How Ketchup Can Help Clean Burnt Sugars From A Pan

Burnt sugar on a pan can be a real bummer. Whether you're trying to caramelize sugar for a recipe or simply forgot about your pot on the stove, it's relatively easy to burn sugar and wind up with a crusty, blackened mess that can be very tricky to clean off. As burnt sugar cools, it hardens, and extracting it from your pot or pan without ruining the surface is easier said than done.

However, if you have some ketchup in your kitchen, burnt sugar cleanup is a breeze. All you need to do is spread a nice, thick layer of ketchup over the burnt area, then let it sit to work its magic overnight. In the morning, it will be much easier to unstick the sugar from the metal and wash the mess away. Because it will be sitting overnight, make sure you put a thick enough layer of ketchup so that the ketchup itself doesn't harden. 

Burnt sugar isn't the only thing ketchup can clean, either. Try using ketchup to clean tarnish on copper pans, too. The science behind why ketchup can be a surprisingly effective cleaning agent is always the same, no matter what kind of cookware you use it on.

Spilling ketchup on your clothes or the carpet isn't a good thing, so it seems odd that this colorful condiment can actually be useful when it comes to kitchen cleanup. The secret lies in ketchup's acidity, given that it's made with acidic tomatoes and vinegar. Ketchup has a pH of around 3.9, making it relatively acidic. When you pour it over a stubborn mess like burnt sugar and let it sit overnight, that acid goes to work to eat away at the food particles on the pan. The salt in ketchup also helps somewhat with the cleaning effect. The tomato-based condiment is acidic enough to break down food particles, but it's not so acidic that it will dissolve the coating on your pan.

Ketchup is also obviously food-safe, so you don't need to worry about it leaving behind any harsh chemicals on your cookware that you definitely don't want to eat. Some cooks even use it on their cast iron pans, which can get rusty or dirty, but shouldn't be cleaned with abrasive substances or tools — an overnight sit with ketchup is gentle enough for the job. For once, you have a real excuse to let your pots and pans sit overnight before you clean them.