Cleaning sheet pans

[Jenise]

So I just read this article where five different methods for cleaning sheet pans were compared. The various methods compared usually involved a solvent of some kind plus a cleaning tool. In the end: "According to our testing, the best way to deep clean a sheet pan is to soak it in a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide overnight. This loosens everything so you can scrape most of the gunk off with a plastic scraper before washing with warm soapy water and a scrub sponge."

So my question is: we go to so much trouble to build seasoning on cast iron and woks, but somehow when our sheet pans turn deep brown from continued use we're supposed to clean them down to the shiny metal???? Honestly, I've never understood this. I love my deeply browned seasoned pans that are virtually non-stick from continued use. It's perfect! And I actually find the look of a well-used, lived-in pan kind of sexy.

Do I have any company?

Interesting take. I've been using baking sheets on my sheet pans, to keep them cleaner. (Of course things still run off the edges of the paper and they discolor over time, but I try to fight it!)

I have both seasoned and unseasoned sheet pans, but I agree. I don't try to clean down to shiny metal.

I bought non-stick cookie sheets and roasting pans. That lasts a few years, if you're very careful, but after a while there's only so much you can achieve. I scrub until obvious gunk is gone and assume that whatever is baked-on better than my scrubbing is probably safe to bake on the next time.

Anyway, parchment paper is my frequent friend in this whole endeavor.

I always cover my sheet pans with non-stick foil or parchment, however they are decades old. The half sheet pans are used the most and are well used and brown, I like them, they are the mark of an experienced cook. I wash them with soap and hot water to get off gunk and grease but I am not going to try and make them shiny again. The full sheet pans are still in good shape, nice and silver colored but those usually get covered in a double layer as I do ribs and used to do large roasts. I also have a small non-stick pan that is stained and brown on the outside. I love it. Makes me feel "cheffy." And speaking of this, has anyone else noticed a decline in the quality of foil lately? Sometimes, even with covering the entire sheet pan, I get leaks all over.

And speaking of this, has anyone else noticed a decline in the quality of foil lately? Sometimes, even with covering the entire sheet pan, I get leaks all over.

Depends on the brand. Some are thinner and approach gold leaf thickness.

A trick for those of you who use parchment paper from a roll: if you have trouble having it lie flat, crumple it up into a ball and then spread it out. Voila!

Sometimes, if I make even a minor change, my post announces that I made an edit. Most times it doesn't. Why?

I'm with you, Jenise. I scrape/scrub off any build-up but otherwise I just put the sheet pan in the dishwasher along with everything else.

-Paul W.

Sometimes, if I make even a minor change, my post announces that I made an edit. Most times it doesn't. Why?

IIRC correctly, the edit note is if there is a reply after your post but before you edit.

Sometimes, if I make even a minor change, my post announces that I made an edit. Most times it doesn't. Why?

IIRC correctly, the edit note is if there is a reply after your post but before you edit.

I thought it was whether the post had ever been viewed.

[Robin Garr]

Sometimes, if I make even a minor change, my post announces that I made an edit. Most times it doesn't. Why?

Larry, I'm not positive, but I think that if you make an edit after someone else has replied, then the change gets announced. That's to avoid trollish types messing with people's minds by changing the content to prank the person who replied. (NOT US, OF COURSE! But this forum software was made for a wide range of beings.)

It would be fairly easy to test this by making edits to posts of yours that have replies and to posts that don't.

[Jenise]

And speaking of this, has anyone else noticed a decline in the quality of foil lately? Sometimes, even with covering the entire sheet pan, I get leaks all over.

Depends on the brand. Some are thinner and approach gold leaf thickness.

I've used ONLY Reynolds for my entire life, and have noticed just what Karen's talking about. The rolls self-perforate just being handled. Very annoying.

I use Reynolds, as well, and thanks for the response. Now what? I have been putting parchment paper down and then the foil. That helps but I do not like when a company cheapens a product I have been supporting for decades.

I use Reynolds, as well, and thanks for the response. Now what? I have been putting parchment paper down and then the foil. That helps but I do not like when a company cheapens a product I have been supporting for decades.

I feel your pain. It's possible Reynold's foil is thinner nowadays. You could ask them, but you'll probably get a response that it's proprietary info. I once asked Morton, out of curiosity, what size their pickling salt grains were and got that answer. I replied that I'd just put some under my microscope and measure them. Silly.

[Jenise]

I use Reynolds, as well, and thanks for the response. Now what? I have been putting parchment paper down and then the foil. That helps but I do not like when a company cheapens a product I have been supporting for decades.

They not only self-perforate, of late several rolls have had holes obviously inflicted during the manufacturing process. So as you roll out a piece there's a whole every so many inches. I then just double down to cover but as Karen says, there are still leaks.

Larry, I'm not positive, but I think that if you make an edit after someone else has replied, then the change gets announced. That's to avoid trollish types messing with people's minds by changing the content to prank the person who replied. (NOT US, OF COURSE! But this forum software was made for a wide range of beings.)

Yes, that's how it works. You also lose the ability to delete a post once it's been replied to (unless you are a moderator, of course). This is to prevent hit-and-run trolling, where someone posts something outrageous to start a flame war and then deletes the post that started it. They could edit the post to remove all of its content, but the post itself will still be there as evidence.

-Paul W.