How To Clean Great Home Cookware

You own a great home cookware set and you want to see the difference it makes to your cooking by asking your friends over for dinner. Your friends thank you for the meal and the great time you spent with them. As soon as they start leaving, you are faced with the problem of cleaning your great and expensive home cookware set.

Whatever the material is, you need to know a few tips about cleaning your home cookware. It could be aluminum, cast-iron, clay and enamel or copper.

1. If you wish to take care of home cookware, you can start with reading the manufacturer's instructions.

2. Wash all pots and pans thoroughly both inside and out after use.

3. Baked-on food might make it necessary for washing the pans in soapsuds. Just make sure to dry the pans thoroughly after washing them over a warm burner. It would also help to rub vegetable oil into the pan with paper towel.

4. Keep gas flames low while cooking to prevent heat stains on the outside of pans and so they don't fill the side of the pot.

5. Do not expose cookware to sudden temperature changes. Before washing or soaking, allow cookware to cool.

For an aluminum cookware set, you need to watch out for discoloration. To protect aluminum cookware from discoloration, do not wash it in a dishwasher or let it soak in soapy water for long periods of time. If there are already signs of interior discoloration, fill the pan with water, add 1 tablespoon cream of tartar or 1 tablespoon lemon juice per quart of water, and simmer until the discoloration is gone. Complete the process by wiping the pan with steel-wool soap pad. Make sure to wear rubber gloves.

Wash cast-iron cookware with sudsy water and then dry thoroughly. Make sure that you store in a dry cupboard without its lid in place. Never wash cast-iron cookware in the dishwasher, it will remove the seasoning on the cookware and cause rust.

Clay cookware need to be soaked in water first for about half an hour before using them for the first time. Soak the top and the bottom and scrub well with a stiff brush to remove clay dust. Do not put hot clay cookware on a cold surface or it might crack.

Make sure that you use synthetic and not steel cleansers to scrub stubborn oil. Enamelware can be washed safely in the dishwasher. Rapid changes in temperature will cause the enamel coating to crack. Let enamel cookware cool before washing, at all times.

Homarr Clomish is a leading writer on home cookware for over 15 years. You can get tips from his top website at aluminum cookware set.