How to Clean Aluminum Frying Pan – Ways to Season & Shine?

How to clean Aluminum Frying Pan: Aluminum Frying Pan: Kitchen items made of aluminum alloy have several positive qualities. Thanks to them, they are popular with buyers.

For a new aluminum frying pan to serve as long as possible and not lose its beautiful appearance, you must properly prepare it for use. There are various baking methods suitable for aluminum cookware. When performing the procedure yourself, remember the basic safety rules.

How to Clean Aluminum Frying Pan

3-Types of Aluminum Frying Pan

It is customary to distinguish 3 technologies for the production of aluminum cookware:

1. Stamped pan

This method is the cheapest and involves the manufacture of a frying pan by cutting and stamping a finished sheet of Aluminum. As a result, the walls of the dishes are thin and excessively flexible. They are easily damaged and deformed. The service life is no more than 3 years.

2. Forged aluminum

Forged aluminum products are pretty durable. They are produced by pressing metal using a special apparatus. The bottom of the dishes is often equipped with steel plates.

3. Cast aluminum pan

Making a cast-aluminum pan is an expensive process that involves pouring molten material into molds of a specific shape. During the production process, the metal retains valuable qualities. Cast cookware is durable and can heat evenly.

Dural kitchen items comprise Aluminum with other metals: copper, magnesium, iron, and silicon.

Advantages of Aluminum Pan

Aluminum pans have the following advantages:

  • Low cost;
  • Small weight of products;
  • Uniform heating;
  • Cast Aluminum does not corrode;
  • The possibility of cooking without adding oil;
  • Harm to human health;
  • Easy cleaning process.

Disadvantages of Aluminum Pan

The main disadvantages of aluminum pans:

  • High probability of deformation under mechanical stress;
  • Utensils made of duralumin without a non-stick coating may rust;
  • You can easily scratch the aluminum surface with a sharp object;
  • Any damage to the layer adversely affects the quality of the dishes
  • Excessive heat promotes the sticking of products
  • Susceptibility to oxidation.

How to Prepare a New Aluminum Frying Pan for the First Use?

A new uncoated cast aluminum frying pan requires proper preparation for use. After purchase, for first-time use wash it thoroughly with warm water and a gel-like agent or liquid soap. It will help remove industrial dust and pollution. To completely remove technical oil and harmful particles from the inner surface, boil water in a container for half an hour.

Prepare a New Aluminum Frying Pan

Some housewives do not know when aluminum utensils burn or what to do. To avoid burning food, the dishes need to be ignited several times.

Season with salt

Pour large salt crystals into a dry frying pan to completely cover the bottom. Put the container on the fire, and leave for 10-20 minutes. Then turn off the stove, wait for the dishes to cool, and remove salt from its surface. Soak a soft sponge or cloth with vegetable oil and treat the inside. Wait 2-3 days before using.

Season with vegetable oil

Pour refined sunflower oil into the container. Please put it on a slow fire and heat it for half an hour. Then remove the pan from the stove. After cooling, rinse with warm running water without cleaning products. Do not use it for 1-2 days.

Combined method

The combined method involves 2 stages of calcination: the first – using salt, the second – with the addition of vegetable oil. The procedure can be carried out in 1 stage to save time, falling asleep before heating 1 tbsp salt crystals into an oily liquid. Heating should continue for 20-30 minutes, then leave the container on the table until it cools completely.

Simplified way

A simplified calcination method is to place a dish greased on both sides with sunflower oil in a preheated oven for 1 hour. After this time, please turn off the household appliance, and leave the pan in it until it cools completely. You can use the product after 2-3 days.

Safety Measures for using an Aluminum Pan

To avoid injury and burns, carefully follow the safety rules during calcination:

  1. Remove the product from the fire with thick oven mitts or kitchen mittens. Then place it on a special stand and not on the table’s surface.
  2. Do not add water to hot oil.
  3. Do not wash a hot pan. Let it cool down a bit before you start cleaning.
  4. Remove flammable items from the stove.
  5. Turn on the hood to the maximum mode and open the window.
  6. Do not exceed the incandescent temperature allowed in the instructions.

