There is a specific silence in a kitchen when someone lifts a pan off the heat and discovers the bottom has gone the colour of an old penny with a black continent in the middle. Stainless steel is honest to a fault: it doesn't hide anything, and unlike coated pans it can't be quietly retired to the back of the cupboard because it cost too much. The good news is that it's also almost indestructible, and nearly every mark you can put on it is reversible.
Start by doing nothing for ten minutes
The single most damaging move is plunging a screaming-hot pan into cold water. Thermal shock can warp the base, and a warped base never sits flat on an induction hob or an electric ring again — you'll be cooking on a wobble forever. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool until you can rest a hand near the rim.
Then, while it's still warm rather than hot, pour in enough water to cover the burnt area, add a good spoonful of bicarbonate of soda, and put it back on a low heat to simmer for ten to fifteen minutes. Most of the time, that's the whole job. The carbonised layer softens, lifts at the edges, and comes away with a wooden spoon in sheets. Tip it out, wash normally, and be quietly smug.
For the stubborn black patches
If a dark crust survives the simmer, make a thick paste of bicarbonate of soda and a little water, spread it over the area, and leave it for an hour or more — overnight is fine. Then scrub with a nylon scourer or a non-scratch pad in the direction of the metal's grain. Stainless steel tolerates far more scrubbing than any nonstick surface, but heavy steel wool on a polished exterior will leave permanent fine scratches, so save the aggressive stuff for the interior base.
A commercial powdered cleanser designed for cookware does the same job faster if you have one. Skip bleach and oven cleaner: neither is intended for the inside of a pan you'll be cooking in, and neither is necessary.
Rainbow sheens, white spots and cloudy film
Those three marks look like damage and are, in fact, cosmetic. The oil-slick rainbow tint is heat discolouration from cooking too hot for too long. The chalky white spots are mineral deposits left by hard water, usually appearing after you've boiled water or pasta. The dull cloudy film is often overheated oil.
All three respond to acid. Fill the pan with a mix of roughly one part white vinegar to three parts water, bring it to a gentle simmer for a few minutes, then cool, tip out, and wash with hot soapy water. For the exterior, a cloth dampened with vinegar, wiped along the grain and then dried immediately with a tea towel, will bring back the shine. Drying is the step people skip, and it's the one that prevents the next round of water spots.
Why does food always stick to my stainless steel pan?
Almost always because the pan wasn't hot enough before the food went in, or the food was moved too soon. Heat the dry pan over medium until a droplet of water flicked onto the surface skates around in a bead rather than fizzing and evaporating, then add your fat, let it shimmer, and add the food — and leave it alone. Protein sticks while a crust is forming and releases by itself once that crust is done, so if it won't move, it isn't ready.
Can I put a stainless steel pan in the dishwasher?
Most fully stainless pans are technically dishwasher safe, but hand washing keeps them looking better for far longer: dishwasher detergent is harsh, and hard-water cycles are exactly what produce the cloudy film and spotting people then spend an evening polishing off. If the pan has an aluminium or copper core sandwiched in the base, or a riveted handle, hand washing also avoids dulling and discolouration around those joins.
The maintenance that means you rarely need any of this
Wash while the pan is still warm rather than after it's sat overnight, dry it properly instead of leaving it on the rack, and once a season give the whole thing a vinegar simmer and a wipe-down whether or not it looks like it needs one. Treated that way, a decent stainless pan doesn't need replacing — it just gets a bit of character, and it will outlast most of the rest of your kitchen.
