Here on this page I am going to share the absolutely best way to clean a burned oven pan.

Everybody knows the feeling of trying to clean an oven proof pan after it has burned Lasagna, meat, sauce or other food.

Normally, it is easy to remove most of the burned food using soap and a brush. Sometimes, it is necessary to pour water inside the pan or maybe soak the entire pan overnight. Even though, sometimes it might contain tough burned food which is just impossible to remove.

I know that there are many different ways, tips and tricks on how to clean a burned oven pan. Soak the pan in water like described above, cover it with dish soap, using boiling hot water and so on - the common thing for all of these tricks is that I have tried them all.

Every time I keep coming back to the same solution which I think is the absolutely best way of cleaning an oven pan which is covered in burned food.

The Best Way to clean an oven pan

The one and best method, I always uses when I want to clean a burned oven pan, is actually super easy.

The trick is to use a dish washer soap tablet. I am not sure why this soap is so good but my experience is that it does dissolve and remove all burned food from your oven pans.

The way it works is that you break one soap tab in half and then uses one of the halves to clean the pan, the other half you can save for another time.

You take the soap, break it into many smaller pieces and distribute it across the bottom of the pan. Then you fill it with water and let it sit in the kitchen sink for about 8 hours or longer if the burned food is really tough.

After this time you simply just clean and wash the pan like you normally would.

It is that simple and it works!

Waste of soap when cleaning an oven pan?

Of course, normally half a dish washer soap tab is designed to clean half a dishwasher full of dirty plates, knife, forks, cups and glasses.

Using half a tab for only one oven pan can be considered a little waste. However, sometimes it is just so difficult to clean it the normal way and in this case I think it is okay as long as you do not use this method every day.

Guide: How to Clean Oven Proof Pan (The Easy Way)

Level of difficulty: Easy

You’ll Need:
Half dishwasher tablet

Directions:
1. Start by removing as much of the burned food from the dirty oven pan as you possibly can.
2. Place the pan in the kitchen sink
3. Break a dishwasher soap tablet in half and continue breaking of the parts in very small pieces and distribute it across the bottom of the pan. Save the other part of the soap tab for another time.
4. Pour water into the pan until it is completely full. Stir a little in the water to make sure all soap is dissolved.
5. Let the soap water work for minimum 8 hour but preferred longer.
6. Finish by cleaning the pan the way you normally would do it.

The post Guide: How to Clean Oven Proof Pan (The Easy Way) appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.

After I have started this international food blog I have realized that ingredients which is a common thing, for instance, in the USA is almost impossible to get a hold of in Denmark or any of the other Nordic countries. However, this also applies the over way around. In many of my recipes, especially the desserts, I uses what we in Denmark calls vanilla sugar. After having been asked that question several times 'what vanilla sugar is?' I have made the conclusion that it must be an European ingredient.

Vanilla Sugar?
Vanilla sugar is similar to vanilla extract that is a normal ingredient used in the states. However, the vanilla concentration is not the same. Vanilla sugar is exactly as the name applies - it is simply just sugar mixed with vanilla seeds. It is very simple to make yourself and it can be used for a lot of stuff. I mostly uses it in desserts but it is also great to sprinkle on top of some oatmeal, yogurt, in tea or maybe in coffee.

Instructions for Homemade Vanilla Sugar
You simply cut open a vanilla bean and extract the vanilla seeds. Then you mixed the seeds with sugar and keep everything in an airtight container. It is also a good idea to keep the vanilla bean together with the sugar in the box - it still has a lot of good flavor. From my own experience, the sugar can be used right away but if you leave it for some time, the taste only gets better.

Vanilla Sugar from used Vanilla Beans
There is a second way of making vanilla sugar - which is actually the way I prefer it. Every time I have used vanilla seeds in one of my other recipes, I always keep the used and empty vanilla beans in a glass jar together with some sugar. An empty vanilla bean still contains a lot of delicious vanilla flavor. By keeping them in a jar with sugar, you can extract this flavor and make some vanilla sugar. Just remember to shake the jar from time-to-time and add some extra sugar when you add another vanilla bean.

Vanilla Sugar

One jar
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Danish title: Vaniljasukker
Category: Ingredient

Ingredients:
5 dl (2 cups) granulated sugar
2 vanilla beans

Instructions:
1. Cut open the vanilla bean and scrape out all the vanilla seeds.
2. In a bowl or plastic box; mix the vanilla seeds with a tablespoon of sugar, and then with the rest of the sugar. By doing this in steps get a better mix of sugar and vanilla seeds.
3. Keep everything in an air tight container.

