FX’s The Bear is back for another season, bringing with it all the culinary chaos. While friends and family who’ve worked in the restaurant biz live for (and cringe from) that kitchen drama, I’ll admit I’m more tuned in to the cookware and kitchen gadgets, especially when the characters use or name-drop items I know and love myself.
For starters, there was an Always Pan cameo in the first season in Sugar’s kitchen at home. (I have one in Blue Salt, and it’s a favorite among my cookware!). But the real pause-and-rewind moment for me was when Sydney recommended Bar Keepers Friend as the best way for Tina to save a pile of pots and pans from burnt oblivion. Later on in the episode, Tina triumphantly tells Syd that the stuff worked.
While I was surprised to see such a blatant product placement, I wasn’t surprised by the choice of product. BKF has been around for more than a century — and suffice it to say, the stuff really does work. Plus, it’s less than $10, and because you only use a little bit each time, it lasts for months (at least, in my kitchen).
Why Bar Keepers Friend Should Be Your Friend, Too
To be clear, there is a list on the BKF bottle of surfaces to avoid, like gold, silver, polished stone, cast iron, mirrors, and other delicate surfaces. But sometimes, desperation gets the better of us when no other cleaning products work — which is why you should always read the label. While I’m not endorsing it, if you do decide to go rogue, here are my three main rules for cleaning with BKF:
- I don’t use much elbow grease. I prefer to use a soft sponge or a microfiber cloth and let BKF’s gritty formula do most of the work.
- I don’t let it sit for too long. The container advises against leaving it on as a paste for longer than a minute. I have left it on for longer and my pots have lived to tell the tale, but we’re talking minutes here, not hours.
- I always rinse thoroughly. In fact, I don’t like using BKF on anything I can’t easily fit in the sink to give a good dousing. The only exception is the kitchen sink itself, which is probably my favorite thing to clean with BKF.