Card Pot Scraper

Got stuff stuck to the bottom of your pots?   Don't want to scratch up your nice All-Clad with the green side of a sponge?  Here's a cheap and easy solution:  reuse an old plastic card!

Over the years I've used old student IDs, insurance cards, and the like* - my current pot scraper is an expired Duane Reade savings card.  Here's how it works.


*I recommend against using your old credit cards for security reasons, though anyone who's willing to do your dishes is probably trustworthy.

This should be easy - you've probably got an old card knocking about in your wallet right now. 

Here I'm cleaning chicken stock-making gunk off of my favorite Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker.

Use the edge of your card to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot.  Curve it a bit - this will give you an even sharper edge to really work the burned-on bits.  The corners of the card are great for scraping the curve of straight-sided pots. 

Knock a bunch of gunk off the pot, rinse, and repeat! 

I find it helpful to leave a bit of water in the pot to facilitate scraping.  For really burned-on food, cover the burned area with hot water and a bit of dish soap and let it sit for a few minutes to overnight, then scrape.  Repeat as necessary until pot is clean.

Hooray, you've got a clean pot!

Nice job.  Return your card to the sink to await your next cooking disaster.