Hi all,
I was given an old strapped loaf pan by a friend and I'm trying to work out what it's made of and whether, with some love and care, it'll be safe for baking. (FYI I usually prefer to avoid non-stick cookware).
I'd love to chuck a baking sheet over it and use it as a set of makeshift pullman pans. My guess is it's aluminium or some alloy thereof. A magnet sticks to it. The outside looks coated in some sort of black enamel.
Thoughts? Does anyone have experience with strapped pans?
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are usually made of steel; maybe tinned, maybe not. None have had non-stick coatings. They need to be greased before placing dough in them.
Yours look like they might be tinned steel but I can't say with certainty.
Paul
First time seeing those!!
I have a set of these I picked up at a second-hand stall about 30 years ago. I used them for a long time, but haven't for some years. I agree with what Paul said. They are not non-stick and initially clean up nicely using detergent water and a stainless steel scrubber. Dry and oil before use. After the first use you don't have to scrub with a steel, just wipe out and oil to stop rusting. The outside is coated with a heat resistant black paint, to absorb heat rather then reflect it. Mine were large and I had to cut off one so they would fit in my old oven.
I found a sliding top for one on-line years ago. I'll post a pic soon.
Nice one! I'm jealous of the sliding top. I'll have to source a lid at some point. Interesting about the black paint--I had noticed some of those available online were black on the outside but somehow it didn't click until you mentioned it that it's the same thing (I think because it was partly worn away).
My husband says to use CLR (calcium, lime, rust) which should be easy to find at any hardware store. Start with a 50/50 CLR/water solution and let soak for awhile. Then use a mild scrub pad; an old toothbrush helps in the corners. If that's not enough, use a stronger concentration. Once it's cleaned up, he says to treat it like cast iron. Oil and heat it a few times to create a finish. He recently restored some old cast iron corncob corn muffin pans. They were somewhat rusty when we found them, but after some work they look like brand new and work great. Good luck!
I've given it a preliminary clean with some baking soda (wasn't able to source CLR just now, had to sub for elbow grease!) and a scrubbing brush and a toothbrush as suggested and it's lifted the surface rust nicely. The underlying metal still looks quite patchy, almost like drops of water have stained it, but from what I've read I'm guessing that could be the lack of a protective oxide layer? I'll oil it and heat it as you say and see if it does away with the patchy look.
will remove rust. Why people drink the stuff is beyond me! :)