I have cleaned our heavy stainless steel stockpot which had burned on apple pieces on the bottom inside. First, I did the baking soda with hot water on the range. DH was so upset with himself for "ruining the pot" when he made applesauce. No problem! Make a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide right in the pot and apply liberally to the burned areas. Allow to loosen or even leave overnite. You should be able to remove the clumps and scorched areas with ease with a brush or SOS pad. Apply more than once if necessary. Relax! :-) I have "renewed" even old pans with baked on grease.

The dryer sheet is what we do and it works amazingly well. :-)

Soak the pan in a paste made of water and Barkeepers Friend powder....there is a chemical in the powder that will make fast work of it.

This thread has come at just the right time for me. Was cooking corned meat last night and forgot about it. The meat is still edible but the pot is a mess. Have it soaking with salt & lots of vinegar. if that won't work I'll try some of the methods suggested here. Thank you all for your suggestions. Love this board and all the helpful members.

I've done this many times. Use Bar Keepers Friend, found by the Ajax and Comet cleaners in the grocery store. Scrub with a scouring side of a sponge. It comes off.

I think, whatever method you use, you need to let it sit for a day or two to work.

Cream of Tartar is an Old Timer fix and really does work. Just not sure of the measurements.....anyone know?

I saw on TV one time about using Cream of Tarter and vinigar to clean a burned on pot. It also works with glass and even my cooktop without scratches. Pour a small amount of vinigar into or on top of the mess and add Cream of Tartar until it is of a paste consistency. This is usable on many objects but it does require a little bit of elbow grease. I especially use this this mixture a lot, on my cooktop which appears to be a painted material, not the old porcelain.

There is some stuff that beer makers use to soak the bottles in and take the labels off, it is called Straight A and it took the stuff off my burned pot like magic :)

How about putting some paper towels with ammonia in it and letting it sit. I know it works for ovens