Fill it with warm soapy water and let a dryer sheet soak in it for an hour or even overnight.

No scrubbing involved.

Put about 1/4 cup powdered dishwasher detergent in the pan, add water and put on stove, boil it until all the junk has come loose. If the pan is large, you may have to add more detergent. I have used this many times and it has always worked.

I'd spray it with Easy Off, put it in a garbage bag and let sit in the sun.

I've done with a heavily stained and crudded enameled cast iron skillet. Many cast iron owners clean the heavily crudded skillets that way.

Sorry, this may sound sarcastic and isn't intended to be - have you tried an aluminum pot cleaner or Bar Keepers Friend?

Hydrogen peroxide. Pour enough into the pan to cover the mess, bring to a boil, turn off the heat & watch the magic.

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/hydrogen-peroxide-cleaned-burnt-sugar-from-my-pan.948697/

There was some love here not long ago for Dawn Powerwash Spray, and I’m joining the club. It does a good job quickly on burned messes, even a recent one thqt had some sugar in it (not a lot of sugar, but enough ugh).

don't use oven cleaner on aluminum! (i.e. Easy off). from the manufacturer:

Can EASY-OFF® Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner be used on any aluminum? We do not recommend using this product on aluminum, as it may pit and discolor it. However, it does not penetrate into the metal or remain on the surface after the recommended rinsing instructions have been followed.

I've used Dawn Powerwash Spray to remove cooked-on grease from pans, and it was miraculous, but I have not tried it on burnt sugar. It's worth a try.

Thanks Olychick!

Sjerin, ignore my advice.

For a similar problem, it was suggested that I try the powdered dishwasher detergent and it worked great. It may have taken a couple of times but the pot ended up a clean as a whistle.

Ive used barkeepers friend and a one edge razor for tough spots

Well, we're trying a baking soda/hydrogen peroxide past and leaving it for several hours. (Dh thought it would be rather dangerous to boil it.) It's wonderful to have all the suggestions to try here. Well, except for Jasdip's. haha!

Anytime I have a burnt on mess I put a little bleach in with water and by the morning it comes clean. If it's really bad you may have to scrub it a little bit but always works for me.

Usually for a baked-on mess I would soak overnight with powdered dishwasher detergent and water. Dawn Power wash is almost as good and faster.

FWIW, dishwasher detergents contain bleach.

Soaking overnight in water with dishwashing soap, followed by a scrub with an SOS pad, works for me.

Cant wait to hear about the final outcome!

Hope your solution works. I've always had success with a few tablespoons of dishwasher powder with enough water to cover the mess, then I cover and simmer on low until I see the mess lift off.

The only time it didn't work was when my youngest got lice from school and I was boiling our hairbrushes and forgot them on the stove. The result was a noxious, plastic mess in the bottom of one of my best pots. I had to throw it out.

Well, we're trying a baking soda/hydrogen peroxide past and leaving it for several hours. (Dh thought it would be rather dangerous to boil it.)

Oh, so DH is one who is cleaning up the pan. I misunderstood.

I've used (just) hydrogen peroxide (the household disinfectant 3% one) 3 times to clean up pans with burnt on messes by boiling a small amount of it in the pan. So far, I'm still here, the house is still here & I'm still using those pans.

I would try a single edge razor blade or an SOS pad. I swear by the cleansing pads.

Buy a new pot? And find a use for the old pot, maybe put a couple of holes in the bottom and use for a planter, or use it to cook messy items when you don't care about appearance.

one Bounce sheet and hot water-let it sit for a few hours-works

The (unboiled) hydrogen peroxide mixture didnt work too well, so so i will try something else. We unexpectedly had dgd yesterday so no work done (by moi) on the beloved pan.

I used this recently on a burnt mess in my oven. I had to do it twice as i didn't take care of it when i should have! Lol.

I made half of this recipe and sprayed it on heavy, and have enough left over for another time!

2oz. Dawn

4oz.. Bottled lemon juice

8oz. White vinegar

10 oz. Water

The secret is to spray on surface, let it sit overnight and then wipe with wet cloth to remove residue.

Good luck!!

Haven't tried it with burned sugar - but hot, hot water and a dishwasher pod. Let it sit overnight. You may need to do this a couple of times, but so far this has done the job for us.

Might not work for you, but was able to remove plastic melted onto a pot by deep freezing it; was then able to crack the plastic off.

Have you tried wd40? That stuff is amazing at causing things to let go on one another. The pot can always be washed free of it. Some of those cleaning products have some scary chemicals so I see not much difference in trying wd40. It is no more scary than oven cleaner. That is really caustic! So also is that dishwasher detergent.

It has been my experience that using more heat may only make it worse with cooked on sugar. Burnt sugar turns to a carbon like hardness that adheres strongly.

The other option may be a hard scrubbing with steel wool or a brush with emery cloth, and that might, or might not, cause fatal harm to your pot.

If the sugar is not that burnt into the pot, a soaking usually takes care of it. But, once it has blackened and hardened and adhered, it becomes more difficult to remove. There are differing degrees to which burnt on sugar can fuse with the inside of the pot.

That's an interesting idea, Wednesday. Mdln, I was going to try that next, but after coming out of the dishwasher dh was able to scrape away the vast majority of the black stuff with a table knife. I'll pop it back in the dishwasher to see if the last remaining specks might come off. Yes, we love this little pan!