Stainless Steel Cookware

I use Bon Ami and Bar Keepers Friend - both are cleasers that do not scratch. They keep the stainless shiny. I do not run my pots and pans through the dish washer. If it's tough to clean I soak the pan after it was cooled a bit and it's usually easy to clean. Also I use one of those nubby scrubbys from Trader Joes.

Non-stick spray is a must - or olive oil spray. I stuff my stainless pans in the dishwasher & if they don't come completely clean they are much easier to scrub after going through the dishwasher first. If you want them to stay shiny & pretty - some foods will oxidize them - you can scrub them with a little vinegar and a lot of salt to make them shiny - works on copper too!
If they have a thick bottom, turn off the heat the last few minutes of cooking to prevent burning - plus it saves energy.

If you have the thin stainless steel pans, they will scortch and burn easily. If you have the ones that are insulated at least on the bottom, it will be easier for you. At any rate depending on whether you have electric or gas burners, watch carefully and do not overheat.

However when things do burn on the pan, the best thing to remember is that putting water with a little baking soda in it and heating til it bubbles up is a great way to loosen the burned on stuff and then to wash as normal after it cools down.
Another thing to remember is that if something burns on the bottom if you can get the good unburned things into another pan or serving bowl, before you stir the burned stuff off the bottom, you can save and safely eat some of it. Just stir the loosened burned food off and use the method above to clean the pan as soon as possible after the burn has occurred.

You don't need to use harsh chemicals or cleaning products and do not use scouring pads except for the nylon ones to avoid scratching your smooth surface.

Good luck!! I have insulated lo-heet pans (stainless steel with insulated sides as well as bottom) I have cooked with since I was married in 1950!! They are still great !!still wonderful! N.

depends on how you cook. do you saute, steam, boil?

if you saute, make sure you use something like canola oil. 1 Tbs, heat, and make sure it's spread evenly on the bottom of the pan. if the oil starts to splatter and dance, your heat is too high. while olive oil is great, it doesn't heat high enough and the "good stuff" breaks down in the heat anyway. i would watch the food carefully until you're comfortable enough to turn away for a minute...get a sense for how long you can leave the food on before it starts to char. I stir fry a lot on a gas range, and i don't have scorching problems unless i step away for quite some time. i usually add a bit of water so steam helps cook veggies.

meat is a completely different issue. i stir fry meat...so i don't know how to help you otherwise. otherwise i bake.

for stuff like pasta sauces, soups, etc., i don't think your cooking has to be any different.

stainless steel is pretty easy to take care of. i don't think you need to do anything special to take care of it. hand wash and dry.

Love my stainless steel cookware, be careful of too high heat if you have a ceramic top stove. That is where we tend to burn more. Also, if the pots and pans get a little grungy, use some lemon juice to get them sparkling again. There are a few things that we cook that are harder to remove t from the pans.

Hi I., I have to laugh, we bought very expensive stainless years ago, and I am still learning how to use them. They get way hotter than the other pots and pans. You may want to cook with less heat. You never want wash hot pans. You should wait until they cool. It has something to do with the temperature and how they cook. Besides soap and water, the best thing to use to get stuff off is Bon Ami or BarKeeps (i think that is the name of it)you don't want to use anything that will scratch the pans...good luck

The All Clad rep gave me this advice on cleaning:
Twinkle, Ajax or Bar Keeper's Friend all work comparably for cleaning.
Add water, heat water, deglaze pan
This rep liked the Dobie sponge by Scotch for cleaning the pans. I use these sponges with dish soap and it does the trick.
Vinegar cleans the rainbow effect.
Let hot pans cool before washing and towel dry completely after washing.

You'll find acidic foods (like tomato sauce/spaghetti sauce) will actually clean the pot a bit as you cook the sauce. Don't worry if your pots don't look perfect- your food will taste better and cooking time is much shorter.

I have All-Clad pans and nearly had a heart attack when I saw my husband using one of those metal brillo pads to clean one of my pans! But he pointed out that this was how he'd been cleaning them for years, and indeed, they have no scratches, so I guess it's harder to hurt them than you'd think! So that's a good thing.

Depending upon what kind of pans you have - if they're All-Clad or similar, you'll find cooking MUCH easier. They heat so evenly all the way across that you won't have "hot spots" in your pans anymore. Makes cooking sauces and sauteeing so much easier. If you're concerned about things sticking to the pan, just use a little Pam spray.

Congrats on getting rid of your Teflon! I have used stainless steel for years. I do use a little bit extra of olive oil (but it is good for you!) and I use a non-toxic scrubby cleaner (Bon Ami) about once a week to get off the dark spots that seem to accumulate. Stuff does stick, but I just got over it. I'd rather deal with food sticking than the illnesses that Teflon is linked to!