warrenpenalver Report post Posted January 14, 2009 I have a big problem...... When i first moved home i bought cheap oven dishes which in 2 months lost there non stick and went brown requireing scouring to get them clean and replacement soon thereafter. so instead of buying cheap ones i bought the higher quality, more expensive, "professional range" heavy duty non stick oven trays and roasting trays. Now 2/3 months down the road the same seems to be happening. Ive been roasting stuff at christmas and on sundays (sunday roasts as per my navy weekly food menu!!) and ive found when ever i roast stuff the oil smokes quite heavily on warming up until i put the potatoes and parsnips in it. (we are talking thick acrid smoke that irritates eyes). I dont know why it smokes...... also after roasting things the tray comes out with horrible burnt brown stuff on that i cant remove with just a soak and a cloth. The tray looks like this after ive drained off the excessive oil. Now the problem is, why is this happeneing and how do i clean it??? I cant use a scourer as i will ruin the non-stick making the situation worse and writing off the roasting tray. So can i stop this happening? how do i clean it?? or is it something i have to just accept and budget to replace oven trays as a "consumable" item every few months???? :robbie: :robbie: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moll Report post Posted January 14, 2009 Are you still oiling the trays as if you are cooking dry you are burning food onto them and damaging the coating. you do get some brown spotting on them it is normal and as long as you wash in hot water it is fine. The oil adds another coating and the trays get better the older they are mine look disgusting but they are clean and work well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kazzen161 Report post Posted January 14, 2009 Are you sure you are cooking it at the right temperature? Alternatives: I have a glass Py**x roasting dish and that cleans up well (if it gets really bad, a soak with biological washing powder works wonders). Enamel ones work well too. You can get roasting bags - you put your meat in them and it saves all the mess. You can get teflon sheets that you line the roasting pan or tray with. These can be washed off with washing up liquid (they can even go in the dishwasher if you have one). You can re-use it many times. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warrenpenalver Report post Posted January 14, 2009 (edited) Im roasting potatoes and parsnips at 200 celsius in an electric oven. The trays get oiled every 4 uses as the instructions stated they should be oiled occasionally to maintain performance. Not to mention when roasting I use 3 x 15ml tablespoons of oil in the tray in accordance with the roasting potatoe instructions on the back of the potato bag. Also the big brown stain in my posted picture isnt around the shape of each potato but looks more like the shape produced from liquid or vapour burning. The little black bits come off as the thing has been oiled. It almost seems to me the oils burning it?? or the non stick coating isnt oven proof and is reacting with the oil leading to the oil burning on??? Im confused as to why it happens. It doesnt happen if im doing oven chips, onion rings, chicken chargrill thingys etc. Oh and i have a dish washer, its attached to the end of each of my arms Edited January 14, 2009 by warrenpenalver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chris54 Report post Posted January 14, 2009 Forget non stick. "Professionals" don't use them. What you do is keep your trays well oiled, never scour you tray, soak if food stuck on and re-oil before you put away. If all else fails try glass oven proof dishes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warrenpenalver Report post Posted January 14, 2009 so is it the non stick coating burning making the clouds of smoke and leaving the big brown stain on my tray then??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zaman Report post Posted January 14, 2009 I think that you are letting your oil get too hot, which is burning and causing the smoke. Try not to leave the oil in the oven for too long before you put your veg etc in. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kazzen161 Report post Posted January 14, 2009 I'm not sure how much fat I use when I roast potatoes (I use lard), but it is enough to give a shallow depth of fat all over the bottom of the roasting pan. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warrenpenalver Report post Posted January 14, 2009 its olive oil that i use for all my cooking. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted January 14, 2009 I think you may be letting the oil get too hot before you add your veg. There should be no thick, acrid smoke. Try leaving the tins in for less time to heat. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CEJesson Report post Posted January 15, 2009 (edited) I do the same, but bought wilkinsons cheap non-stick trays. There is the occasional smoke, but only with the grille on. The tray is now very brown but I thought this was normal, and as long as it is clean I continue to use it. Whatever you do, DO NOT SCOUR THEM!! I have noticed that such trays that are black in colour new don't seem to go brown! its only the grey ones with a sheen. I have a black cake/tart tray and that has never altered. Chris Edited January 15, 2009 by CEJesson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kazzen161 Report post Posted January 15, 2009 Found this guide to perfect roast potatoes: http://www.foodepedia.co.uk/articles/2008/...o_challenge.htm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kookoo123 Report post Posted January 26, 2009 Hello, all This is a bit off topic but how do the stuck on labels when you buy them stay on?! Bemused Kelly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted January 26, 2009 its olive oil that i use for all my cooking. Warren I would suggest you don't use olive oil for this. It burns at a lower temperature which may be part of the problem. Sunflower oil is better if you're going to heat it up to a very high temperature before putting in the veg. if you still want to use olive oil, try coating the parsnips and potatoes with it first, rather than putting the oil directly into the tin. K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warrenpenalver Report post Posted January 26, 2009 Warren I would suggest you don't use olive oil for this. It burns at a lower temperature which may be part of the problem. DOH I didnt know this. I have a stock pile of 25 litres of olive oil and i thought cooking oil was cooking oil!