Instruction for used Vanilla Beans:
As I have written above, it is possible to make vanilla sugar from used vanilla beans. When you have used a vanilla beans in another recipes do not throw the empty beans out. Keep them in a glass jar together with some granulated sugar. Over time, the vanilla flavor from the empty beans will turn the sugar into vanilla sugar.

Fresh Batch of Vanilla Sugar

Vanilla Sugar from used Vanilla Beans

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In this simple guide we will show you, step by step, how to cut open and remove the seeds from a pomegranate. There are several different ways of doing this, however, we think this is the most easy and least messy way of doing it. Many people simply just cut the pomegranate in two pieces and use a wooden spoon to knock on the outside shell of the pomegranate. This way the seeds are supposed to fall out - we both don't like this method. First; because we don't think the method is that effective, the seeds simply don't fall out that easy. Second; the method can be very messy, you risk getting the pomegranate juice all over your kitchen table and it can be hard to get it off if you let it dry.

This guide shows how to remove the seeds from a pomegranate the easy way and how to avoid getting the juice all over your kitchen. The method is pretty easy - you start by cutting through the shell of the pomegranate and divide it in two pieces. Then you submerge the two pieces in a bowl filled with water and use your hands to break out the seeds. This way the juice will stay in the water and because the seeds are heavier than water they will sink to the bottom and the fruit meat (which is inedible), which is lighter than water, will float to the surface. Then you can easily separate the seeds from the fruit meat.

If you are interesting in other great step-by-step guides, you can take a look at our how-to archive

How To: Seed a Pomegranate the Easy Way

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Danish title: Guide: Fjerne kernerne fra et granatæble

You'll Need:
Ripe pomegranate
Knife
Large bowl with water

Directions:
Step 1: Use a knife to cut though the shell of the pomegranate. Only cut just through the shell - this way you don't damage the seeds.
Step 2: Use your hands to break the pomegranate into two pieces.
Step 3: Fill a large bowl with cold water.
Step 4: Submerge the two pomegranate pieces in the water and use your hands to break out the seeds.
Step 5: Because the seeds are heavier than water, they will sink to the bottom. The fruit meat, which is lighter than water, will float to the surface. The fruit meat is inedible. When you have removed all the seeds from the pomegranate simply pour away the water, together with the fruit meat, from the bowl.
Step 6: Take up the nice and clean pomegranate seeds.

By Kim Nielsen
[lastupdated]

The post How To: Seed a Pomegranate the Easy Way appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.

In this guide we will show you how to cut and dice an avocado the very easy way. We normally use avocado everywhere we can because it taste so delicious and because it's supposed to contain many great vitamins and oil that are good for your body. Some people peel the avocado and cut it into pieces on a chopping board. However, you don't need to peel the avocado before you cut it. You simply start by cutting the avocado into two pieces and remove the large seed. Then you use a knife to cut a grid in the avocado and then use a tablespoon to scrape along the inner shell/peel of the avocado so that all the avocado pieces falls out.

How To: Cut and Dice an Avocado

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Danish title: Guide: Skære avocado i tern

You'll Need:
1 ripe avocado
Chopping board
Knife
Tablespoon

Directions:
Step 1: Start by cutting the avocado into two pieces. Make one long cut into the seed all way round the avocado.
Step 2: Use the knife to remove the seed.
Step 3: Use the knife to cut a grid in the avocado meat. Cut through the meat but not through the peel/shell.
Step 4: Use a tablespoon to scrape along the inner shell/peel of the avocado. The diced avocado pieces will fall out.

The post How To: Cut and Dice an Avocado appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.

This simple how to guide describes how you can easily bag and freeze your overripe bananas, and what you can later use them for. Using this guide you never have to throw out bad bananas anymore. Ripe bananas are really great fruits and it's properly one of the most popular in the world.

For many families this fruit is a common fruit to have in their fruit baskets. However, one of the downsides of a banana is that it has a relatively short expiration date. If you leave them in the fruit basket for too long, the peel will turn brown and the bananas start to get soft - and eventually they will turn bad. When this happens many people don't think the bananas are delicious anymore and they will throw them out. We think this is kind of sad - first, it's important that we use as much as the food we have available and by that save the worlds resources, and secondly overripe bananas can be used in many recipes and turned into delicious food.

