...and other essential tips for using, cleaning and caring for your pots and pans.
Here SCANPAN's product experts give you the best tips for using, cleaning and caring for your kitchen equipment.
"Don't use washing-up detergent on non-stick pots and pans"
On the contrary! You should always wash kitchen equipment with non-stick coating by hand with hot water and normal washing-up detergent.
In fact, it's extremely important to use washing-up detergent so that you remove all the food residue from the non-stick surface and so that your pot or pan is completely clean before you put it away. If you don't remove all the food residue, including oil and other fats, you'll find that the non-stick effect deteriorates over time.
But with this myth now dead and buried, let's move on...
Sorry. We know that it's much nicer to relax on the sofa and let the dishwasher do the dishes. Or perhaps you've got other things to deal with; kids to get to bed, packed lunches to make....
But if you want to care for your non-stick kitchen equipment in the best way possible, don't put it in the dishwasher. The many salts and chemicals in dishwasher detergents will corrode the non-stick coating, which will gradually deteriorate the more times you put it in the machine.
If food has burnt onto the bottom of your pot or pan (maybe because of overheating, see more below), here's what to do:
Fill the product 3/4 full with water, bring the water to the boil on a medium heat, add washing-up detergent and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Then clean the pot or pan as normal - see above. Repeat the process if necessary.
Rapid changes in temperature is one of your kitchen equipment's worst enemies and can damage any pot or pan, with or without non-stick coating. Kitchen equipment made of steel is particularly vulnerable. The metal can warp and become uneven. Just think of the cracking noise a steel sink makes when you pour boiling water on it – the same principle applies here.