Tips to clean cookware

Daily cookware that we use for serving or eating must be clean and presentable. Any unwanted marks that settles on surface or inside the vessels including dried water marks make them look not so clean. Cleaning cooking vessels can be hard. Moreover, some cookware and vessels need extra effort and attention to clean. There are easy and quick methods to clean vessels using regular ingredients readily available in the house.

1. To remove scorched milk: To get rid of the scorched milk smell from the steel vessel, add water to vessel and sprinkle little salt. Let salt sit for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes wash the vessel using dish soap as you usually do.
2. Care for cast iron: Seasoning the cast iron is a traditional method. This improves the texture and makes cooking easy with cast iron. To season the cast iron, apply vegetable oil inside the cast iron tava or skillet. Leave it for a day or two and wash. Once a while or every wash you can repeat this to keep the cast iron in good shape for long term use. Do not soak the cast iron in soap water as soap can seep through the porous surface of iron, spoiling the texture of the cast iron and this will destroy your recipe and cooking. Instead of soap, use salt and borax to clean cast iron after cooking.
3. Baking pans, pie pans cleaning: Sometimes rust stain can destroy pans. To get rid of rust stain, cut a potato in half, dip in a mixture of dish soap, baking soda and little bleach and rub the rust stain using the potato followed by a wash with water.
4. Nonstick cookware: Do not use abrasive pads to clean nonstick cookware. Instead, use soft sponge, dish soap and warm water.
5. To clean burnt pot or vessel: Do not take trouble to scrub the burnt vessel as it is. Instead, fill little water, add few drops of vinegar, one spoon baking soda and keep the vessel on medium heat. After a boil turn the heat off. Use dish soap and wash the vessel.
6. To clean copper vessels:

*Tamarind and salt: Apply tamarind and salt evenly on the surface, scrub and leave it for couple of minutes followed by a wash using dish soap.

*Use salt and vinegar: Mix a cup of vinegar and three tablespoon salt. Transfer it to spray bottle. Spray evenly on the vessel, allow it to sit for few minutes. Scrub and wash using water.

*Tomato sauce: Apply tomato sauce and scrub the copper vessel. Leave it for few minutes. Wash using dish soap and rinse in water.

*Lemon and salt: Mix salt and lemon juice to prepare paste. Apply the paste on copper vessel. Let it sit for few minutes. Scrub wash with dish soap and rinse with water. You can also use lemon half and salt. Scrub the salt and lemon half on the surface, leave it for few minutes and wash using dish soap and water.

• Silver vessels:Use tamarind and salt, lemon and salt, tomato sauce to clean silver vessel just like the copper vessel cleaning tips described above. After washing, dry silver vessels. Using a clean cloth wipe again to make sure no water or moisture left behind in silver vessels. Wrap them in paper and transfer to airtight plastic bags (big Ziploc will do too). This prevents oxidation of silver metal and retains the shiny look.