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Copper Pans are one of the most used cookware. Whether you are flipping your egg sandwich or frying another meal, the chances are you will resort to the Pan as your saviour. Copper Pans are known for their amazing durability. There is no other material that can even come near it as they are known to last a lifetime.
However, one of the most frustrating parts about Copper Pans can be cleaning them. If you do not know what you are doing, then you can spend hours scrubbing the Pan and still find food residue on it. If you have tried every way possible, but still have not been able to keep food from sticking to Copper Pans, then we have got you covered. Let’s see how you can make the Pan as clean as a crystal.
Why you should Season the Copper Pan
One of the best solutions to any problem is to avoid it altogether. This applies for your Copper Pan as well. If there is no food sticking to it, then you would not have to worry about spending your time to clean it. It may sound like a hassle, but seasoning the Pan regularly can be the ideal solution.
Apart from avoiding food from sticking. Seasoning does far more than that for you. One major benefit of seasoning is that it can keep your Pan from catching rust. Moreover, also provides added protection to the surface especially when used under high temperature.
If you make seasoning the Pan a habit, the majority of your problems are going to be solved. Furthermore, the food preparation is also going to be purer because of your squeaky clean Copper Pan.
Steps to Season a Copper Pan
We did mention how effective seasoning a Copper Pan is. However, knowing how to do it properly is just as important. Before we look at some steps, here are a couple of things you need to know:
- Non-stick Copper Pans do not require seasoning.
- Some Pans can get damaged with seasoning.
- Less used Copper Pans do not require seasoning.
With that being said, how can you make sure that you are seasoning the Copper Pan the right way? Let’s see.
Step 1: Clean the Pan
Even if you have newly purchased a Copper Pan, cleaning it should be your top priority. You never know the kind of substances that may have built upon it. Simple soap and rinse should be more than enough to get rid of all the dirt.
To dry the Pan you can use a sponge or
a clean cloth should suffice as well.
Step 2: Rubbing Oil
The oil that one should use for seasoning can often be confusing for most people. However, you can go with just about any option except for olive oil.
As the olive oil is hot, it can potentially ruin your Pan by overheating it. If you still feel confused, then you can always choose vegetable oil for the job. After that, grab a paper towel to spread the oil to the surface evenly.
Step 3: Time to Heat
Set your stove to medium heat and start heating the Pan. Make sure that as soon as you see smoke, you remove it or turn the stove off. Normally you should not let your Copper Pan stay on the stove for more than five minutes.
If you do not like using the stove or do not have one, you can always use an oven as well. However, the oven needs to be preheated first before you use it to season the Pan. Normally the time an oven requires to heat the Pan is around 20 minutes. An additional tip would be to make sure you wear gloves so you do not end up burning your hands.
Step 4: Dry the Pan
Keep the Pan at room temperature for around 10-20 minutes and wait for it to dry down. People often put their Pan in the refrigerator to cool down. However, this is a major mistake and should always be avoided.
Putting the Pan in the refrigerator when it is hot leads to warping. So, you might want to take this heads up and avoid doing it.
Step 5: Wipe it off
The last step is to simply wipe the oil now that has not been dried yet with a cloth. However, after 15 minutes the chances of the oil now drying are highly unlikely.
If you find that the food has started to stick again to it after some time, you can always re-season it. The steps are pretty much going to remain the same, except you do not have to do step 1 again.
Cleaning a Seasoned Copper Pan
After seasoning your Copper Pan, knowing how to clean it is just as important. However, that is more of a straight forward job as you would not have to worry about sticky food. Before we talk about cleaning, there is one thing we would like to warn you for and that is not using a dishwasher to clean a Copper Pan. Another thing we would like to warn you about is pouring water on the hot Copper Pan. That can lead to cracks and irreversibly damage the Pan.
When cleaning a Copper Pan, you do not have to go for anything fancy. In fact, using a hard scouring pad and steel wool should also be avoided. You can simply use a washcloth, and you are good to go.
Cleaning an Unseasoned Copper Pan
You do not necessarily have to season your Copper Pan to keep it clean. There are numerous methods that you can follow with some of them being:
1) Salt and Lemon
The citrus acid in Lemon can act as a powerful cleaning agent. If you mix it with salt, then the results are even better. Rub the mixture of salt and lemon to the Pan’s surface and see how great of a job it does to make it shine once again.
2) Baking Soda
Why buy expensive cleaning products when baking soda is there to save the day? Sprinkle it on to the Pan and let it remain for about 30 minutes. After that, you would be surprised to see how effortlessly you will be able to clean the Pan.
3) Worcestershire Sauce
Now, this might sound out of the box, but it actually works. Using Worcestershire sauce can actually make our Pan shine easily. If you do not believe us, you can even look it up online or give it a shot just once!
All you need to do is apply the sauce on to the pain and let it remain for a couple of minutes. After that rinse the Pan to make it look as good as new.
Conclusion
Most people struggle to keep food from sticking to Copper Pans. However, it is not difficult as it seems, especially if you are following the right method. So, whether you season the Copper Pan, or follow one of our cleaning methods, rest assured it will get the job done.
