How to Get Burned Rice Out of a Pan

Boiling rice over high heat can cause it to burn.

Leaving rice to simmer too long causes it stick and burn onto cookware. Burned rice produces a crispy, brownish-black residue. Neglecting to clean burned rice from a pan only accelerates the problem, as the residue becomes harder to detach with passing time. Aside from the mess, burned rice smells foul and mars a pan's appearance.

Things You'll Need

• Wooden spoon
• Dishwashing soap
• Nylon kitchen sponge
• Dishtowel

Instructions

1. Scrape burned rice grains out of the pan with a wooden spoon. Detach as much burned rice residue as possible.

2. Fill the dirty pan half full of warm water. Squirt about 9 tsp. dishwashing soap into the pan.

3. Simmer the pot of sudsy water over low heat for 15 minutes. The combination of heat and dish soap causes burned rice to soften and loosen from the cookware.

4. Turn off the heat and let the sudsy water cool for 30 minutes. Once cool, use the wooden spoon to scrape the softened rice out of the pan.

5. Scrub the entire pan, (inside and outside, with a nylon kitchen sponge and dish soap to detach any lingering rice and burned residue.

6. Rinse the pan in hot, flowing water. Thoroughly flush out all soap and loosened debris from the pan.

7. Dry the pan with a dishtowel before storing it.

Tips & Warnings

• Substitute ¼ cup baking soda for dish soap when simmering the solution. Baking soda loosens burned gunk in pans.

• Abrasive scrubbing sponges and metal spoons can scratch pans.

References

• The Kitchn: Kitchen Nightmares -- Cleaning Scorched and Burnt Food Off Pots and Pans
• "Real Simple": How to Cook Rice
• "Real Simple": How to Clean Cookware