passatdoc
Well-known member
Earlier this month there was a discussion thread about using citric acid for cleaning/descaling. In that thread, I posted something about using a teaspoon of citric acid in some boiling water to remove those funny "rainbow stains" in my steel cookware (probably mineral deposits) and that this method worked well.
I recently bought some additions to my set of Cuisinart stainless cookware (just the Chef's Stainless, not the higher end Pro line that competes with All Clad). A number of reviewers on Amazon suggested using Bar Keeper's Friend for cleaning the pots and pans.
When I used to have copper bottom Revere Ware, I used to buy a product called Kleen King.
http://www.faultless.com/kleenking.asp
It's billed as being good for both copper and steel, but I found it did a better job with copper and was not so good at removing "rainbow" stains on steel. After giving away the Revere Ware (purcahsed circa 1984) in 2001, I bought whatever I found in the market: Bon Ami, Dutch Cleanser, Comet, Ajax, what have you.
In response to all the positive reviews of Bar Keeper's Friend, I ordered some in conjunction with a new piece of Cuisinart cookware (I'm out of storage room so it's the last piece!!). Just used it on some "rainbowed" skillet and pans, and it really is amazing. Cleans them to like-new, after years of using other powders that didn't really work and sometimes resorting to scouring pads. Of course, citric acid worked too, but rather cumbersome vs. Bar Keeper's Friend.
I don't know what's in it, but I wonder if it includes some sort of acid that helps dissolve mineral deposits. On the company website it says something about a rhubarb derivative being one of the ingredients, so maybe there really is some acid in it. All I know is that even the oldest pieces in the collection, c. 2001-2, sparkle like they're new again.
Some of you may be wondering why I gave away my Revere Ware. Well, a lot of the pieces had warped over time---remember this was an $80 set of cookware, and the copper was a pain to clean. But the main reason was that I upgraded to a new gas convection range in 2001, a Frigidaire with SpeedBake and a high output burner (12 or 14K btu, I believe). The hotter flame starting sending sparks from the bottoms of my pans! It was embedded carbon that was suddenly spitting out due to the higher heat. Worse, the specks were landing on the white porcelain top and were almost impossible to remove, it looked like someone sprinkled pepper over the cooktop. An acquaintance who is a professional chef said to get something with a steel bottom to avoid the sparking.
I took a $100 Amazon gift certificate and bought a ten piece set for about $115. This was then known as Everyday Stainless. It had a thin steel-copper-steel sandwich welded to the bottom of each piece. Not All Clad by any means, but it looked good and cooks well with good heat distribution. Today, Cuisinart's Chef series uses a much thicker steel-aluminum-steel sandwich on the bottom, and all handles are riveted (mine are welded...).
I have a few of the newer Chef's series pieces (saute pan, wok, everyday pan) to fill out the original Everyday Stainless set. This allowed me to retire several nonstick pans (wok, sautee) which scared me because of the tendency of the coating to flake off into one's food. The Chef's series has been rated as highly as All Clad (in terms of how well it cooks and cleans up) by several major cooking publications; a new set costs about $150 for 12 pieces (not cheap but way less than All Clad). Their All Clad knockoff series (Pro) costs about $300 for 12 pieces. [this post was last edited: 1/16/2011-20:31]
www.barkeepersfriend.com
I recently bought some additions to my set of Cuisinart stainless cookware (just the Chef's Stainless, not the higher end Pro line that competes with All Clad). A number of reviewers on Amazon suggested using Bar Keeper's Friend for cleaning the pots and pans.
When I used to have copper bottom Revere Ware, I used to buy a product called Kleen King.
http://www.faultless.com/kleenking.asp
It's billed as being good for both copper and steel, but I found it did a better job with copper and was not so good at removing "rainbow" stains on steel. After giving away the Revere Ware (purcahsed circa 1984) in 2001, I bought whatever I found in the market: Bon Ami, Dutch Cleanser, Comet, Ajax, what have you.
In response to all the positive reviews of Bar Keeper's Friend, I ordered some in conjunction with a new piece of Cuisinart cookware (I'm out of storage room so it's the last piece!!). Just used it on some "rainbowed" skillet and pans, and it really is amazing. Cleans them to like-new, after years of using other powders that didn't really work and sometimes resorting to scouring pads. Of course, citric acid worked too, but rather cumbersome vs. Bar Keeper's Friend.
I don't know what's in it, but I wonder if it includes some sort of acid that helps dissolve mineral deposits. On the company website it says something about a rhubarb derivative being one of the ingredients, so maybe there really is some acid in it. All I know is that even the oldest pieces in the collection, c. 2001-2, sparkle like they're new again.
Some of you may be wondering why I gave away my Revere Ware. Well, a lot of the pieces had warped over time---remember this was an $80 set of cookware, and the copper was a pain to clean. But the main reason was that I upgraded to a new gas convection range in 2001, a Frigidaire with SpeedBake and a high output burner (12 or 14K btu, I believe). The hotter flame starting sending sparks from the bottoms of my pans! It was embedded carbon that was suddenly spitting out due to the higher heat. Worse, the specks were landing on the white porcelain top and were almost impossible to remove, it looked like someone sprinkled pepper over the cooktop. An acquaintance who is a professional chef said to get something with a steel bottom to avoid the sparking.
I took a $100 Amazon gift certificate and bought a ten piece set for about $115. This was then known as Everyday Stainless. It had a thin steel-copper-steel sandwich welded to the bottom of each piece. Not All Clad by any means, but it looked good and cooks well with good heat distribution. Today, Cuisinart's Chef series uses a much thicker steel-aluminum-steel sandwich on the bottom, and all handles are riveted (mine are welded...).
I have a few of the newer Chef's series pieces (saute pan, wok, everyday pan) to fill out the original Everyday Stainless set. This allowed me to retire several nonstick pans (wok, sautee) which scared me because of the tendency of the coating to flake off into one's food. The Chef's series has been rated as highly as All Clad (in terms of how well it cooks and cleans up) by several major cooking publications; a new set costs about $150 for 12 pieces (not cheap but way less than All Clad). Their All Clad knockoff series (Pro) costs about $300 for 12 pieces. [this post was last edited: 1/16/2011-20:31]
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Bar Keepers Friend cleaning products tackle rust, mineral deposits, baked-on food, and other stains with gentle, bleach-free formulations.
