Burnt Pots & Pans

Having a burnt pot or pan is so very common. The food tasting bad coz of it, is also common.
But, how about breaking into huge fights coz of it ?
Thats what happened in my house yesterday morning!

I did a "root cause analysis" and settled for 3 reasons
1. The urge for tea, as soon as you wake-up
2. The habit of brewing tea while half-asleep
3. The responsibility division in the house - Cooking department is me (Yeah!) & cleaning department is the guy.
Definitely the problem is NOT ME!

I was enjoying the rest of my sleep while boiling the tea. I did not even notice the burning smell or the thick brown layer forming on the sides of the milk pan. I seldom do & according to the guy, I don't care for it coz I am not the one painfully cleaning it !

He got quite put off by my carelessness & started advising me to improve. My reply was simple, Make your own tea! As long as you don't do it, don't comment on mine! It was the starter .. which led to mishaps, going separate ways to work, an expensive patch-up lunch (ofcourse not initiated by me) ...
A weak moment in between the apologies led me to agree that I will clean up the mess left in the pan.

Until yesterday, for all the dirt , grease, sticky food, burns, my solution was the CIF cleaning agent with the soft steel wool which you get in the dollar store. Itz Magic on stove tops, table tops and even the Petrol tanks ! I beleived it could clean anything in the world, if you could scrub hard. Just to find easier ways, I started my research; ofcourse in the internet & talk with gal pals. Experimented a couple of them and am satisfied with my gleaming pan :-)
Posting here, hoping someone will benefit from it.

1. Scrub max amount of food particles with a non-metal spoon. I used wood.
2. Rinse in cold water and fill it to the brink with water.
3. Add salt and a few drops of dish washing liquid.
4. Let the water boil and start dancing out of the pan.
5. Turn off the heat.
6. Close the pan with a lid & go for a walk if you have nothing important to do. (30-45 minutes is what we need)
7. Pour away the water.
8. Remember to run cold water to take the heat of the steel !
9. Using the dishwash liquid and scrub pad, clean it.
10. Run it under the tap with your eyes closed.
11. Open your eyes and smile :-) Its Done !! Back to silvers ... :-)
Mine was a stainless steel pot .
I read about using some acidic or alkaline stuff, if the stain persists.
Baking soda helps. Vinegar on the other end helps. (Don't use these on copper bottom pans)
I wanted to try it. So, I poured some vinegar and spread it over the pan. Didn't see much of a difference. So, rinsed it away, and dried the pan.

PS : Don't forget to show it to the guy, if he had a shout at you for this!