How to Restore the Shine to Aluminum Baking Pans

Aluminum bakeware is durable and distributes heat evenly.

Aluminum baking pans are prized for their light weight and durability. In addition, they distribute heat evenly, a characteristic critical to successfully baking anything from breads to desserts. The habitual baker may become so involved with creating the perfect cake or bread that she may not notice when her aluminum pans begin to lose their sheen. Simple soap and water are unlikely to keep your pans shiny. While commercial shine preparations are available, you can restore a high sheen to aluminum pans with items you are likely to have on hand.

Things You'll Need

• Lemon juice, vinegar or cream of tartar
• Scouring pad, soap-filled

Instructions

1. Fill the pan with water. Use a liquid measuring cup to add the water, so that you will know how much water you have added to the pan. Leave at least 1/2-inch of room at the top of the pan.

2. Add 2 tbsp. of lemon juice, vinegar or cream of tartar per quart of water. A quart is four cups of water, so measure your lemon juice, vinegar or cream of tartar accordingly. If, for example, you added 6 cups of water to the pan, you will use 3 tbsp. of acidic substance. (Cream of tartar is an acid salt.)

3. Heat the pan until the water boils. How long this takes depends on how much water is in the pan and how hot the heat source is.

4. Simmer the acid solution for 10 to 30 minutes. You will see the inside of the pan becoming lighter as the solution simmers. Once it is bright enough, you can stop simmering the solution.

5. Rinse the pan thoroughly with warm water.

6. Scour the pan gently. You won't need to use a lot of pressure, as the acid solution will have done a good job of removing any staining. Don't overlook hard-to-reach areas of the pan, such as inner corners.

7. Rinse the pan again with warm water.

8. Polish the surface gently, using the soapy steel wool pad. This final step will really add shine to the pan. Scour in a back-and-forth, rather than circular, motion.

9. Rinse the pan in warm water.

10. Wash the pan in hot, soapy water.

11. Rinse the pan in warm water.

12. Dry the pan.

Tips & Warnings

• Cooking acidic foods, such as tomato sauce, in your pan will also help remove dark staining. It is also a more convenient option for shallow pans. The taste of the acidic food will not be affected.

References

• Guardian Service Cookware Corner