I recently saw a photo from a few years ago in which one of my cookie sheets, which is now soot black and top and rusty metallic on the bottom, was shiny and silver. I totally forgot that these were once shiny pans, presumably aluminum. I bake A LOT and figured that they are just "seasoned" from heavy use but really...why are they black? And is that a bad thing or does everyone have black pans? FWIW I don't wash them heavily - after baking, I wipe them with a damp rag and then let them dry, only using soap and water in the sink when there is something stuck on them. For real food - not cookies - I usually line the sheets with foil or parchment for faster clean up.
So who else has black baking sheets? Have you bothered trying to get them back to shiny silver? How? Did it work?
we recently left a sheet in the oven with oily residue on it. After my husband scrubbed and scrubbed with a steel wool, I used a little bit of Bon Ami on it and it cleaned right up.
MIne have been that way for at least 3 years. I just keep using them without worrying about it. : )
I just threw away the two that were just as you described. A chef that I used to work with saw an old cake pan of mine and told me to throw it away, because using it could be harmful. I can't remember exactly how bad my pan was, but I decided it was worth the extra few bucks to buy new this time.
I try really hard to clean my baking dishes and work hard to get everything off, but I don't exactly take pride in my baking dishes looking new.
not too bad-two are only a year old-try "Easy Off" and "Bar Keepers Friend" cleanser-or you could just buy some parchment paper! I use it for almost everything now-and it makes clean up time a breeze! I even use it when I do bacon in the oven.
LOL.
Mine are exactly like yours. And like you, I never cook anything directly on them except for cookies. I line them with foil for EVERYTHING. In fact, I have some that are "dedicated" cookie sheets. They are the cheap shiny silver kind. When they start to "age" I buy cheap replacements and the older ones start getting lined with foil to cook other stuff on them. I haven't had to replace my last "new" ones in a few years. But maybe next Christmas when it is time for sugar cookies I'll break down and get a new set.
And I don't line them with foil for any reason except that it is easier to clean up and I don't have to wash anything if I am just heating up a fishstick, lol.
Yeah.. I'm wasteful like that. :)
I don't think they could be aluminum if they are 'rusty metallic'. It is not possible for aluminum to rust.
My aluminum baking sheets have a brown film on them (mainly in the corners) from non stick cooking spray. I was going to try to clean it off one day with Greased Lightening but thought better of it because I don't think Greased Lightening can be used on aluminum. It stays for now until I can figure out a better way to remove the build up.
I think scrubbing it with an aluminum scrub thingy and baking soda will help get that off.
I've wondered about this and have done quite a bit of searching to find out whether those stains are dangerous, either because they're toxic or because they could catch fire. I can find nothing. Seems to me, they're the equivalent of a good layer of seasoning in a cast-iron pan. If anything, they make the surface more non-stick.
If there's any loose "sooty" residue, of course that should be washed off. Some burned or seriously overheated food does develop carcinogens. But overheated non-stick surfaces are seriously toxic.
I have my keep clean sheets
And I have my lazy sheets
The ratio is about 1:3
Mostly... they're caused by oil reaching the smoking point and the resins adhering to the metal. And then adhering to the resins. Just like a cigarette filter (or the walls of an inside smoker's home, or smoke damage). Also the oil itself (esp when under foil) can become resinous. It creates a very chemically "sticky" surface... but oil and resin are hydrophobic so foods (which are mostly water based) slide right off.
There are 3 kinds of solubility:
- Water soluble
- Oil soluble
- Alcohol soluble
The resin residue from smoke isn't water soluble, so it doesn't come off with water. It DOES come off with oil or alcohol. It's more soluble in alcohol (aka comes off with almost no effort at all), than in oil.
((You can also denature (break apart the molecular bonds) of most substances with either a strong acid, strong base, heavy metal, or radiation. That's the reason soap works on most things... it's a base, so it breaks apart the bonds. Soap that is safe to touch is fairly weak -lye will break apart the bonds of our skin!... so it doesn't do a great job on alcohol soluble or oil soluble substances.))
My "keep clean" sheets I periodically 'deglaze'. Alcohol+heat = shiny shiny glass or metal. It ALSO equals getting drunk, since the alcohol evaporates into the air... so I do this only when I'm cooking and have the big vent on or am alone alone alone!!! Deglazing a pan after cooking is a small surface. Deglazing a cookie sheet or baking dish is a MUCH larger surface... and those mean there's no way my vent can handle the fumes.
If you can catch the oil-resin when it's still brown and slightly tacky to the touch... you can scrub them with oil (of any type) and they come off with a bit of elbow grease.
Once they've gone black... only alcohol or a really strong base or acid (gloves!) will strip them.
I personally wouldn't use sooty black baking sheets. that's my preference. I think the soot ends up on the cookies. Even if you use parchment, the soot, IN MY OPINION, seeps through the paper.
If my Pampered Chef stoneware was black - I would consider that seasoned.
I just saw a suggestion on how to clean this the other day. I haven't tried it yet, but the "recipe" is about 1/4 cup of baking soda in a small glass bowl and squirt in hydrogen peroxide until it makes a nice paste. Then rub it on the offending dirt/stain/grease...whatever! You can use either your fingers or a spunge / scrubby.
And, yeah, mine are the same way. If you try this & get good results, could you post it, please? LIke I said, I haven't had a chance to test it yet but heard it works. Would love to hear another opinion!
