Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <pot>
Title: I boiled dry my 18/10 ss pot, is it damaged and unsafe to cook with now
Question: I was boiling eggs and fell asleep. I think it was boiling dry for about an hour, would the pot be unsafe to cook with now?  It was clean inside but the outside is now slightly yellow tinged. Does stainless steel have any kind of coating in it that might of burnt off? I don't really want to throw the pot away as it is 18/10 and pretty expensive, but I don't want to risk my health.  Thanks

Answers:
sents: text: Stainless steel pots are pretty much indestructable and it should be safe to cook with.
text: Just give it a good cleaning.
text: Some hardwarevstores (lowes) have a ss cleaner that might get rid of the yellow tinge.
text: Otherwise, it'll look like every other well used ss pot.
text: 18/10 ss is 18% chromium, 10% nickel, and balance in iron and stableto higher temperatures.
text: If you didn't drop the hot pot in cold water, or the bottom is really thick, you shouldn't have warping issues either.
text: An egg timer might be handy next time ;)
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/3649/MandoMando
score: 11
sents: text: Stainless steel is not coated, and will not be permanently harmed by any temperatures achievable in the home.
text: It melts at about 1500 C (2750 F).
text: It might be warped or discolored, but it is fine to use.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/14401/SAJ14SAJ
score: 7
sents: text: You might want to try to use Barkeepers Friend or Bon Ami.
text: This is what allclad recommends for a task like this.
text: I have removed many stains from my allclad with these products even on the polished side of the pans.
text: It works great.
text: Super cheap product as well.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/37744/Dave
score: 5
sents: text: I burn stainless pots regularly and pretty much don't worry about them unless they impart a burnt taste to the food and hopefully even then they are safe.
text: I've found they best way to get the burn off is to apply a wet coat of baking soda to the inside of the pan and leave it there for a couple of days.
text: It should then scrub clean pretty easily.
text: If not, try boiling with baking soda and water.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/37518/Peg
score: 2
sents: text: I have signed up just to reply to your question .The
text: yellow color you see is the temper color of the steel.
text: It is used after quenching(hardening) to temper the hardness of the blade to soften it a bit up , a knife that is too hard doesent
text: mean it is tough , apply a bit of force to it and it will snap in 2 or a million pieces, you make the blade tougher by slowly heating up and watching the "temper colors" of the steel and depending on what you are making you want a different temper on different steels and tools you make , so for example if you make a knife you want to get to that yellow or what we call straw color , for an axe you want to soften it a bit further to maybe purple color.
text: The yellow stain can be removed with scratching(sandpaper) as this color is formed only on the surface layer you can also try using vinegar and baking soda or maybe even just with vinegar , it is rather quick...
text: I learned this the hard way.
text: I have made a knife
text: and I wanted to keep the temper colors on the spine of the knife
text: , it was a little rusty when I left it for a few days
text: so I placed it in vinegar to remove it
text: , this removed the temper colors as well..
text: Good luck
text: I might be too late for this post.
text: XDOh by the way
text: no need for special products just use plain old white vinegar and baking soda.
text: Forging temperature of steel is much higher yes but tempering of steel is done at the range of 250-350 °
text: celsiusWhich keeping a pot on a stove can definitely achieve ..
text: I've used an oven to temper my blades
text: it works flawlessly.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/78608/Nikola Maric
score: 1
sents: text: If it is a non-stick pan then you definitely run the risk of health issues.
text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer_fume_fever Stainless steel is forged at a temperature far higher then what you could do in your kitchen.
text: The issue is more with warping because it causes uneven heating.
text: But if it's a pot filled with water it shouldn't be that much of an issue.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/19277/cspirou
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
If it is a non-stick pan, then this could cause health issues, but a plain stainless steel pan is not coated and apart from possible warping and discolouration, will not be harmed by the temperatures achievable in the home. You can remove the stains with stainless steel cleaner or vinegar and baking soda.
It is considered unlikely that a stainless steel pan can be damaged by temperature achievable in the home. However, if the pan is non-stick, reusing it may be a health issue. Special cleaners and vinegar and baking soda can be used to clean off burn marks.