Oh crud.

January 17, 2018 10:58 AM

Is it safe to use a nonstick pan after you have burned something in it and scrubbed the heck out of it?

I burnt some vegetables I was broth-sauteeing in a nonstick pan by getting distracted. I was using no fat to cook with. The whole mess cooked into the pan. The pan has black crud stuck to the bottom.
It has been soaked overnight, water boiled in it, scrubbed as hard as I can with a sponge, soaked and boiled water in it again. There is still some stubborn burnt-on black residue.
Question is NOT how to get if off.
QUESTION IS whether it's safe to use. I don't want to buy a new one if I can help it. Like: Is this one of those things that you're supposed to throw away but actually everyone uses a pan after they've burnt it and it's probably fine?
But if it's really toxic I will throw it away.

posted by velveeta underground to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

I don't think Teflon consumed orally in small quantities is, like, fatal to humans or anything. It might be carcinogenic over a long period, maybe? The biggest immediate danger I know about is from inhalation -- mostly because I have birds and Teflon fumes kill them dead, dead, dead in no time at all --, which would have occurred when you burnt it in the first place, so that's done and in the past already.

Even at best, though, you've probably scrubbed off the Teflon coating, so this pan will almost certainly not retain any of its nonstick properties, making it no better than any random piece of unseasoned stainless steel or aluminium cookware.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:14 AM on January 17, 2018

Teflon is not toxic to humans. (Apparently, fumes from overheated Teflon can be fatal to birds,) its used in some inplant devices. The pan is safe, but probably no longer non-stick.
posted by SemiSalt at 11:48 AM on January 17, 2018 [4 favorites]

It would be unpleasant to cook in, for sure. You'd always be peeling food off the burnt patch. Many argue that scratched or burnt Teflon is safe to eat. I myself am not so sure. If it were me, I would replace this pan with a stainless steel or even a cast-iron one, and learn techniques to keep the food from sticking to these materials.
posted by Crystal Fox at 12:07 PM on January 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

Get a new pan for a zillion other reasons, but as far as safety, you’re fine.
posted by SaltySalticid at 12:45 PM on January 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

Get a new pan for a zillion other reasons

That new pan's name? Cast Iron.
posted by kpraslowicz at 12:57 PM on January 17, 2018 [5 favorites]

Response by poster:
That new pan's name? Cast Iron.

I wish. We moved into a place with a glass top stove, which means I can't use my several cast iron pans.
posted by velveeta underground at 3:01 PM on January 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I did EXACTLY what you did (green beans) about five years ago. Then I scrubbed some more with a metal scrubbie. I have been using my not-non-stick sauce pan almost daily ever since. It is my favorite pan. I am not dead yet. (Abusing the edit window: I realize this does not mean it's safe, just that I'd do it and not worry.)
posted by evilmomlady at 3:20 PM on January 17, 2018 [2 favorites]

A glass top stove does not preclude cast iron use. We have used our cast iron skillet on our glass top stove literally multiple times a day, for years. I'd switch to that.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 5:38 PM on January 17, 2018

If you are concerned about cast iron on glass stove top, consider nice mid-range stainless steel as a middle ground that is gentler on the stove but more durable and flexible than non-stick products. FWIW, YMMV, etc :)
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:12 PM on January 17, 2018 [1 favorite]

A bit of bartender’s friend is worth a try here, if you still have a thick layer of crud and not just remnants. Once you’re down to the remnants:

If flakes of Teflon are peeling off, discard the pan. If it’s just dull and has a few cruddy bits that didn’t quite come off, the pan is fine. Our family always has 2 nonstick pans: the one which is still nice, in which ONLY EGGS may be cooked (maaaybe a very delicate fish fillet) and the one in which shit has been burned, in which things like dumplings, a burger, fried rice, et cetera may be cooked.

Get a new pan for your eggs; the nonstick finish is shot on this one. Keep cooking in this one and really take care of that other one and the pair will last you a good long time. Retire this one when the egg pan is worn out and ready to be downgraded.
posted by telepanda at 7:47 PM on January 17, 2018

I know you aren't asking how to remove the remaining burned areas, but I just had this happen, so I have to chime in! The 3M pad didn't do anything, and I didn't want to use something too abrasive and damage the coating, so I used a piece of wooden paint stirrer. The piece was cut with a saw to be flat on one end. It took the burned areas right off! I would imagine that a Popsicle stick cut flat with a scissors might work, too.
posted by Don_K at 7:33 AM on January 19, 2018