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Help! What happened to my All-Clad pan?

14K views 28 replies 13 participants last post by  full sack 
#1 ·
I bought my first All-Clad pan a few weeks ago and after it got a bit gunky from cooking, I dusted on some Barkeeper's Friend with some water and let it sit. (I know this wasn't exactly as per the instructions.) When I tried to wash it off, a white residue would not come off! I tried scrubbing it and even boiling some water in the pan, but nothing is working. I'm attaching a photo. What did I do!?

 
#2 ·
dusted on some Barkeeper's Friend with some water and let it sit. (I know this wasn't exactly as per the instructions.)
Instead try to get the pan dry or almost dry, dust a couple Tbspn Barkeeper's Friend, and, if the pan was completely dry, just a tiny amount of water (1 teaspoon perhaps) and start scrubbing with a blue pad. Be patient and keep scrubbing right on the area that has the marks.
 
#4 ·
I have had allclad for more years then I can remember. Haven't seen that yet. I personally think a good seasoning would do the trick, it looked like a sauté pan. right? I don't think you want to make the clad more pourus
 
#7 · (Edited)
Perhaps you can inspect it with a high power magnifying glass. It is possible that is not residue. That may be corrosion.

There is no such metal as "stainless" They are all just stain resistant in varying degrees.

Corrosion can be caused by chemicals, or in this case it is possible, if indeed that is corrosion, that was caused by galvanic action by two dissimilar metals in an electrolytic solution. For instance if you leave a spoon of a different metal (or alloy) in the liquid long enough, pitting can occur.

You may have to use a fine grit sandpaper to remove the blotches.

dcarch
 
#9 · (Edited)
#10 ·
If it is a weird stain of some kind, try my simmered dishwasher detergent recipe - 1/4" water, tsp of D/W detergent, simmer for a few minutes WITH VENT FAN ON HIGH.  That has taken out any stain that I have so far achieved, some of them pretty impressive.

If it's minor corrosion, do you guys think a fine automotive rubbing compound might work it out? With a lot of elbow grease.  If that works, then season it.

Mike
 
#11 ·
I'm curious, I have had, I believe the mc2 for years. The skillet never had the bottom as the regular pan. Do ya'll keep you sauté pans

bright and shiny? I have 2 that are well seasoned and never had a problem unless I tried to clean them. Sticking.

After use a little salt and re oil. Not nice to look at but work great. just saying
 
#13 ·
If it's minor corrosion, do you guys think a fine automotive rubbing compound might work it out? With a lot of elbow grease. If that works, then season it.

Mike
actually Mike, rubbing compound is a great idea. You can also use Glass-ceramic cooktop cleaning cream; it's basically food grade rubbing compound. Very useful to remove many stains on glass and steel.

Luc H.
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
Girls are raised differently than boys, so this isn't sexist to say, but an observation on the results of sexism: Men tend to go with functionality over appearance. Women will think the pan needs cleaning, matching handles, etc. The pan you show us now is slightly more protected from salt erosion, and should perform more along the lines of a non-stick pan.
Seasoning is desirable on cast-iron cookware and carbon steel cookware, because otherwise they are very sticky to foods and rust-prone. It is generally not desired on other types of cookware either for cosmetic reasons or because the chemical composition of the pan already results in a non-stick surface.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasoning_(cookware)

'cosmetic reasons'
 
#21 ·
Definitely not "normal". My 10 year old stainless steel pans don't look shiny and new, and they have a bit of gunk attached around the rivets that hold the handle - but they don't look anything like yours: they don't have tiny spots or huge marks. I chose not to season them. 

I think you should ask yourself a question: do you intend to season your pan or not? 

Yes? Then this doesn't look like a proper seasoning. Research seasoning and do it right. 

No? Then you shouldn't have burnt oil like that spotting the bottom of your pan. 

You can clean that pan with a nylon pad, some BKF, and a lot of patience. I've done it before. Just make sure you have plenty of time. 
 
#22 · (Edited)
I didn't "intend" to season it. I made fajitas by tossing some peppers and onions in olive oil, and then pan-searing a chicken breast. My burner was at about 50% heat with the vegetables, and on low with the chicken. What should I have done instead?

Also, what is the disadvantage to seasoning them?
 
#23 · (Edited)
I didn't "intend" to season it. I made fajitas by tossing some peppers and onions in olive oil, and then pan-searing a chicken breast. My burner was at about 50% heat with the vegetables, and on low with the chicken. What should I have done instead?

Also, what is the disadvantage to seasoning them?
You probably should have washed it out or at least wiped it out between the fajitas and chicken breast. Bio sourced oils polymerize or harden from heat and time. The results you got were as if you seasoned with too much oil.

Disadvantage to seasoning is how meat will sear, how you wash or care for it, and how flavors can carry over.
 
#24 ·
Hrmm. I'm not sure that wiping it out would have gotten much of the gunk out. And I can't wash a hot pan. I suppose I'm a bit confused about how people cook on All-Clads without constantly ruining them by accidentally seasoning them improperly. Doesn't this happen every time you use oil?
 
#25 · (Edited)
I made fajitas by tossing some peppers and onions in olive oil, and then pan-searing a chicken breast. My burner was at about 50% heat with the vegetables, and on low with the chicken. What should I have done instead?
I've had this issue before (and I had to use a lot of patience to get my pan back to what I call a normal state). Here's what I learned from my own experience: heating the pan even on low or mid heat for extended period with the presence of a thin film of oil at the bottom of the pan and no food on top of that oil = you're creating those "seasoning" kind of marks.

So maybe after you tossed the peppers and onions, there was a nice film of oil on the entire surface of the pan, then when you put the chicken breast on, you developed marks where there was no chicken?

I haven't had that issue again in years, taking the following precautions:

- only pour a little oil where you're going to place your item(s), making sure you don't have oil covering empty areas of the pan.

- if you have oil all over your pan you should have items all over your pan.

- if you've used the pan for peppers/onions, resulting in oil all over your pan, and only want to cook a chicken breast that's going to occupy half the pan, then wiping the pan isn't enough, you need to wash the pan, put less oil, only enough to cover about half the pan, and place the chicken on top of the small oil patch.

- it is preferable to use the right size pan for the job, so if your chicken breast will only occupy 1/2 the surface of your pan, then you really should be using a smaller pan.

- the small dots on the side walls of your pan are, I believe, projections that occurred when placing an item in a pan with oil that was too hot, then those oil dots cooked onto the surface of the stainless steel, much like seasoning again.
 
#26 ·
I've had this issue before
Thanks. That was helpful. At this point I only have one stainless pan; it's my first. I'll try to be more careful in the future. Maybe I'll brush the chicken with oil directly, rather than put the oil in the pan. I'm still not sure how to clean a pan that is hot; I know that pouring water into it can warp the pan.
 
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