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I left my darling a snack in a Revereware pan. All he had to do was heat it up. I came home to a pan that is as burnt as any I have ever had. Now he has said that he will take me shopping for a new one tomorrow. I want Calphlon but I would still like to rescue this guy. It's a good size. Any ideas?

These have worked for me:

Fill the pan with hot water to the height of the damage and add about a cup of Cascade or equivalent dishwasher detergent (powder kind). Stir and let it soak overnight and then scrub. Repeat if necessary.

If the pan is not a non-stick pan, fill it with water to the height of the damage, bring to a boil on stove and start scraping the with a metal cake turner or spoon or something else that will do the job while it is on the burner. Be careful not to burn yourself, though.

Lastly, fill the pan with hot water to the damage height and add a couple of laundry softener sheets and let soak overnight.

Hope one of these will work for you.

I find Bar Keepers Friend invaluable. If it is stainless steel use It and a scotch brite , green scrubber and scrub it to death. Elbow grease works wonders. I sympathize totally. Many years ago I was sterilizing pacifiers in a Revereware pan and fell asleep. They melted and burned onto the pan. Believe it or not I was able to get it clean with tons of work.

These both sound like good suggestions. Bar Keeper's Friend is amazing. As Pam said, it might take some elbow grease but should help. You may have to repeat the process more than once or twice.

Thanks everyone. I had remembered that we've had this discussion before but couldn't find it when I did a search. This pan is so old that it predates nonstick. I'll try the cascade method and then the others if that doesn't work. I was going to hand him a brillo pad and then finish it myself with Barkeepers friend. I was looking for something a little less labor intensive though. Will let you know the results.

Try vinegar and water or vinegar, baking soda and water. Fill pan, bring to boil, turn down to simmer for about 15 minutes. Much of the burnt pieces will lift right off, the rest should be easier to scrub off.

Never let it be said that all of you are not fantastic! I filled the pan with water and added a healthy dose of Cascade. Two days later everything just practically floated off. No effort at all. Thanks. However I still plan to get my replacement along with a few others. Best act fast while he is still in a remorseful mood.

If the Cascade doesn't work, try either Dawn Power Dissolver or Easy Off oven cleaner. Don't get it on anything other than the stainless part of the pan. Put it in a garbage bag so it won't dry out and let it sit for a few hours. Rinse it off and see what comes off. It may need to be repeated a couple of times. Revere stainless cleaner (just smear it on and let it sit for an hour, don't scrub) works to remove any discoloration. I used it on an All Clad that had burned. It was sort of a brassy color and the Revere took it back to the stainless color. It has to sit on the pan for an hour, it won't work right away like the jar says.

Leni

I told you about the time I delaminated the bottom of my favorite Farberware 3 qt saucepan. I paid "big bucks" for a 3 qt All Clad replacement. What a bogus product! Wrong shape, and a "rest on top" lid that would not hold steam for rice. I finally bought a new farberware pan, and was in instant piggy heaven. Be sure whatever you do is a true replacement, not just something new. I do use the All Clad occasionally, usually to do potatoes, or simmer vegetables.

I bought a Calphalon 1 1/2 quart pan to replace the Revere Ware. I have other Calphalon pieces and since most of Melinda's cookware is the same brand, I feel relatively safe with this choice. I know what you mean though. It happened to me once before. I swore that from then on I would only buy quality cookware.

I went to the Calphalon website and this piece is posted at $125. Went to William Sonoma and bought it for $66 including shipping and handling. The base price is $49.99 so the shipping was a little steep but I've gotten to where I hate to go to malls.

When my stainless steel saucepans have burnt badly I used "easy off" the oven spray.. It comes out like new...