We definitely need a bit of oil to cook many dishes despite the advent of non-stick cookware. Oil enables us to brown and caramelize foods like onions to create a deliciously rich, umami flavor.
It also helps to roast spices to bring out their taste and aroma, and what would potato chips be without oil?
However, oil can be unpleasant and sometimes difficult to remove from pots and pans, especially if it has become sticky. It can be a stubborn problem to remove.
When cooking with oil over high heat, a sticky layer often forms that is almost impossible to remove. This residue results from heating oil above its smoke point.
Its triglycerides then decompose into free fatty acids, which form a type of resin that will not dissolve in water.
Today we are going to give you 4 tried and tested tips for getting that sticky oil off your pans easily and painlessly.
To rehabilitate your pans, it is best to let them stand overnight with your treatment of choice. We include baking soda, vinegar, dishwashing detergent, and more.
These products all contain compounds that dissolve the resin and enable them to come unstuck from the pan’s surface.
Before trying our tips, clean up as much of the oil as possible. Never throw used cooking oil or fat down your sink, as it can block your drain. Instead, pour the oil into a disposable container with a lid and throw it out with the garbage.
Next, remove as much of the oil and debris as possible with a sponge and hot sudsy water. If you still have sticky oil on your pans, move ahead with our four tips.
How to Get Sticky Oil Off Pans
1. Vinegar
White vinegar is an excellent remedy to help you remove the oil from your cookware. Pour some undiluted vinegar into the cold pan and allow it to sit for an hour or so or overnight if you have time.
This is best for pans where you have some oil sticking to the bottom only since you would need a large amount of vinegar to do this in a deep pan.
After the sitting time, wash the pan with hot soapy water and a soft scouring pad. This should be enough to remove most sticky oil residues from shallow pans.
2. Boil Some Water
Another thing that you can try out is to boil some water in the pan. The heat, along with boiling water, should be enough to loosen the oil.
So, what you will need to do is fill the pan with water and then boil it on the stove for about ten minutes. Once the pan is cool enough to handle, go ahead and add liquid detergent.
Use a sponge scourer to wash the pan and hopefully remove all stickiness.
3. Baking Soda
Baking soda has so many applications in the kitchen, and here’s another. Simply make a thick paste of baking soda and water and spread this over your pan.
Leave it overnight to help loosen and dissolve the sticky oil residue. In the morning, take a sponge scourer and hot soapy water and clean the last of the oil off.
4. Dishwash Powder
If the previous two tips don’t work, you may have to bring out the big guns. Please note that you shouldn’t use this method on pans with a non-stick coating, as it will be damaged.
This method is powerful but works best for metal or glass baking dishes.
Take ordinary dishwasher machine detergent powder and sprinkle it over the sticky, oily places. Add a little water and leave it to sit for an hour or so.
The residual oil should wipe off easily with a sponge pad. We recommend using gloves when you do this, as the powder is quite harshly alkaline.
Conclusion
While all four methods will effectively loosen most of the burnt-on sticky fats, to get the last stubborn residual bits off, you will need some type of scouring powder.
We highly recommend Bar Keeper’s Friend for this purpose.