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Today on Krocks In The Kitchen, we have a video that was inspired entirely by YOU! Well, maybe not you specifically, but our viewers. On our last few recipe videos, a few people commented about the stains on the bottom of our Dutch oven. Brian has scrubbed at it with a sponge and soapy water many times, but we hadn’t really researched any other cleaning methods… until now!
If you are wondering what kind of Dutch oven we have, it is an 8-quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch oven from Martha Stewart that I bought at Macy’s. They are pretty pricey, but if you wait for a sale, you can get a great deal. I got mine for about $85 back in 2019. Brian uses this thing for pretty much everything that requires stove top cooking.
We decided to try out several methods until we got it to a satisfactory level of clean. Watch the video here to see how each method worked!
NOTE: It is always best to follow the cleaning instructions that came with your specific product. There are no guarantees that other methods will not cause permanent damage.
Method One: Soap, Warm Water & A Sponge
The first thing I did was dig up the original instruction card that came with our Dutch oven. It reads:
Hand wash only. NOT dishwasher safe. Use a sponge and warm, soapy water. Dry immediately after washing. Remove burnt-on foods by soaking the cookware for a few minutes. Never use steel wool or scouring powder on pots as these may scratch the surface. If scrubbing is necessary, use a nylon pad with warm, soapy water or a non-abrasive, silicate-based cleanser. Avoid chlorine cleansers, as they cause scratching.
Of course, we have tried these methods in the past, and they work really well for normal cleaning, but Brian has been building up these stains for months! Still, we wanted to start out with this method and see how far it got us.
Brian used Dawn dish soap and our Scrub Mommy sponge, which is a variant of the Scrub Daddy that became popular on Shark Tank a few years back. The Scrub Mommy is double-sided, with one side that changes texture depending on the water temperature and one side that remains soft like a normal sponge.
As expected, this method did not result in much improvement.
Method Two: Baking POWDER & Water
Knowing that Brian had already tried the methods listed on the instruction card in the past without much luck, I decided to browse on the Martha Stewart website to see if I could find any updated information.
I found this article, and under “Enameled Cast Iron,” it suggested bringing baking powder and water to a simmer, letting it cool, draining it and cleaning it with a sponge. It didn’t specify exact measurements, so we just added a few cups of water and a few shakes of the baking powder.
I could definitely see this method working really well for burnt on food, but since we were dealing with stains, it didn’t give us quite the results we were looking for. On to the next method!
Method Three: Baking SODA & Water
In my research, I ran across an article on TheKitchn.com where they tested out FIVE different methods to clean a Dutch oven. Their winning method was boiling 4 cups of water, adding 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and then using a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan. Check out the article for more information.
I was really excited to try this method because it seemed to have good results across the board. As you can see in the video, a few minutes after we got the water up to a boil and added the baking soda, those stubborn stains started coming off! We did have to use the wooden spoon to scrape at it quite a bit, but we were really happy with the results.
We decided to repeat this method again with twice the amount of water and baking soda because it seemed to really help with some light staining on the sides of the Dutch oven as well. Look at how clean it was when we finished!
Method Four: Bar Keepers Friend
You might notice the title of this blog post says we tried THREE different methods, and that is because we ended up not needing the fourth method! We were really happy with the results from the baking soda method, so we decided to stop there, but I did want to mention that a few people in the comments suggested using a product called Bar Keepers Friend.
I picked up two different kinds, but I’ll admit I was a little concerned after reading the packaging, because it doesn’t specifically say that you can use it for enameled cast iron. Please comment on the video if you’ve used this product on your Dutch oven and let us know if it worked! We will definitely be trying it out on other surfaces around our home in the future.
In Conclusion…
Next time, I think we will start with the baking soda method! We will report back if we notice any differences in the pan after cleaning it.
I think we came a long way from where we started. Now it’s time to cook something and get it dirty again!
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We use an 8-quart Dutch Oven from Martha Stewart that I purchased at Macy’s.You can also check out Dutch Ovens on Amazon.
NOTE: Many of these products can be purchased for a lot cheaper at stores like Walmart or Target, so I recommend checking there first!
Scrub Mommy – Dual Sided Sponge & Scrubber (4 Count)
Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda Shaker 12 Oz (Pack of 2)
Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid Dish Soap (4 Count)
365 by Whole Foods Market, Baking Powder, 10 Ounce
Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser
Bar Keepers Friend Powdered Cleanser (2-Pack)