How to Keep Pots From Turning Black
How do you keep pots from your mess kit from turning black when using them over a fire?
— Seared Sandi in Hamburg, N.Y.
A: Don’t cook over a fire! Just kidding — sort of. Actually, cooking over a camp stove is the best way to avoid blackened pots. Plus it’s more efficient and better for the environment.
That said, we asked Mike Glavin of GSI Outdoors Inc., which makes some of the best camp pots, for tips on keeping your pots clean when cooking over campfires: “Rub bar soap on the pots before use, and try to keep your pots on a coal-bed, away from open flames. They will still get sooty, but the soap helps keep the soot from sticking — allowing for easier cleanup.”
My wife didn’t like my black cookware and wanted it thrown away. I refused to discard my cast iron. 🙂
It’s okay to use modern soaps on cast iron. In the older days, soap used to contain lye, and that can negatively affect the seasoning. Most dish soaps today are gentile enough to use on cast iron.
You could always apply toothpaste at the underside of the pots too! It’s convenient cause you’ll definitely need to bring toothpaste along. Besides, it makes scrubbing easier when you have a ball of foil to scrub off the blacken parts!
Folks I just did a good job of cleaning my Bush Buddy water pot , by rubbing it with comet !! It did the trick !really nice ! Good luck and thanks !
Here’s a backwoods trick; let it get black. Simply soap and water off the loose stuff. The darker it gets, the more evenly it heats. Also, the darker it gets, the more outdoor expert you look. The “tenderfoot / greenhorn” has shiny everything (shoes, pack, tools, etc). I keep my black bottomed cookware in a pull string pouch.
what gets it off if you havent done the soap trick?
White vinegar. Soak blackened pots in a sink of hot soapy water with a cup of white vinegar overnight and the black stuff will wash right off the next morning.
bleach works real good
Do not leave cast iron in vinegar for more than 6-8 hours. The vinegar will pit the surface if left too long. Reseason well after a good scrub. We absolutely love our stainless steel chain mail cast iron cleaner.
🤔 Elbow grease 😉
Soap your good pots: Dawn works best, Camp Suds works so-so. To avoid all of this, I have our boys use food-service cans with bail wire handles. That way once the campout is over, simply toss the can; no washing.
Careful, most #10 cans have a plastic coating on the inside.
what I need to know is what to do if a coating of liquid dish soap did not work well & tha pan is borrowed. we would like to return as it came to us & so that is not possible. have used soap & water, baking soda, SOS pads, green scrubbers &
Scotchbrite erasing pads. any ideas?
my troop does coat the bottom and the sides of our pots with dishsoap before cooking to prevent the pot itself from turning black. it does char the soap, but it is a lot easier to remove the soap from the pot rather than the char from the pot itself
When hubby & I were first dating he went to the BWCA and brought back the blackened pots for me to clean (gee thanks hon) and the soap trick did wonders! Only they didn’t put it up the sides far enough and there was still some scorching, but the soap did wonders. They used liquid soap and put on a good thick coat.
Its just too bad that cast iron is so heavy .. there’s nothing quite like cast iron cooking! But if you have to pack it to your campsite, it gets too heavy too quickly
i agree with prez down there leave them be
Anakin – the black soot from a campfire tends to stick on whatever it touches. If you coat the outside of your pot with soap (we always used liquid soap when I was a kid) the campfire soot will stick to the soap. The pot will still look a mess, but when it comes to clean-up time the soap washes right off the pot and the soot goes away with the soap.
why does soap help
Cause it creats a layer that can peel off easier