The Lemon Fool

Clearly at about £200 for a casserole they have little place on this board but I just picked one up from my local recycling centre when I was dropping off some bottles. A grey 29mm oval one, so it can't be that old. Someone had obviously left it on the hob too long as it had some stuff burnt on the bottom and the handle had actually melted...I didn't know you could do that!

I can get a new handle but any ideas for the best method to clean out the burnt stuff inside?

John

redsturgeon wrote:Clearly at about £200 for a casserole they have little place on this board but I just picked one up from my local recycling centre when I was dropping off some bottles. A grey 29mm oval one, so it can't be that old. Someone had obviously left it on the hob too long as it had some stuff burnt on the bottom and the handle had actually melted...I didn't know you could do that!

I can get a new handle but any ideas for the best method to clean out the burnt stuff inside?

John

Le Creuset do an own-brand cleaning product which I've successfully used on a casserole before. It's a sort of gritty paste. I think the enamel layer does get damaged by food being very badly burnt on, but maybe worth a try?

Soak it in water with a spot of detergent, and simmer it gently on the hob.

Then get a new sharp razor blade (or craft blade) and very carefully scrape it off.

Be very careful not to cut yourself.

regards, dspp

Not sure I'd fancy a used casserole with burnt on residue - you never know quite what people have been cooking in it
(cf Jeffrey Dahmer...)



And yes, water with Fairy liquid , bring it up to near boiling and leave it to stand for a long time

Is a 29mm casserole really worth bothering with? You might as well use an eggcup

--kiloran

Could be all manner of nasty chemicals in there, so take it back and buy a new one in the right colour, which is cerise. 25 years from now it will still be almost like new and in regular service. Like mine. Sometimes it is just worth forking out for a top quality product ...

- K

k333 wrote:Could be all manner of nasty chemicals in there, so take it back and buy a new one in the right colour, which is cerise. 25 years from now it will still be almost like new and in regular service. Like mine. Sometimes it is just worth forking out for a top quality product ...

- K

Surely volcano is the only "correct" colour, my original from 40 years ago is still going strong.

John

k333 wrote:Could be all manner of nasty chemicals in there, so take it back and buy a new one in the right colour, which is cerise. 25 years from now it will still be almost like new and in regular service. Like mine. Sometimes it is just worth forking out for a top quality product ...

- K

Our old cerise creuset is about 25 years old and, as you say, still going strong. We bought it when I was working in France and I'm pretty sure that we didn't pay anything like the equivalent of 200 quid today. We had barely two francs to rub together! Maybe the creuset one of these things that is marketed as 'special' in one country and 'just usual' in another? Like Stella beer in the UK and Heineken in France?

For burnt food, I just leave to soak for a day in hot water and washing up liquid and rub with a metal pan scrub.

Steve

VINEGAR

25p a bottle at ALDI or LIDL................or pay more elsewhere

leave overnight

unlikely but repeat if needed

we use to descale everything, kettles/shower head etc etc

mutantpoodle wrote:VINEGAR

25p a bottle at ALDI or LIDL................or pay more elsewhere

leave overnight

unlikely but repeat if needed

we use to descale everything, kettles/shower head etc etc

If it is acid you want - rhubarb leaves, boiled.

I had a lot of burnt on residue* in my stainless steel saucepan. The warm soapy water soak worked ok, but a final go with white vinegar and water brought back the shine, and got rid of the accumulated white discolouration as a bonus!


*IKEA frozen mashed potato - impossible to cook without leaving a burnt layer

AleisterCrowley wrote:I had a lot of burnt on residue* in my stainless steel saucepan. The warm soapy water soak worked ok, but a final go with white vinegar and water brought back the shine, and got rid of the accumulated white discolouration as a bonus!


*IKEA frozen mashed potato - impossible to cook without leaving a burnt layer

try the microwave, or oven.

Oven is a possibility (I don't have a microwave )
I'll just not bother with it again - thought it might be a useful quicker halfway house between instant mash (yuck) and proper mash

Acid is fine in stainless steel but I understand it is not recommended for le Creuset.

Bicarb and biological washing powder has worked though.

John

Acid is fine in stainless steel but I understand it is not recommended for le Creuset.

And here is me thinking that le Creuset would take anything.

- K

Many years ago we bought a Le Creuset non-stick frying pan. After frying a couple of steaks within two or three weeks the non-stick began to come off in the middle of the pan. I took it back to the department store where we bought it and they referred it to their in-house Le Creuset sales person. To my surprise she refused to replace it or give a refund. Her reason was that we had overheated it and despite my querying this (as the person who'd done the frying) she was resolute.

Whilst Mrs H is a keen cook and we are prepared to pay for quality I have never bought another Le Creuset item. And over all the years frying many a steak have never managed to "overheat" another frying pan (including the cheapo one I use over the campfire cooking sausages for the grandchildren).

Maybe Le Creuset casseroles are not subjected to the same heat and I think they discontinued the particular frying pan fairly soon after my experience.

Hope other posters' cookware is more durable.

regards

Howard

Howard wrote:Many years ago we bought a Le Creuset non-stick frying pan. After frying a couple of steaks within two or three weeks the non-stick began to come off in the middle of the pan. I took it back to the department store where we bought it and they referred it to their in-house Le Creuset sales person. To my surprise she refused to replace it or give a refund. Her reason was that we had overheated it and despite my querying this (as the person who'd done the frying) she was resolute.

Whilst Mrs H is a keen cook and we are prepared to pay for quality I have never bought another Le Creuset item. And over all the years frying many a steak have never managed to "overheat" another frying pan (including the cheapo one I use over the campfire cooking sausages for the grandchildren).

Maybe Le Creuset casseroles are not subjected to the same heat and I think they discontinued the particular frying pan fairly soon after my experience.

Hope other posters' cookware is more durable.

regards

Howard

We have a Le creuset non-stick fring pan and a non-stick stir fry pan bought over 10 years ago. Both started to lose their non stick after a year or so and we had been very careful with them. Reported it to le creuset and sent them to them for inspection and they sent new ones. A year or so later and the same happened. I sent them back again and got new replacements. Because they say you should only use them on moderate heat (something I didn't realise when I bought them), and heating them hotter obviously causes problems with their non stick I no longer really use them unless I'm happy to only heat them on half power. Instead I use some much cheaper non stick pans that I'm happy to use on high heat and which seem to cope fine with higher heat.

We thought the le creuset pans would last us for life but it seems that is only the case if you heat them gently which is something that seems a ridiculous
restriction for a stir fry pan or frying pan.

I've got a Le Creuset 'grill' / skillet (just a rectangular slab with ridges and handles on the short sides) which works well for steaks - don't think it's got any sort of non stick coating.

I have only ever bought the Le Creuset pans with the traditional enamel coating so can't comment on the non stick stuff. Sounds like a classic case of a company who make an iconic product trying to use their good name with product extensions rather than sticking to their knitting.

John

I always use citric acid on my stainless steel boiler after boiling wort for beer - often sticks to the bottom after a hard hours boil - that cleans up nice and easy?
Assume the enamel wouldn't be harmed as is in lots fo foods anyway?