These Reddit stories of ruined cookware will make you feel better about your own

A man inspired tons of Redditors to share their cookware fails after telling an anecdote about his girlfriend ruining two stainless steel pots. 

Nearly every home chef has almost totally ruined their cookware — or had someone else ruin it for them! It can be frustrating and discouraging, but it’s not the end of the world because there are ways to bring a burned pot back to life. It’s a rite of passage in any kitchen, and this Reddit thread proves it.

A man posted in the r/Cooking subreddit about his girlfriend ruining two of his stainless steel pots, saying that she “twice put a stainless steel pot with some water on the highest heat and then forgot about it. This has resulted in me coming into the kitchen seeing smoke and a pot with a blackened bottom.”

He finished the post with, “Anyhow, do you guys have any stories about someone destroying your kitchen stuff to help me feel better?” And, boy, did Redditors deliver on his request.

One wrote, “In my early twenties I bought an expensive tin lined copper pot at [Paris kitchenware store] Dehillerin and carried that huge, heavy sucker with me to the airport in my backpack and brought it back to the States as carry on — so you know that’s quite a while ago.

“I took it to a dinner party with a fish stew in it since it would need reheating and POINTEDLY told the host not to clean it, that I would take it home dirty. The host cleaned it anyway with steel wool and scraped off every [redacted] bit of tin.”

Another commenter’s story read more like a science experiment than a cookware fail. 

“My daughter left a cheap pot on the stove and forgot about it, she was about 17 at the time. Well I guess it had an aluminum core. I kid you not, the aluminum liquefied and poured out the side/bottom of the pot onto a huge puddle on the stove. Then of course [it] hardened.”

Yikes! 

Fortunately, the thread also provided tons of tips on how to rescue cookware from the brink!

One Reddit user shared, “Fill the pot with water and some dish soap. Boil water in it and, while hot, scrub it. It will be good as new.”

Another wise commenter chimed in with this consolation: “Seriously. Most stains can be removed with the proper technique. Then again, it’s cookware, it doesn’t need to look brand new.”

So if you’re dealing with some cookware that feels beyond rescue, you’re not alone and there is hope!

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