How to Use Bar Keeper's Friend on Carbon Steel Pans

Bar Keeper’s Friend (BKF) has been a trusted cookware cleaner for over 140 years! One of its most common uses is keeping stainless steel shiny, but did you know it’s also super useful for carbon steel?

Bar Keeper’s Friend is especially helpful for prepping plain, untreated carbon steel before seasoning by creating a more receptive surface for the seasoning to bond to. It’s particularly helpful for our Strata Classic Carbon Clad® pans. BKF is also great for removing unwanted seasoning and keeping the stainless steel exterior and handle shiny.

Why BKF Can Help with Seasoning

At Strata, our slogan is “Just Keep Cooking.” This isn't just a catchy phrase; we chose it because seasoning builds best over time through the act of cooking. Applying oil and heating the pan for a first seasoning will get you started, but the chemical reactions that take place after carbon steel reacts with acid from food are one of the best ways to get a good seasoning layer. The acid cleans and etches the cooking surface on a microscopic level, making it highly reactive and ready to bond to and hold seasoning.

With that in mind, we realized Bar Keeper’s Friend would be the perfect way to mimic that same reaction and kick-start a new pan. This is because its main ingredient is oxalic acid, an organic acid found naturally in many plants, such as rhubarb. For daily washing, we do NOT recommend cleaning the cooking surface with Bar Keeper’s Friend as this will strip your hard-earned seasoning. But for your brand new Classic Carbon Clad® pan, it’s a great way to prep for the first seasoning. Here are the steps below:

Prep a New Carbon Steel Pan for Seasoning

1. Apply BKF to the cooking surface of your pan. If using the powdered version, add enough water to make a liquidy paste.

2. Scrub with a scrubby sponge to make sure you remove all vegetable oil residue used to coat the pan and prevent rust during shipping.

3. Make sure the entire cooking surface is coated with BKF, and leave it to sit for about 1 minute. Make sure not to leave the pan sitting for extended periods. If you leave BKF on for too long, more than about five minutes, it will noticeably etch the pan’s surface.

4. Rinse off the BKF and wash your whole pan with normal dish soap, then dry.

5. After using BKF, the carbon steel surface of your pan will be VERY clean and can rust quickly, so be sure to immediately apply oil and season your pan on the stovetop or in the oven according to the instructions.
   

NOTE: For daily washing, we do NOT recommend cleaning the cooking surface with Bar Keeper’s Friend, as this will strip your hard-earned seasoning.

Remove Old Seasoning, Buildup, or Rust

In addition to prepping a new pan for its first seasoning, Bar Keeper’s Friend is great for cleaning the carbon steel surface of a Strata Classic Carbon Clad® pan in one other scenario. Specifically, if your seasoning is heavily built up and/or food is carbonized onto the surface, it may be time for a reset. For a fresh start:

1. Apply BKF to the cooking surface of your pan. If using the powdered version, add enough water to make a liquidy paste.

2. Let it sit for a minute, then scrub for a couple of minutes with an abrasive such as Scotch-Brite.

3. Rinse and repeat this process a few times until the seasoning or buildup is removed. For significant buildup, it may be difficult to fully remove the seasoning. A partial removal is almost always just as effective if you’re looking to start over with seasoning.

4. Rinse off the BKF and wash your pan with normal dish soap, then dry.

5. Be sure to immediately apply oil and season your pan on the stovetop or in the oven according to the instructions.

NOTE: Be careful not to leave BKF on for extended periods, as it will eventually etch the surface of your pan or cause rust.

Clean the Stainless Steel Exterior and Handle (Strata)

Last but not least, you can, of course, use Bar Keeper’s Friend to clean the stainless steel surfaces of your Strata pans. This will clean off oil stains and yellowing. Strata Classic Carbon Clad® pans are the ONLY carbon steel pans with a stainless steel exterior and handle, so they make a great pairing with Bar Keeper’s Friend for routine cleaning to keep your cookware looking like new!

1. For the exterior, place your pan face down on a towel on the counter. This will protect your seasoning.

2. Let it sit for a minute, then scrub for a couple of minutes with a light abrasive such as Scotch-Brite. Note, aggressive scrubbing may cause scratches.

3. Rinse and repeat this process as needed. For more significant buildup, you may need to repeat it a few times.

4. You can also refer to Bar Keeper’s Friend for more instructions on cleaning stainless steel and many other materials, too!

NOTE: If you want to keep the stainless parts of your Strata looking their best, we recommend regularly using BKF to clean the exterior. It is significantly harder to clean once there’s substantial buildup.