Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is the direction we went. I mean, you know you are gonna burn it again. er, I mean me. The wife does like her new pot tho.
Yup! In a pot, you're always going to burn it again.
Once in a while, I've been tempted by one of those whirly-pop things because they're so cool looking. Then I remember, oh yeah - it's still gonna burn once in a while.
I used to have a hot air popper that I loved but the last one I bought didn't work well at all so I decided to try a different approach. But yes, if I was making stovetop popcorn, I'd just get a pot for that so I didn't have to worry about the burns on it because I think they are kind of inevitable.
But I also agree with jacqueg that the age of your popcorn plays a role, and it won't pop well if it gets old and dried out. It's the moisture inside the corn that makes it pop as it heats up.
Fill 3/4 of the pot with water, add a about 1/4-teaspoon of dish soap, and set it to a fast boil for a long time. Before the water evaporates, take the pot sink and scrub it with Brillo pads, or with 3M green pads. Repeat the process if necessary. Once the pot is clean, go to the store and buy a pre-seasoned cast iron pot and use that for making popcorn if you like.
I happen to have some Barkeeper's Friend. It never occurred to me to use that inside a pot. I'll read the label and see if there's a warning about pot interior use, or use on stainless steel.
Thanks!
I work off and on at Williams-Sonoma and we sell Barkeeper's Friend for cleaning all those expensive pots and pans.
I put a few drops of dishwasher detergent in the pot with enough hot water to cover the crud, cover it and let it sit a day or two until I can scrape the pan clean with a rubber/plastic spatula
I have ruined a few pots in my day & all the above methods have worked sometimes & not others. I've found that stainless pots with the thick, heavy bottom can be remedied easier, for whatever reason... perhaps a better grade of steel?
The last time, when nothing worked, my last ditch attempt was to spray Easy Off oven cleaner into the pot, let it sit overnight & it worked. I've also ruined a couple past the point of no return. Don't know if you have time or if this is feasible, but my mum once put a ruined pot outside in the rain & just left it for weeks. Eventually, the blackened bottom peeled off & it could be used again.
This is a Heloise tip that I learned back in Home Ec class. Trust me, us students were notorious for burning stuff til we mastered the appliances.
Use: red tomato sauce, Heat slowly...It will pull the crud and also make the stainless steel sparkle!
You may need to use a few scrapes with a spatula ( metal version), but it does a marvelous job!
Barkeepers Friend. You can purchase it any any grocery store in the cleaning section, and it costs less than $5.00.
Sprinkle it on, moisten but do not wet. Ideally you want it to be a bit paste-like. Let it sit, scrub off with an abrasive sponge and your pot will look like new.
For really tough, thick oil that has polymerized on the surface you might have to do it a couple of times.
^^^^^^ this!!!!! Use as described! Absolutely the best! Also easiest to use.
Cost ~$3
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The wife does like her new pot tho.
