The Easy TikTok Hack For A Squeaky Clean Dutch Oven
There are a lot of cookware and kitchen appliances out there to choose from, and they aren't all necessary, to be honest. While everyone's list of essential cookware will differ, a few versatile staples could include a frying pan, a convection toaster oven, a food processor, a thermometer, and a Dutch oven, per Consumer Reports. Those five items are great because they can be used for a lot of applications. Perhaps the most useful piece of essential cookware, Dutch ovens are large, versatile pots that are made of cast iron and come with a lid (per Maytag).
Dutch ovens can either be made with just cast iron and left bare, or have a coating of enamel on them as an extra layer of protection and to simplify cleaning. As stated before, Dutch ovens are great pieces of cookware because of how versatile they are. You can bake bread, deep fry chicken or other food, braise and brown meat, make stews and soups, boil pasta, and so much more (via Consumer Reports). Dutch ovens are also safe to use in ovens and can also be used as a serving vessel. With all that use your Dutch oven gets, it will undoubtedly get dirty and have some tough stains that need cleaning. Luckily, TikTok has an easy cleaning hack to get your Dutch oven squeaky clean.
All you need is water and baking soda
TikTok user @neat.caroline shared their easy TikTok hack for a shiny, clean Dutch oven, and all you have to do is bring some water to a boil and add baking soda. Then, you turn the heat off and leave it covered for about 15 minutes. After pouring the dirty water out, any bits of food that are burnt or stuck on the bottom or sides should be easy to scrape off with a rubber or wooden tool. Now, all your Dutch oven needs is a quick wash with warm water and soap, and it's as good as new. The commenters under @neat.caroline's TikTok were loving the easy Dutch oven cleaning hack, and the ones that tried it said it worked great for them.
It's important to note that the featured Dutch oven is one that's enameled, which means it has a white layer of enamel over a cast iron base (per Food Network). This distinction is important because Dutch ovens that aren't enameled will have different cleaning requirements. For enameled Dutch ovens, soap, water, and baking soda are all fine to use. However, a pure cast iron Dutch oven shouldn't be soaked in water or cleaned with soap because it could rust, and the seasoning layer could be scrubbed off accidentally. For cast iron Dutch ovens that aren't enameled, all you need is a little bit of water and a brush or rag to scrape off any bits of food.