Do you have a few pieces of favorite enamel cookware? Perhaps a Le Creuset Dutch oven, that if you were fortunate was passed down to you. Or if you weren’t that fortunate, you paid a fortune for.
There are a lot of benefits when it comes to owning and using this type of cookware.
Sure, plain old cast iron is an awesome cookware choice, but it does come with some significant disadvantages—disadvantages that are addressed when you move up to enamel-covered cast iron. But the very step that addresses the disadvantage of pure cast iron also introduces another.
One of the biggest issues of cast iron is that it can rust.
So you are always babying your cookware. You need to season them regularly in order to avoid that—because no one wants to be cooking in a rusty skillet or pot.
For tips on seasoning bare cast iron, check out these tips from TheKitchn.
Enter the enamel coating, and you no longer have to worry about rusting or seasoning.
But you do need to concern yourself with the enamel coating eventually staining and discoloring, taking away some of the beauty of your very expensive cookware.
Here are some tips from Alice’s Kitchen that will restore your enamel cookware to the original beauty.
Scrub it.
Just like you would with any of your pots and pans, you’ll need to scrub your enamel too. However, where you might use something abrasive like steel wool on other cookware, you must not do that here. You want to use something gentle, perhaps one of those sponges with the scratching nylon pad on one side.
If you have food that is burnt on and really difficult to scrub off, consider using a wooden spoon to scrape off residue, as it won’t scratch.
Baking soda.
Is there anything you can’t clean with this kitchen staple?
First, try adding some baking soda to the pot after filling it with water and heating it. Try about a tablespoon, but you might need more depending on the size of your pot. Now just let it sit. Sitting time may vary from 1 to 24 hours, depending on how bad the stains are.
If that doesn’t work, you can make a thick paste using baking soda and a bit of water. Then spread the paste over your pot and begin rubbing it with a cloth. You can also add a little coarse salt to the mix to make it more abrasive.
Commercial abrasive cleansers.
You can decide to buy a cleanser instead of making one like above, but a word of caution. Make sure you choose one that won’t damage your cookware.
Laundry detergent.
Just like there are times when dish soap is the best thing to get grease out of clothes, laundry detergent may have a place in your kitchen.
You’ll first need to scrape off any food residue. Then fill the pot water and bring it to a boil. Then add a tablespoon of liquid laundry detergent. Let it boil for a few minutes, then turn off the heat and let it slowly cool. After this step, wash as usual, and hopefully, your pot will look like new again.
Lemon juice and salt.
Like baking soda, lemon is another magical cleaner. Try adding some lemon juice to water and bring it to a boil in your pot. This should help loosen up any stains.
For tougher stains, try this. Cover the area with coarse salt first, then cut a lemon and squeeze the juice onto the salt. This will create a paste, which you then scrub with a cloth.
Enamel cookware is expensive and a joy to cook in. Hopefully, these tips will also help keep it beautiful.
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