I wouldn’t have believed it until I tried it, but a product from the Siege Chemical Company works miraculously on getting rid of heat and water damage on stainless-steel pots and pans. I tried Siege’s Stainless Steel & Aluminum Cleaner on an All-Clad saucepan that I’d badly damaged by leaving it on the heat after the water had boiled out of it. I poured some directly in the pot and began rubbing with a paper towel. It took only a minute or two before the dark gray blotches on the metal began to disappear as the shiny stainless came back into view. I got the inside of the pot looking almost like new and then began working on the coppery-colored heat damage on the outside of the pot, which also began to disappear (although a bit more reluctantly).

The cleaner is designed to be used on pots and pans, but it can also be used on stainless-steel appliances, provided they’re washed immediately afterward with hot soapy water. A 12-ounce bottle, enough for several cleanings, costs $6 and is available from www.gourmetcatalog.com or by calling 877-445-0005 for the location of a store near you. You can also call Siege Chemical Company (602-265-3200) for more information on this and its other products, including a porcelain and enamel cleaner, a copper cleaner, a glass and ceramic stovetop cleaner, and a rust remover.