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Pampered Chef stoneware has been around for decades. While it’s pretty easy to clean stoneware daily, every once in a while it needs a deep cleaning.
The Pampered Chef pizza stone has been in the product line up since the company launched in 1980. Stoneware is as popular today as it was in the 80s- and for good reason! If you care for your stoneware, it can last you a lifetime. It’s not unusual for customers to tell me they’ve had their stones for 20+ years (check out some at the bottom)! Most are more than happy to pull theirs out of the cabinets and show me, too– and I love it! If you want to show me, post to Facebook or Instagram and tag @TheJamieMakin. I’d love to see!
Back to business.
How to clean your stoneware
General Cleaning
Use the little brown scraper, that comes with every piece of stoneware, to get the crusty bits of food leftover off. If you’re cleaning stoneware that is still warm, be sure to use hot water. Cold water could cause your stone to crack due to this nasty thing called ‘thermal shock’. No one wants to lose a stone that is beautifully seasoned. Cleaning stoneware is pretty straightforward. Run it under hot water and scrape the food off. That’s all!! I know, I know. That sounds gross. But here’s the thing; seasoning turns your stone into a non-porous surface. That means that nothing nasty gets in there and grows, so it’s perfectly safe to clean using just water. Let dry completely before putting away.
If just using water skeeves you out, I understand. I’m gonna drop a truth bomb on you that has been a misconception for many years…. are you ready? You can use soap on your stones! I can practically hear your minds exploding from here. My guess is that it was easier to remember to not use soap, then to remember when it is safe to, so people just opted for the “don’t do it” theory. Here’s my one instruction with the soap thing– do not SOAK your pan in soapy water. That’s when the soap will start to eat away at the seasoning (like soap does) and then seep into your stone, making gramma’s famous cookies taste like Dawn. But if you just roasted some chicken on your stone and it’s left behind some sticky gunk, go ahead and wash it down with soap. You have my blessing. The dishwasher is always a no-no though. The water pressure will put pits in your stone and create weak spots over time. The sprayer next to your sink faucet is okay.
Speaking of sticky stuff, y’all know not to use non-stick spray, right? Ironically, it makes your pan sticky after! The chemicals and gunk in the aerosol sprays stay behind as a residue and will gunk up your pans as well as prevent your stones from seasoning properly. I know we all need a spray every once in a while, so I recommend the kitchen spritzer— fill it with whatever oil you want to use and it sprays a fine mist sure to un-stick any cookie.
Deep Cleaning
Every once in awhile, you’ll want to deep clean your stoneware. Maybe you want to get it ready for cooking baking, maybe you are just in the mood to clean. Don’t fret. It’s easy!
Place your stone in or on your sink. Sprinkle a 1/2 cup of baking soda on the pan and add 3 Tablespoons of water. You want to mix this into a scrubby cleaning paste. Add more water as needed to make a paste. Put this paste on the ickiest parts of your stone and let it sit 15 minutes. Scrape off the paste and rinse well. Repeat as needed. See? Simple.
Now, I want to make sure that you don’t think your stone is in need of a deep clean simply because of the color. Check out the pics at the bottom of this article to see some various stages of healthy stones. A BLACK STONE IS A HAPPY STONE! That blackness on those stones is the seasoning. That’s the bits of oil and fats from the foods cooked before that is now making your stone perform as beautifully as it does. Leave those be. They are working hard for you! That’s what lets you bake your cinnamon rolls without greasing the pan. If you’re ever questioning whether you should deep clean your stoneware or not, just shoot me a message here or post in the Facebook group! I’ll be happy to help you figure it out!
In the meantime, check out a new cookie recipe that is perfect for your freshly cleaned stone- Cool Whip Cookies: A Cautionary Tale or maybe a little dinner. Come join us in the Facebook group to meet these awesome ladies who have shared pics of their beloved stones. Join the Cool Kids Table on Facebook!
Stoneporn: Check these babies out!
Food for thought? Share with us!