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If your burner pans and covered casserole dishes look
like mine did, they've got baked-on spots that no
amount of scrubbing will remove.
And if you're like me, even the thought of using
chemical cleaners brings tears to your eyes and makes
you want to start coughing, not to mention that the
chemical cleaners are expensive.
One simple solution that I've found works very well
uses ingredients that are probably in your cupboard
right now: cream of tartar and vinegar.
Here are the steps to follow:
1. Mix 2 teaspoons of vinegar and 2 teaspoon of cream
of tartar in a small dish (use 3 or 4 teaspoons of
vinegar and 3 or 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar if you
have more items to clean or if you have larger items,
such as a heavily soiled casserole dish and cover).
2. Use a cotton ball to apply the solution to your
burner pans or casserole dishes and covers (Corning
Ware casseroles, for example).
3. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Scrub with a scouring pad and then wash in hot,
soapy water.
5. Repeat several times, if necessary, for heavily
soiled burner pans and covered casserole dishes.
I was surprised by how well this works. You will still
need to scrub a bit, but your effort will produce
definite results.
The first time I tried it, one of my burner pans was
black and crusty from lima beans that had boiled over.
The vinegar/cream of tartar solution took it right off.
It worked so well, I tried it on my other burner pans,
and soon they were cleaner and more shiny than they had
been in a long time.
Then I tried it on a covered casserole dish that had
belonged to my mother. (Mom died in 1985, so that tells
you how long the casserole dish has been around.) When
I used a cotton ball to wipe on the vinegar/cream of
tartar solution, some of the baked-on gunk wiped off
immediately! I scrubbed a little harder with the cotton
ball, and more of it came off. I also discovered that
the longer I let the solution sit on the cover and the
casserole dish, the better it worked. Soon, the
casserole dish and cover also were cleaner than they
had been in years.
And one of the best parts about all of it was that I
didn't have to use expensive chemical cleaners that
make me cough and bring tears to my eyes.
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