If you follow this guide you will never have to throw out bananas which have gone bad. The guide is very easy - you simply just peel the overripe bananas, bag them and store them in the freezer. A frozen banana can be stored way longer and it can be used in so many different recipes. We can recommend to take a look at our recipes where bananas are an ingredient - in many of the recipes you can use frozen bananas.

Top-3 Banana Recipes:

This is our top-3 recipes where you can use overripe and frozen bananas:
-1- Banana cake with chocolate
-2- Healthy banana pancakes
-3- Banana and chocolate shake

How To: Bag and Save Ripe Bananas

You'll Need:
1. Ripe bananas
2. Plastic bags
3. Knife
4. Chopping board

Directions:
Step 1: Peel the bananas. You can with advantage use a knife if the bananas are a bit soft.
Step 2: Use a knife to cut the bananas in smaller pieces.
Step 3: Bag the banana pieces and put them in the freezer. Remember to write the date on the plastic bag so that you always uses the oldest bananas first.

The post How To: Bag and Save Ripe Bananas appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.

This is a simple but effective guide how to clean and cut iceberg lettuce very easy. Iceberg lettuce is nice and crisp, and is perfect for a hamburger or a tortilla wrap.

The iceberg you can buy at the grocery store is normally plastic warped so that it's protected from most dirt during transport. In general iceberg doesn't contain much dirt, but iceberg are grown directly on the ground and may contain some dirt that you need to wash off before you can use it in your food.

Using this guide it only takes about 2 minutes to wash and cut an entire iceberg.

How To: Clean and Cut Iceberg Lettuce the Fast Way

Level of difficulty: Easy

You’ll Need:
Iceberg lettuce
Chopping board
Knife

Directions:
Step 1: If the iceberg has some bad leaves on the outside, start by removing these.
Step 2: Turn the iceberg over and make a circular cut around the root/core. Take out the core and widen the hole by breaking the lettuce from the center and out.
Step 3: Turn on the water and fill water inside the iceberg through hole where the core was.
Step 4: When the iceberg is filled with water (it can contain a lot), shake it a little and then flip it over and let the water run out.
Step 5: Let the iceberg drip off a bit before you cut it on a chopping board.
Step 6: If you think the lettuce is a bit wet, then use a salad spinner to dry it.

The post How To: Clean and Cut Iceberg Lettuce the Fast Way appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.

This is a simple guide how to clean your blender in under 60 seconds. Smoothies and shakes are now a days very popular whether it's a healthy banana smoothie or a less healthy chocolate milk shake with vanilla ice cream. The great thing about a blender is that it's easy to use and very convenient when you want to chop or blend some ingredients fast. The down side by using a blender is that the pitcher and the lid gets dirty, even though you have only made one glass of milkshake. And then you have to clean the entire pitcher and lid. The easiest way is to use the dish washer, however it does takes up a lot of space.

This guide shows you how you can clean your blender in under 60 seconds with minimal work. When you are done using the blender, you simply just pour some hot water in the pitcher and add 2-4 drops of dish wash soap. Then you run the blender at high speed for 30 seconds. Pour out the water, rinse it and you are done.

How To: Clean your Blender in under 60 Seconds

Level of difficulty: Very easy

You’ll Need:
dirty blender
hot water
2-4 drops of dish wash soap

Directions:
Step 1: Start by pouring out most of what's in the blender.
Step 2: Fill the blender with 2/3 hot water and add 2-4 drops of dish wash soap.
Step 3: Run the blender at high speed for about 30 seconds.
Step 4: Pour of the hot and dirty water.
Step 5: Rinse the blender with cold water to get the rest of the soap out. Then use a dishcloth to dry it and you are done.

The post How To: Clean your Blender in under 60 Seconds appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.

This simple guide illustrates how you can easily clean your sink in a few and very simple steps. Cleaning your sink on a regular basis, and especially right after you have used it, will make the process of having a clean sink easier. However, if you leave pieces for dirt in the sink for longer time, it'll dry out and stick to the sink and later be difficult to clean. In general a clean and smooth surface will be difficult for dirt to stick to, while a dirty surface will attract dirt and exacerbate the problem.

On a daily basis it'll be enough to remove the dirt from the sink and rinse it with cold water, and sometimes with some dish wash soap. Then once a week, or every second week, it's a good idea to clean the sink more thoroughly using soft scrub cleaner. Scrub cleaner normally contains tiny scrubbing grains which will gently and effectively grind of dirt from your sink. This way you'll be able to keep your sink clean all the time.

