EASY-ish Le Creuset Cleaning | Work Smart, Not Hard

How should you clean your Le Creuset pots and pans? Did you burn dinner? The Hot Sorcerer shows us how to clean our enameled cast iron dutch ovens and braisers with as minimal effort as needed.

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0:00 Basic Cleaning
1:27 Burnt

#dutchoven #castiron #lecreuset

[ruphusii]

From memory, there's a couple of processes that are potentially happening here from a chemistry perspective:
1. The Sodium hydrogen carbonate (bicarb soda) is decomposing into carbon dioxide (the gas bubbles) and sodium hydroxide at the surface of the pan. -I would expect that the carbon dioxide bubbles start lifting some of the burnt on stuff
2. The sodium hydroxide is allowing saponification reactions to occur, which will start to react with the burnt stuff at the bottom, making it a bit more soluble.
3. The sodium ions may be reacting with some of the large organic molecules to solubilise them.

I would expect all three processes to be occurring (plus probably a few that I haven't remembered)

[sunnyscott]

Found a slightly discolored Le Cresuet Dutch Oven in the Goodwill store for $7 today. I giggled like a little girl.

[nanny]

Thank you! I was just on another video that was almost 30 minutes long and he was going through what seemed like all of the wrong things to do and you come on in four minutes with baking soda and succeed-brilliant!

[aryckrussell]

What happens is when the baking soda mixes with the water and boils, it activates a million little cleaning ladies that spray fabuloso on the micro particles and wipes them down with an old sock with holes

[ryancarter]

We forgot to turn off a burner underneath a big pot of braised cabbage goulash, for about a half-hour. The resulting carbon layer on the bottom of the pot was thick enough to protect a space shuttle during re-entry. I tried soaking it in vinegar for a couple of days with the lid on, which only served to harm the un-enameled surfaces where the lid fits to the pot. I still couldn't put a dent in the 1/16" layer of carbon. I honestly believed we'd just have to take my Le Creuset 7 quart out for some target shooting to get any more use out of it. As a last ditch-effort I tried this process, and it's working. During the first boil, I took off all carbon built up on the walls of the pot and about half of the carbon on the bottom. I am boiling it again now to get the rest.

[catw]

Have used baking soda for years and used on stainless too with nasty burns. sprinkle a thick layer over the bottom, add enough water to make a little bit more that a paste and let sit overnight. Just wipes away. You do not need to scrub hard or risk even micro scratches to your pans that way. Key is time. Leave overnight.

[tdalaska]

Thanks for the upload - well done!
The trick Le Creuset recommended with the baking soda+boiling water can be rectified before you remove the pot/pan from the burner by simply adding water and some dish detergent or baking soda without removing the burned contents and letting it simmer for about 8-10 minutes. No special tools needed.

[raineysmith]

I've done the boiling water thingie -- I think I used salt though. What I do now is soak overnight in really hot water and denture tablets designed to be kind to the enamel on teeth. I still generally have to do a bit of scrubbing with a nylon pad but the gunk is softened up to come right off.

[chrisj]

Sir, you have a talent for keeping the audience engaged. Thanks, this was a very helpful tutorial.

[chickbornheim]

You can also boil some water in the pan, add some citric acid (the kind they use for canning), turn the heat down, and let it simmer. The crud will wipe off with a sponge or rag on a stick.

[evelynsaungikar]

I bought a stainless steel skillet at the thrift. It had a similar black coating inside and on the bottom. I soaked a paper towel in ammonia, put it in the pan, put the pan in a plastic bag tied shut and left it overnight. The next day, the crud just peeled off in a sheet.

[srpacific]

I just clean it soon as possible after using it, and once or twice a year just clean it with the official le creuset cleaning cream. It’s slightly abrasive but not enough to ruin the finish, and it comes up brand new every time. I use my pot to braise beef, make bolognese, etc etc

[dereksalley]

The newest version of Le Creuset's own cleaning/polishing liquid is the single best way to do this. I am not advertising. I have an extensive collection that I've had for 20+ years and just picked up their newest cleaner. It is hands down better than the last version of their cleaner they sold, and I'm loving it: it brings a pots shine back like new, as it is a dual action product. I'd pass on the all the hacks and just use their brush, a flat tipped wooden spatula for nightmarish glued on stuff that needs scraping, and their cleaner/polisher.

[kestag]

I use dishwasher powder or tablet and boil it. Works really good with little to no scrubbing

[austincromwell]

When you add baking soda (sodium hydrogen carbonate) to boiling water, a chemical reaction causes it to give off CO2 and water, leaving sodium carbonate (washing soda) which is a stronger alkali and good at dissolving fat. The bubbles you saw after adding the baking soda are the reason it's used in baking since the formation of tiny bubbles of CO2 are what makes pancakes etc. rise.

[nancy]

My Le Creuset dutch oven is about 30 years old. I've really discolored the inside of it. I tried soaking it in vinegar and leaving bleach in it overnight! (I know. That might've been a mistake, but I thought it might help with the discoloration.) I'll try doing it this way. Do you recommend using oven cleaner at all?

[GC]

Just sharing: Don’t leave the pot unattended when it boils.... because the boiling reaction it will spill over and the mess is unbeilable... It happened to me.... The pot still burned, not much but still burned... :-( However, there is alway good news: After the mess, the baking soda got cold ... when I removed, it cleaned the top of my stove :-) two in one! GREAT!

[jaimesk]

What looks like carbon is partly carbonized epoxy (the oils are cross-linked)...As mentioned, sodium hydroxide is the key, but it attacks more directly than just saponification: it breaks the epoxified cross-links. Simmering with baking soda is low-strength, directly with sodium hydroxide (lye) is hi-powered (and more hazardous), and the ammonia/water mentioned does a similar thing, but mid-powered....it attacks the epoxy links as well. Oven cleaner is jellied lye goo. You don't need heat if you give time with lye.

[debbiekalynuk]

Only other thing I would recommend is doing the boiling of water and baking soda with the blue dish cleaner as soon as you cleared the pot of the burnt material. Put in on low heat and leave it for a couple of hours. Works everytime for me on all types of pots - enamel or stainless steel.

[Lousialee-hmgu]

A very useful video, thanks. It seems to be similar to what I had to do with a badly burned stainless steel pan but using salt and water. As it boiled you could watch the chunks of carbon lifting up in clouds of bubbles. Simple remedies are a real saviour!