Kitchen secret revealed: How ketchup can help tackle stubborn burn marks on pots

Burn marks constitute a hard, dark crust on a metal surface, resulting from the action of high heat on various substances that start to melt and form a stubborn accumulation. The most challenging are burnt pots, which are difficult to clean using traditional cleaners. Instead of labouring away, scrubbing the crust with a wire brush, consider using a compress from a kitchen ingredient that will effectively clean the dirty surface.

Copper utensils, in particular, are prone to developing burn marks. If you don't clean them regularly, they may become permanently dirty. Scraping a burnt pot isn't the most pleasant task, so it's useful to deploy a simple trick that quickly removes burn marks from the utensil's surface. All that's required is a bit of ketchup and a little patience.

It's almost certain that you have a bottle of ketchup in your fridge. Though it's typically used as a food condiment, ketchup can also be used to combat burn marks. This method doesn't require intensive scrubbing, just a bit of smart thinking carries the day.

Simply apply ketchup to all burnt areas of pots and leave them for a few hours, giving the active ingredients time to work. Another method is to heat the ketchup inside the vessel, which works well for pots burnt on the inside. Following this, just pry the burn marks with a wooden spatula or a blunt knife. The hardened crust will begin to detach in layers, rendering the burnt pots ready for use once more.

It turns out that burn marks aren't the only stains that ketchup can tackle. Some people even use ketchup to clean sink faucets and silver jewelry. As with burn marks, the process involves a chemical reaction that helps dissolve dark deposits and stains.

Why does ketchup work on burnt pots and deposits? It's largely due to its high content of kitchen vinegar and citric acid. Even though these aren't typically discernible to the average consumer, ketchup is packed with these ingredients. Using vinegar to remove burn marks is quite common, though using ketchup is less well known. If you don't have a bottle of vinegar at home, try using tomato sauce on your burnt pots - you won't regret it!