A Lesson Well Learned

If you own a Le Creuset or other heavy enameled pan or Dutch oven, you know that over time and with much use they become very discolored. I came across what looked like a great solution on Pinterest and thought it would be a wonderful idea to share it.

According to the instructions you should start by adding enough baking soda to the bottom of your pan to cover it completely. If the discoloration is minimal, simply add enough water to form a paste and allow it to sit for 30 minutes then scrub it until the dark color fades and your pan is renewed.

If the discoloration is really dark, it will take a bit more work but is not impossible. Start as described by covering the bottom of the pan with baking soda. Then add about an inch of water. Bring this to a boil and allow it to boil for several minutes before turning off the heat. Let the pan sit for 1 hour. Start scrubbing, the article said, and the dark color will begin to melt away. If there are stubborn spots or the color is still very dark, make a paste (as described above) of baking soda and water, and then scour the pan again. Continue to repeat this process until the pan looks like new.

Looks great doesn’t it? The only problem is my Le Creuset Dutch oven wasn’t just a little discolored. After some 30 + years of use it was (is) a lot discolored.

Still I set about to try this new method to see if my pan could also “look like new”. I did everything that was recommended….twice. But there was still a LOT of discoloration. Not wanting to be defeated I tried another method I remembered hearing about that involves covering the pan with salt and using a cut lemon to rub all over the pan with the salt to pick up the color and remove the dark stains. Not so much….at least for me.

So now I was on a mission. I pulled out the Bar Keeper’s Friend and a heavy duty scouring pad and went to town on that pan determined to restore that beautiful white interior it had when it was shiny and new. By now I had spent a good 3 hours working on the pan. I was disappointed that the lesson on “pan renewal” had been a flop. When all was said and done it was SLIGHTLY lighter, and now looks like this:

It’s not really an improvement by anyone’s standards. And that was when the real lesson hit me square between the eyes.

At this stage of my life, when I clearly have more time behind me than ahead of me, WHY was I wasting it scrubbing the inside of a pan? There were so many other valuable things I could be doing with that time. I could garden, or write notes of encouragement to family and friends, I could clean a closet, or read one of the many books stacked up bedside my bed. I could have organized family photos for that album I’ve been wanting to create, or I could have enjoyed an old favorite movie, or just sat in the garden and watched the wonder of a sunset and the stars coming out to play.

But instead, I had used those 3 precious hours I will never get back, to try and remove the evidence of so many pot roasts, and of spaghetti sauce, and soups, and chicken dinners prepared in that pan over the years for people whom I love. Those meals prepared were meant to nourish people and it was those expressions of my love for them that has darkened and actually seasoned that pan. The discoloration isn’t a terrible stain to be removed, it is evidence that life has been lived in my kitchen.

Funny isn’t it how just taking a small step one way or the other can so drastically alter our perspective on things. So maybe my 3 hour foray into pan renewal wasn’t a waste of time after all. In the end, it served to remind me what is really important and it gave me a renewed perspective on my priorities, and showed me again where and how I want to spend my time.

So should you come looking, you can probably find me in my kitchen, at my stove, with my darkened Le Creuset Dutch oven full of food, and even more full of love.