Paella pan

[pitstopbunny]

When my ex left, he also left behind his paella pan! It has a few rust spots - any ideas how to shift them or is it still safe, once oiled, to cook in it?

[Kim A]

give it a good clean out with salt and oil, or use a Brillo pad and water, then rinse and dry. You won't get all the rust off, but it should be fine. Then heat it up over a hot flame with some more oil and salt in it til it's smoking hot (not loads, just enough to make an oily film). then, turn off the heat, protect your hand with an oven glove or something heatproof, and wipe out the second lot of oil and salt with kitchen paper. The Paella pan should be fine for use. I do this with mine if i haven't used it for a while - they tend to go rusty anyway.

[Kim A]

Oh. and do the heat, oil and salt thing each time you wash it after use - it protects the surface!

[nickmo]

Hi psb - perfectly safe- they sell you rust in a can anyway - Irn Bru! - so don't worry about a little ferric oxide in the diet - good for hangovers anyway - helps the liver recover.

If you are concerned, treat the paella with a rub-over with some veg oil on a paper towel and this actually lifts some of the discolouration off the surface. Failing this, a gentle rub with a wire wool will also lift off the rusty bits - I presume it is an iron pan. . . Store it with a very thin coat of oil and this will prevent further rusting.

Adios!