How to clean Aluminum Frying Pan?

Over time, a layer of burnt food residue or soot appears on the Aluminum. Firstly, it is not aesthetically pleasing, and secondly, it is dangerous to health. And it is advisable to clean the old frying pan from dirt periodically. It is easy to do at home. The methods are not expensive, because everything you need is usually available.

How to clean Aluminum Frying Pan

Here are some crucial points to consider:

  • Aluminum cookware does not like the use of harsh abrasives and alkalis. Because they may damage the oxide film, and food will begin to stick to the surface;
  • Choose only soft sponges and rags;
  • Wash such utensils only by hand. In the dishwasher, it can be deformed.

1. Boiling

On the other hand, boiling is a reliable way to cope with chronic soot in any pan or pan. And at the same time, it will clean the outer and inner walls. It would be best if you prepared a container in which dirty items will fit. Prepare the mixture. We offer two options:

  1. A teaspoon of salt + peel of one sour apple + half an onion (consumption per liter of water);
  2. Soda ash 500 gr. + clerical glue 200 gr. + bar of laundry soap (consumption per 10 liters of water)

You need to boil for about two hours. Then wait for complete cooling, and wash with warm water.

If the pan only needs to be cleaned from the inside:

  1. Fill the container with kefir to the brim. Leave for 2-3 hours. Rinse.
  2. Grate a small piece of laundry soap, and add a tablespoon of ammonia. Dilute with warm water, and pour the liquid into a bowl. Leave for 6-8 hours. After that – boil and rinse.
  3. Fill the pot with water. Add 1 tbsp. A spoonful of soda, salt, and citric acid. Boil for 30 minutes. Wash away.

2. Removing light deposits and adding shine

Vinegar or citric acid are suitable for this. You can use a slice of lemon. Wipe the darkened stain with a cloth with the composition applied to it. Stationery (silicate) glue copes well with pollution. Treat the surface with a swab. After that, rinse with warm water. Such methods will make the surface not only clean but also restore shine.

3. The use of household chemicals to combat soot

Hardware stores and chain companies offer a variety of cleaning products. Eco-friendly “Special Paste” will perfectly cope with old stains while adding shine. Good help to remove the dirt “Mr. Muscle,” “Shumanit,” “Frosch.” After their use in the kitchen, a pleasant fresh aroma will remain.

How to clean Aluminum Frying Pan –  Clean Burnt Grease From Frying Pans?

Clean Burnt Grease From Frying Pans

Hot water and soda added to it will cope with fat, 2-3 tablespoons per liter of water. The hotter the water, the better old stains will go away. You can add boiling water several times and periodically check whether the deposits have softened. The strongest grease will easily come off when wiped with a rag or sponge. Dishwashing liquid added to the mixture will make your work easier because it contains particular substances that decompose fat.

How to Clean limescale from an Aluminum frying pan?

Scale is a buildup of magnesium and calcium salts due to hard water. It can easily do it with acid. But, since Aluminum does not like aggressive exposure, we will use soft products. Here are a few ways to remove scale:

  1. Pour one spoonful of soda ash, pour a glass of water, and boil. Cool down. Repeat boiling 2-3 times. Usually, the scale goes away on its own. If it doesn’t work, rub a little with a sponge.
  2. Boil water in a container, add one tablespoon of soda, and leave to cool. The scale will soften, and removing it with a soft cloth is not difficult.
  3. Pour Sprite or Coke into a bowl and bring to a boil. Leave to cool, then rinse. You can do the same with a cucumber pickle.

Final Verdict

Our grandmothers used aluminum frying pans, and still, they remain a favorite utensil of our time. They are light, durable, and comfortable. Also, they do not require complex care. Therefore, if you sometimes clean them of old stains, they will serve your grandchildren.