Bar Keepers Friend is my friend, and should be yours, too. This stuff is absolutely amazing, and I am extremely thankful for it. Last year I finally had the money to splurge on new pots and pans and I got a nice tri-ply aluminum and stainless steel set that has been so nice to cook with.
Until the day I burned the rice.
I completely forgot about it. All the water cooked right out, and I was finally made aware by the awful smell coming from my kitchen. It was bad. But almost artistic, too. I took a picture, which of course I can no longer find. Imagine a shiny silver pot covered in jet black rice-shaped marks. At first I really wasn’t concerned. I set the pot in the sink and put hot water in it to soak.
It soaked, and then I scrubbed. And then I soaked again, and scrubbed again. Pretty sure that pot sat in my sink for at least a month, and every time I washed dishes I scrubbed it some more, but nothing I did made even a tiny dent. I had about given up on my beautiful pot until I remembered Bar Keepers Friend. I bought some. I used some, and I agree with their motto: “Once tried, Always Used.” The pot is beautiful again.
I had a similar problem just tonight, but to a lesser extent. My skillet had just gotten a bit grimy from burned-on oil and I had been scrubbing for a while when I thought to pull out my friend. In less than 3 minutes, my skillet looked like new:
Blinded by the shine!
So I am thankful for everyone’s favorite cleaner. It makes me happy. And in reading its history, I was surprised to learn that it originated in 1882 when a chemist discovered how shiny his pot was after cooking rhubarb—and he went on to formulate the cleanser from the plant! Kinda crazy; really cool.
The Daring Kitchen
