How do I clean a Dansk Dutch Oven whose bottom I burned badly.

Bad news.
My step-daughter did that to her Mom’s Dansk. It kills the enamel, we were never able to clean it. My wife kept it for probably 10 years, but never used it and we eventually threw gave? it away.

I just checked on the Dansk site in order to buy a new one. Apparently they no longer make cookware, which is sad. The only line similar is Le Creuset, but their iron ware is bloody heavy even before you put food in it.

Do you have a ‘Big Lots’ near you? We just found an amazing set of pans for my son there fairly inexpensive, and they had a Calphalon Dutch oven for quite reasonable. I haven’t seen an enamel based pot in a while. Now it’s all coated stuff.

@Grisson: I have nothing near me but a lot of cows and acres of new snow. I would have to order on line. What exactly is the Calphalon coated with? I stay away from all no-stick surfaces due to my slovenly attitude about watched pots.

Gail. Try getting your hands on Bar Keepers Friend at your local supermarket. The active ingredient is oxalic acid, and I’ve found that it cleans stains and burnt residue far better than anything else. Wet the surface a bit, then spread some of the powder onto the wet surface. Then, gently rub the powder into the surface until it forms a paste. You’ll see the burnt material come off. Depending on the degree of staining/burnt residue, you might need to repeat a few times. This should work! I swear by this cleaner for tough stains on pots, pans and other surfaces. You’ll be amazed at what it can do.

Wow, I sound like a true salesman. I just need to adopt an Australian accent and get on TV.

On their site it looks like they have a variety of surfaces, non-stick, anodized AND including enamel, which looks like the closest thing to your Dansk.

Calphalon’s pretty pricy, but then, so was Dansk in its day.

Thanks, guys. I can actually purchase Bar Keeper’s Friend at my local hardware store. And I found the Calphalon enamel ware – pretty but probably as heavy as Le Creusot.

The best option that comes to mind is to simply rope off my kitchen after breakfast.

Another option is a plastic scouring pad and kosher salt – the salt is a mild abrasive. That’s what Cook’s Illustrated told me, anyway.

After you use the Barkeeper’s Friend, the bottom of the pot may still look black, but
unless enamel is flaking off the surface, you can still cook in it. What you don’t want
to do is serve out of it, because it will be ug-leeeee.

The key here is elbow grease. I resupplied the larder with Bon Ami, white vinegar, kosher salt and Barkeeper’s Friend. I alternate abrasives; every time I get a little more off. But as susanc the Wise says, I may have to re-enamel the bottom.

Easy-Off, maybe? We have a stovetop milk frother that constantly gets charred milk on the bottom and it’s very difficult to clean with just soap and scrubby sponge. Easy-Off works really well.

@alena: I stopped using Easy-Off after I read the ingredients. The spray does smell and the mist floats around and can’t be detected.

It works almost too well, which is what got me suspicious. I’m sticking to elbow grease for now and the vinegar and oxalic acid.Thanks, though, for thinking about the problem.