How To: Clean your Sink the Easy Way

Level of difficulty: Very easy

You'll Need:
soft scrub
sponge

Directions:
Step 1: Start by reading the instructions on the scrub cleaner you have, and make sure that it'll work on the material that your sink is made of. If your are using a new brand of cleaner or having tried it before, then test it on an inconspicuous area first. Typically the soft cleaners from the grocery stores can be used on most surfaces, except from aluminum, plastic, chrome plated and other sensible surfaces.

Step 2: Remove all large pieces of dirt and rinse the sink with cold water.

Step 3: Pour some of the cleaner inside the sink and use a sponge to scrub it around. Be thoroughly in the corners and around the drain.

Step 4: Rinse the sink with cold water and your are done.

The post How To: Clean your Sink the Easy Way appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.

Sometimes you experience that the water flow in your sink faucet is slowing down over time, uneven or maybe it's spraying/splashing water all over the sink. Then it's properly time to clean the sink faucet aerator. An aerator is a small filter insert typically located at the tip of the sink faucet. The main functions of an aerator are to create an even and non-splashing water flow, and to conserve the water use, and reduce the energy costs, by mixing the water with air.

Normally, before the water is coming out of the tap is has been going through kilometers (miles) of pipes, water treatment systems, heaters, pipe connections, valves and so on. Of course these constructions have been built with a good sanitary design. However, it's almost impossible to avoid that small pieces of rust and rocks find its way through all these systems and finally end up blocking your sink faucet aerator.

This simple guide describes how to disassemble a sink faucet filter/aerator and clean it.

How To: Clean your Sink Faucet Aerator / Filter

Level of difficulty: Medium

You'll Need:
Groove-joint pliers (or pipe wrench)
cloth or masking tape

Directions:
Step 1: Start by wrapping some masking tape around the faucet aerator or on the jaws of the groove-joint pliers. You can also just wrap a cloth between the groove-joint pliers and the faucet aerator. This way you don't make any marks or scratches on the faucet when you screw off the aerator.

Step 2: Use the groove-joint pliers to turn the aerator clockwise and loosen it. When it's loosen, use your fingers to screw it completely off.

Step 3: Disassemble the aerator. It normally consist of an outer part, a filter and a gasket. You would usually find tiny rocks and rust pieces in the filter part. Rinse all the parts in water but be careful not to drop the small parts into the drain. You can with advantage use a toothbrush to clean the filter.

Step 4: If you live in a country with a high lime/calcium content in the water, like we've in Denmark, then soak the parts in a white vinegar or a lime dissolver solution. Over time lime will built up inside the aerator and slowly block the water flow.

Step 5: Reassembly the cleaned aerator.

Step 6: Screw the aerator back on the sink faucet using your finger. Use the groove-joint pliers to finally tighten it. And you are done.

Now you would experience that the water flow is more nice and even. Remember to clean the aerator once every year and you should be all fine.

The post How To: Clean your Sink Faucet Aerator / Filter appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.

In this step-by-step guide we will show you how to easily split and extract the seeds from a fresh vanilla bean. Normally we only use fresh vanilla in our recipes. Fresh vanilla simply has a better and more rich flavor compared to the dried vanilla products you can buy at the grocery store. This guide show you how to extract these delicious vanilla seeds from the beans and it's actually very easy - it's differently worth the little extra work. We always use fresh vanilla for our vanilla ice cream or the very tradition Danish rice pudding (Risalamande) which is a dessert typically served at Christmas.

How To: Make Vanilla Sugar

If you are about to use a recipe where you need vanilla sugar, and you can't find it at your local grocery store, you can also use this guide. You simply just follow all the steps below.

How-To: Split and Seed a Vanilla Bean

Time: 5 minutes

You'll Need:
1 vanilla bean
knife
chopping board

Directions:
Step 1: Use a small knife to cut the vanilla bean lengthwise.
Step 2: Split the bean in two pieces.
Step 3: Place the two halves on a chopping board.
Step 4: Use the back/nonsharp side of the knife to scrap out the vanilla seeds.
Step 5: Place the vanilla seeds in a small pile. If the recipe, where you are going to use the vanilla, contains sugar continue to next step - otherwise stop here.
Step 6: Pour a tablespoon of sugar next to the vanilla pile and mix the two ingredients together using the knife. This way you avoid the vanilla to clump together.

By Kim Nielsen
[lastupdated]

The post How To: Split and Seed a Vanilla Bean appeared first on Nordic Food & Living.