We bought new pots and pans....?

Question

These are the ones we bought http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-2593486-4237403?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1HM7SGT07IT1Z&asin=B000HM4ONK&colid=1AYMZKTZQT87K&bckreg=cw

My husband cooked on them for the first time today. He cooked ham and eggs. The ham got burnt on the pan. Its all black on the bottom now and wont come off. Why did this happen, are they not that good? And does anyone know of anything that will make the black come off?

Answer 1

Stainless is beautiful to look at, but it can let food stick. Always use plenty of oil, cooking spray or butter to make sure the food can slip around easily, and don't use high heat, only up to medium.



I'd only use steel wool soap pads or powdered cleanser as a last resort. Try putting enough water in the pan to cover the discoloration, then put it on medium heat to simmer, add about a quarter cup of baking soda, stir in, turn off heat, let soak at least an hour, or overnight. In the morning, the black should be soft and scrub out easily with normal washing. If that doesn't take it completely away, Bartender's Friend or a steel wool soap pad must be resorted to.



If they do this every time you use them, I'd take them back to the store you got them from.

Answer 2

Try putting some water in the bottom of the pan, and slicing a fresh lemon in half or quarters. Boil the lemon with the water for a few minutes and then let stand. After it soaks a bit, the lemon may help get that blackness off.



After you wash the pan, take a dishrag or a paper towel and polish the inside cooking surface with some vegetable oil to begin 'seasoning' the pan. You should really do this with all of them. It will help the surface become less sticky. Before you cook on them, every time, take a paper towel and rub/polish the entire inside of the pan with vegetable oil. You will still need to add oil if you are cooking with oil, but it will make a huge difference in how easy it is to clean and cook in the pans. Once you have used them a few times with this technique, they will be better.



Another hint- don't put them in the dishwasher. Wash with a mild dish soap and rub with oil before using.



For making eggs and other things like that, I have a really nice copper bottom stainless pan that is non-stick coated on the inside - makes life easier and also allows you to cook without additional oils or fats. I got it at Macy's. The brand was Belgique, but I think now it's under the 'Tools of the Trade' line.

Answer 3

Given the brand name and the price it should be a halfway decent set of cookware however most brands have a range of quality levels. That being said without actually seeing them and feeling the "weight" it's hard to say what the actual quality is.



It sounds like your husband cooked the with way to high a heat or didn't use any oil/fat when cooking. These don't appear to be non-stick so cooking something like ham and eggs will require some fat in the pan to decrease the risk of food sticking to the pan.



Best recommendation is soak the pan in very hot soapy water and invest some elbow grease and a ScotchBrite pad to clean the pan. The pan will probably always remain discolored but if you get the charred material off the discoloration will not affect the cooking performance.

Answer 4

Try hard anodized pans, they do not flake the way teflon does. compare prices to see if open stock(pieces alone rather than a set) or a set work better for you. For example if a set comes with a dutch oven and you rarely make that much food then you are wasting money buying that set. I would recomend a 1qt., 2 qt.,sautuse or open skillet to start. These will get you through everyday. If you fry eggs or pancakes get a griddle. Cast Iron is good for browning meats. Good brands are Cuisinart and Calphlon or Revereware. Pans are often an investment, you often get what you pay for but they can last many years if well taken care of.

Answer 5

The ham stuck because stainless steels pans STICK. Even $1000 stainless pans stick. They are supposed to stick. Meats are high in protein and protein sticks. So will eggs.



To cook in stainless, you must a)preheat the pan on low-medium b)add oil/butter c)never put cold food into the pan, it must be room temperature



Calphalon is a VERY good cookware company and these pots and pans are VERY good pots and pans. It just seems to me that non-stick pans are more your style. Return them to Target and trade them in for nonstick Calphalon.



When there is burnt on food inside the pan, take the food out but leave the pan on the hot eye of the stove, then add a cup of water to the pan, it will "deglaze" the black right out of the pan. Then you can simply pour it into the sink and wipe clean with a towel.



Cooking on Stainless is a learned thing. It's a whole different process. It has a learning curve for sure. There is nothing wrong with your pans, but you may want nonstick anyway...

Answer 6

I checked out the ones you purchased the Calphalon, my husband purchased these pans also for me for xmas.

Well I had the same problem that you are having, what a disappointment for me, when you pay that much and have where the pans looked terrible after using.

