Pots and pans are the hardest workers in the
kitchen. They are used in cooking the food.
When they are not on the stove, they hold the
food and later go through a lot of scouring and
cleaning. The following are ways you can make
these useful utensils serve you better and
longer.


1. Before using a pot or pan for the first
time after buying it, wash the utensil
with hot water, leave to dry and rub the
inside with a small amount of cooking oil.
This oil maybe vegetable oil, groundnut
oil or olive oil. This rubbing of the pot or
pan with oil prevents food stains as much
as possible.


2. Do not heat a pot or pan when it is
empty. Always ensure you have oil or
water in the pan before setting it on the
stove.


3. Always use the correct burner size for
the pot. If the burner is bigger than the
pot, this means too much heat for the
pot or pan and causes the utensil to have
more exterior stains.
If the flames are going up the sides of
the pot or pan (in the case of gas
burners) or if you can see the red coils
from the base of the pot (in the case of
vitro ceramic burners), then there is a
pot size and burner size mismatch.
If you continue cooking this way, the
handles of your pots and pans will fall
off quicker than when you are matching
the pot and burner size.


4. One of the best ways to remove burnt
food from a pot or pan is to pour enough
water to cover the burn, add some dish
washing liquid and bring to the boil.
Allow to soak till the water has cooled
down. The burnt food can then be easily
washed off from the utensil.
It is never advisable to remove burnt
food from the inside of a pot or pan by
scraping with iron sponge. This creates
lines inside the utensil and makes it
easier for it to burn food in the future.


5. Always wash the inside of your pots and
pans with a soft sponge. You may use the
iron sponge for the exterior of the
utensil only.


6. Do not use pots and pans in the oven if
their handles are made of wood or
plastic. The obvious reason is that this
will cause wooden handles to char and
plastic handles to melt.

nice.