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oxgirl Report post Posted January 26, 2009 DOH I didnt know this. I have a stock pile of 25 litres of olive oil and i thought cooking oil was cooking oil!!! I always cook mine in olive oil. I heat up a dry baking tray in the oven, boil the pots for about five mins, drain them and drizzle a little oil into the saucepan with them. Then I put the lid on and give them a good shake to rough up the pots and then pour them onto the hot tray and pop them in the oven. Perfect. ~ Mel ~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) DOH I didnt know this. I have a stock pile of 25 litres of olive oil and i thought cooking oil was cooking oil!!! Warren - WAIT - don't throw all your cooking oil away on my account! I got this wrong I think, according to this: http://www.oliveoilsource.com/cooking_olive_oil.htm olive oil burns at a higher temperature which makes it ideal for frying as you can get it really hot before it starts to smoke and burn. Although a couple of other accounts say the opposite! If the olive oil is heating up to a high temperature, it may explain why the pan is being damaged? You could experiment with different oils when you've got through the current stock! K x Edited January 26, 2009 by Kathryn Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emum Report post Posted February 5, 2009 Your pic looks to me like you are using too much oil, and as others have said the thick acrid smoke will be because you are heating the oil too much. Olive oil isn't the best oil to use for cooking at very high temperatures, but it is much much better than other oils for just about everything else, so don't get rid of your stocks! I find lard to be best for roast potatoes, as you can heat it to a very high temperature and it doesn't burn. You just need a large tablespoon for a full tray of roasties. Alternatively you can use the fat which is coming off your joint as it cooks, and cook them around the joint, but this will make it more difficult to make gravy from the juices. To clean anything which is burnt on to saucepans, whether non-stick or not, the best thing to do is to dissolve some biological washing powder (for clothes) in hot water, then bring it gently to the boil in the pan. For a roasting pan you could do this by putting it in a hot oven. Then leave the water and powder in the pan to cool. The enzymes in the powder break down the grease, and any burnt food and the residue can be wiped off easily with a cloth when they have soaked like this for at least half an hour. Sounds a bit odd, but I guarantee it works! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warrenpenalver Report post Posted February 5, 2009 will the biological liquid tabs work if i burst it so the liquid comes out??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warrenpenalver Report post Posted February 5, 2009 I hope this works: Oven dish picture Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted February 6, 2009 I don't know if it'll work, but it's very artistic: the Tate Modern might like it. Let us know if it does - and rinse it thoroughly, I would, before you cook anything in it. K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted February 6, 2009 *waits for new thread from Warren* How do I get melted liquitabs off my roasting tray? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bid Report post Posted February 6, 2009 Oh dear! Boho Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emum Report post Posted February 6, 2009 Oh crumbs! I said to use bio powder because you really don't need to use a lot of it! Sorry, should have been more specific, and I've only just checked back and seen your posts... I'm not sure how the liquitabs will have coped with being heated. Hopefully OK but I suspect you've used rather too much of the stuff, so will need to rinse your trays really really well to make sure they aren't tainted by the taste of soap. For future ref, for a baking tray or large saucepan, you need about a tablespoon of bio powder dissolved in warm water and heated to boiling, less for a smaller saucepan. Cheap as chips own brand bio powder works just as well, and I tend to have a small box of this in for random cleaning jobs which need the enzymes - eg cleaning up toileting accidents, pet things, spills of grease/protein based stuff on the carpet. It does need to be biological though, the non bio stuff and the eco stuff doesn't work for this. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
warrenpenalver Report post Posted February 6, 2009 It didnt make any difference with the liquitabs. they were bio ones too so might buy some bio powder and try that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kazzen161 Report post Posted February 8, 2009 I saw this and thought of you .... lol! http://www.lakeland.co.uk/F/keyword/19975/product/19975 The catalogue says; to counteract its notorious fragility, silicone is normally strengthened with polyester, unavoidably diminishing its remarkable non-stick properties. The alternative PTFE non-stick coating does not provide such good food release, and is prone to staining - this tray has a new pure silicon non-stick surface, meaning no burnt on food and very easy to clean. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites