Just in case you ever thought it was all sunshine and roses in my kitchen, I give you what was supposed to become our pizza sauce for tonight.
And just so you know, cooking down frozen tomatoes to make sauce is a really good idea… provided you don’t forget about said tomatoes until you smell them from the other room!
Would somebody please enlighten me as to how I’m going to get burned on tomatoes off of my sauce pan?!
***Updated: My pan is clean now! Just soaked it in soapy hot water for a few hours and scraped off the gunk with my Pampered Chef square scraper thing. 
This post is linked to Friday Fails at My Blessed Life.
Add some water and let it cook for a while. That worked for me when I had sugar burnt to the bottom of a pan. Eventually it will all come off, but it may take a while.
I’ve heard that oven clean works well too. Good luck!
I’d never let down a pan in need!
I agree with Allison to let it boil with water in it. After that give it a good scrub with Barkeepers Friend cleanser and it will shine like new!
Oh boy, that is a mess. Looks like something I would do. Thanks for sharing your stellar moment with us.
Is it stainless steel? If so I’d let it soak and then use Bar Keepers Friend (I purchase mine at Lowe’s in the cleaning section…it’s about $2!)
I recently burned some spaghetti to a crisp in my stainless steel skillet (http://frugalandsimple.com/2010/03/26/leaving-a-burner-on/) and after using the Bar Keepers Friend it looks as good as new!
Good luck getting it clean!!
I agree. Add water and let simmer for a while. Patience and a wooden spoon should be able to rescue your sauce pan!
This happened to me one time. Is the pan completely stainless steel? Scrape out what you can. I think I put baking soda and water in the pan and brought it to a boil. I am pretty sure I Googled it. Then I let it soak for quite a while. I am pretty sure I even resorted to steel wool. I was thankful it was stainless steel and I didn’t have to worry about scraping off a coating. I hope you get your pan back to normal soon. Don’t give up. It will just take some time and patience.
I’ve not tried this, but my MIL swears that you can soak stuff like this in a pan of water with a dryer sheet in it. I guess the softener in the sheet works on the icky stuck-on food. Might be worth a try if you have sheets on-hand.
I cannot give you advice on the clean up, but I can assure you that you are not neglectful or absent minded. I cannot count the times this has happened to me! I bet it would have been so good, too!
Bring water and dish washer detergent (such as cascade) to a boil in the pan and let set overnight. I’ve had good luck with this. Many things will just rinse right out then.
I’ve so been there. Ooopsies. I concur on adding water and letting it simmer off for a while … and if you forget it’s on the stove again, add more water and start over.
I usually add a drop of soap and water in the pan and boil for a while. Its worked on every mess I have made
Janell
Oh my! I’ve done this before but with Russian Tea…yeah, not a pleasant smell. Mine was completely blackened on the bottom and my mother-in-law swears by Cascade dishwashing liquid. She said to put a little in the bottom of the and cover it completely (don’t add water yet) let it sit overnight. Then clean it out. Hope it helps!
Salt & a tiny splash of water. Soak for a few hours. It eats away the grit and acts as an abrasive o scrub out what’s left
I agree with the baking soda and boiling water thing. My roommate fell asleep cooking macaroni and cheese in my pan once in college and the fire alarm woke her up, but i still use that pan because I let water and soda boil in it and scraped the stuff off with a wooden spoon.
Ahh, sounds like good advice above on the mess. Just wanted to share it’s not nearly as bad as scorching a pan while trying to boil water. Yes, I have been there done that several times while being distracted! OOPS!
Rachel from Frugal & Simple burned something pretty badly in a stainless steal pan recently and she said she used something called Bar Tender’s Friend, and her pan looked like it was brand new. Maybe give that a try.
Add baking soda to pan and a splash of white vinegar. Let set a few minutes then add water and boil, then simmer and scrap to loosen. You might have to do this a few times. But it works and is free of unwanted chemicals.
You can add household white vinegar to the pan and bring this to a boil for 5 minutes or so. Turn off heat and let it sit for a couple hours or over night. Then burned part should scrape off easily and you can scour the rest of the bits off clean with the barkeepers friend cleanser or steel wool.
Another tried and true method is to soak the pan with powdered dish washer detergent and the hottest tap water overnight or a couple of hours and clean as usual. You may need to scrape with a metal spatula to encourage the burned mess off. Best of luck:)!! Keep on cooking!!
Ouch!!
I haven’t read through all the other comments, but baking soda works REALLY well. I have had a similar experience and I let it soak overnight with baking soda and hot water. Then scrubbed it with steel wool or a scratchy pad and it came off.
Use Dawn Power Dissolver. Works great everytime.
Hey, there’s ALWAYS someone that can outdo your faux pas! I was making popcorn the OLD FASHIONED WAY — butter and popcorn in a pan which you have to continually shake… I forgot to shake it. Can I tell you HOW BAD burned popcorn smells up an ENTIRE HOUSE????? We had to air it out for TWO DAYS!?!
Thanks for being real.
I boil vinegar in the bottom of the pan and that sometimes works!
Yikes- I hope your pan is now clean!!
Your post sparked another question for me- how do you use frozen tomatoes to make sauce. I’ve got some in my freezer that I keep thinking I’ll cook with, but so far have been to chicken to try it. Anyone have any suggestions or webpages with good advice?
@Beth, Here is Laura at Heavenly Homemaker’s method for tomato sauce and juice. I have also put frozen tomatoes in my crock pot with the lid off and cooked until it was reduced quite a bit, then used my immersion blender to mixt it all up. However, I’m still looking for a good spaghetti sauce recipe to make, so if that’s what you mean, then I’m in the same boat you are. :>)
When you slip frozen tomatoes under a little warm water, the skin falls right off. Then just stick them in a pan, cook down, and add spices. Just don’t forget about them!
Pregnancy just does something to your whole thinking process; makes it a little goofy/clumsy. I’m due with baby #4 in 2 weeks and totally misplaced my keys last night, no where to be found. Hubby had to come and pick me up!
You look awesome at 17 weeks, I also run around after 3 additional kids and it keeps you on the slimmer side, wouldn’t you say? More babies just bring us closer to our hubbies-so I think…
Been there…
No fail for me, fill pot with hot water, drop in a dryer sheet, and leave set over night. In the morning, just use the dryer sheet to remove gunk, and clean as usual. Easiest way I’ve found. No scrubbing involved!!
I love Pampered Chef square scraper things!!! They have saved my poor, abused pots and pans many times;)
That Pampered Chef scraper thing is a must have tool in every kitchen. So about those frozen tomatoes….what’s your procedure once you pick them (I’m guessing this is from your garden)?
LOL, Oh no! I’ve been there
Please don’t mention Pampered Chef, that’s what my fail was all about.
If you don’t mind a more caustic solution, Dawn’s Power Disolver works great.
Amy, I should’ve known better than to think “hmm, with all my kitchen incidents, I can’t believe I haven’t done this YET.” Yup, I did it two nights ago. I soaked with AMMONIA and with a considerable amount of scraping and some of the aforementioned Power Dissolver, I have seen metal in the bottom. I’m now soaking with hot soapy water and planning to give a scrub with Bar Keeper’s Friend. Sigh. That smugness will get me every time…
Whoops! I just soaked mine in hot soapy water and scraped it off with a Pampered Chef scraper. Worked like a charm. Yay!