BATTLE OF THE CLEANING AGENTS

Today I put two pins head to head in a challenge of cleaning some nasty burned up baking pans.

In the blue corner:  baking soda and PEROXIDE

And in the red corner: baking soda and VINEGAR

BEFORE-- VINEGAR

BEFORE -- PEROXIDE

BEFORE--- GROSS and BURNED from my lack of kitchen skills.

I am not much of a cook and so my baking pans that were brand spanking new this time last year, have sadly fallen victim to many ill attempts at baked goods.

The peroxide method uses mostly baking soda and tells you to squirt in peroxide and make a paste. Then you are supposed to rub the paste on the offending item with your fingers or a small sponge or dish brush.

I slathered that paste on there and scrubbed my heart out and did not get the stellar results that I hoping for based on the before and afters of the pin.

After- its better but I'm still using tin foil for everything I bake on this thing

I was getting really disappointed  because I did not want two nights of failure in a row, so I made some macaroni and cheese and drank a glass of wine and was ready for the vinegar test.

Remembering back to my first science classes, I was suddenly struck with the thought that vinegar and baking soda are what makes up the classic volcano project. The outlook for the night was suddenly much brighter, especially since D said he had never done the volcano thing as a kid. (I tend to forget that not everyone was a nerd growing up).

The basics for the vinegar project were put vinegar in the pan, heat  it to boiling then  sprinkle in some baking soda and let her rip! (bring it to the sink first!) After the fizz calms, you are supposed to Rinse and scrub. it suggests to make a paste of baking soda and water and let it sit on the especially tricky stains.

The results I got from the vinegar test were much better than the peroxide results. If I has used steel wool and a little more elbow grease I could have gotten some really rad results, but I didn't feel like putting that much work into scrubbing a pan that I always cover with tin foil anyways.

After- Its not brown! and that is not a glare, that is shiny metal like it was when it was new!!

So, the champion tonight is definitely VINEGAR!

Vinegar worked better and it was totally more fun to do (Addy would have loved to see the fizz)

....and anything that makes scrubbing burnt cookie sheets a little less crappy, wins by default!!!