Cooking is an activity that requires patience and attention, and we are not always left with both qualities. It is very common to leave a stew on the fire, start doing other things at home and forget about it until It starts to smell burnt.
But the worst thing is not the food that spoils, it is the state in which its container is left. When we see that our shiny new pressure cooker looks like a crematorium and there is no way to descale the food of little use to think that it can happen to anyone.
If after putting the pot or pan in the dishwasher at maximum power and rub painfully with detergent still has a black layer, the time has come to use other more aggressive methods.
There are various methods to recover our containers from the disaster. Perhaps the most traditional is to clean them with vinegar, pouring it into the pot or pan and bringing it to a boil. The acetic acid It will soften the organic remains, in addition to removing the smell of burning. But this method is insufficient when we talk about more serious carbonizations.
That is when you have to resort to heavy artillery.
Bleach is the hand of a saint
The best way to clean the burned remains of a pot is to resort to bleach. The method is similar to that of vinegar, but making your kitchen smell like a pool. You just have to cover the burnt part of the pot with water and pour a small stream of bleach, bring it to a boil and let it act for about three minutes until the layer of blackness disappears. Let the water cool down and rub the remains with a soft cloth. It will be like new.
How do you explain to WTP the doctor of chemistry Eduardo Guisasolaa researcher at the CIC BiomaGUNE, “heating the bleach serves to speed up the degradation reaction (oxidation) of the remains of burned food (organic matter). By oxidizing organic matter, it forms new chemical compounds that are soluble in water and therefore you can remove them by rinsing the pan.”
Actually, as Guisasola points out, if we didn’t heat the lye we would get the same result, but in a longer time. In fact, heating lye causes its main chemical compound (hypochlorite, diluted 5-10% in basic/alkaline water) breaks down and no longer has a cleaning action. But the degradation of the lye occurs more slowly than its reaction with the organic matter, and so the pan is cleaned.
“If you heated the bleach for a long time and then added it to the pan, you would only be giving the burned bottom a warm bath,” Guisasola points out. And this is the reason why It is also not recommended to use hot water with the bleach to clean the floor..
Now, if you are going to clean your pot with bleach, do not forget wear gloves at all times and ventilate the kitchen very well. The vapors given off by bleach are toxic. Remember, of course, to clean the pot well with soap before using it again. And next time be more careful.
Scotch-Brite Scourer for scrubbing without scratching delicate. 12 sponges per pack – Safe for glass and non-stick cookware
Lagarto Scented Bleach and Detergent – 1500 ml, 1 unit
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Images | iStock – Anne Worner/USAG-Humphreys/Pixabay
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