cooled down, then apply some oil to the pan to help season it - and sit it on a low-heat burner until the pan gets warm, then turn off the burner and let the pan cool down on the burner until they are both cooled down.
For the future, when you have burned on foods in the pan, fill the pan over the burned food and set on a low-to-medium heated burner for just a few minutes, not to the boiling point, but then turn the burner off and just let it sit on the heat till the burner cools, making sure there's plenty of water. Heat and water will usually release the burned food.