I contacted and talked to a service rep from Calphalon and they told me that you have to follow all the instructions closely: preheating the pan over low heat, add the butter and oil, then put the food in that is at room temp. Make sure you clean the pans with warm soapy water and if food sticks use brillo pads and rinse pans throughly. I have followed all the instructions and still food sticks to the pans, and I have discloration in the insides no matter what I do. I have stated this to the rep, and she told me if I thought the pans were defective that I should return the pots to them, which of course I would have to pay postage, and god only knows if I would ever see those pots again. The end result from me to the rep was that I would never recommend Calphalon to anyone in the future.



Bottom line, if you can put them back in the box and return to Target telling Target that they do not work, let Target send them back. Or be prepared to scrub them with Brillo pads everytime you cook. I even made instant rice, brought the water to boiling took pan off burner, put rice in, and the rice stuck to the bottom and had discolored the bottom of the pan. HMM

Answer 7

The pans are okay quality and need to be handled with some care. For starters I didn't like the description in the ad..."stainless steel interior for even heat distribution." Stainless steel isn't a very good conductor of heat, let alone "even." When you use them, heat them at a med-high heat for about 2-3 min. or so, then add your oil, it should shimmer. This will cause the metal to expand and the oil will seal the tiny invisible scratches to make it "non-stick." Of course it's not true non-stick but about 90% there....stay away from Teflon!!!! Adding the oil before heating the pan will cause food to stick to it. Hope this helped out.

Answer 8

Stainless steel as probly said above, is a horrible conductor of heat. It also is easily stained, and food sticks to it. The price of pots and pans does not always reflect upon the quality of what you bought.



Typically you want to use pans that are good conductors of heat, and can take a little bit of punishment with out breaking on you. My suggestions are as folllows:



Copper is beautiful, a great conductor, and can kill you. So unless you have alot of time to clean your pots and pans, stay away from all copper. They are also expensive.



Aluminum is a great conductor but very weak, they bend and contort, and they generally are tephlon coated which will burn off on high heat, and release noxious gases. Stay away, beware they are cheap, and yet again can kill you if improperly used.



Carbon Steel Alloy, very good for duribility, horrible conductor, doesnt heat evenly. Stay away, these are typically those nice expensive pretty looking sets, that will stain, burn, and not cook your food properly.



Now days they make a mixture of metals, that is copper aluminum, and carbon steel that brings the best of all 3 together. They work wonderful, due to the copper and aluminum acting as the conductors, and the steel as the strength. But they can be rather expensive as well. Well worth it though.



My suggestion? Look for a resturant going out of business, buy their pots and pans. Chances are there is a resturant going out of business, and they need to get rid of their stuff. You can pick up high quality gear, rather cheap. There are also resturant stores open to the public that sell these pans as well. While they may not be the best looking pots and pans, they most certainly are the most durable, and useful ones.



I also stay away from anything that has a "Comfort Grip". These generally can not be transfered to the oven from the stove top due to the plastic, or rubber grips. Always look for metal handles, which allows easy access to the oven, stove top, etc. Get use to using towels or ovenmits. Trust me these are well worth the money spent.



Hope that is helpful!

Answer 9

Most likely too much heat. I have found that, other than boiling water, you don't want to go about about 2/3 full heat. (May vary from one burner to the next, but high is definitely too high).



Here are a couple tricks that I find work well:



Fill pan with about an inch of water and heat to a soft boil, then use a spatula to scrape the bottom.



a steel pad, and a cleaner called 'bartender's friend" works very well.

Answer 10

This comes from a former chef. The pans you are using are quirky. You shouldn't cook anything on high with these pans. 3/4 heat is as high as I would go. As for the stain. soak and scrub

Answer 11

The black will come off with a brillo pad. Use cooking oil next time. I personally prefer well seasoned cast iron pans to cook in.

Answer 12

try vinegar to remove the final stain (after the excessive scrubbing)



next time you go to buy pans - choose a heavybased black (non stick) one - you wont get this at target but at a kitchen shop and yes they will cost at least four times as much - but you will love them and they will last literally forever and ever.



make sure you 'season' the pan and the wok well before you try to cook with it.

Answer 13

Did he put butter or grease in the pan. If it was too hot the ham would stick to the bottom.















Did he put butter or grease in the pan? He might have gotten the pan to hot. If its to hot the ham and eggs would stick.

Answer 14

dawn dish soap soak with hot water for an hour, still not coming off, soak some more







scrub scrub scrub