I have an old heavy-bottomed aluminium pan. I made fish-stock in it and now I find it impossible to get the fish-smell out. Tomorrow I have to make mulled cider in it. Have you got any advise?
Love, thanks!
Annemieke Wigmore,

Throw it out!

Try boiling water with a generous amount of baking soda thrown in.

Try boiling water with a generous amount of baking soda thrown in.

LisaB, know you are good with chemicals, but cooking is my expertise, and nothing, absolutely nothing is going to help that ole pan get its groove back after fish, and then hoping for mulled wine... no way. New pan for OP

I use that formula to get rid of burn on a pot.

Maybe boiling with cream of tartar? That takes off some pretty wicked minerals. Maybe it can work on fish.

Good news from Annemieke: after storing the panin my shed for a few months, waiting for the next batch of fishbones to be made into stock, the smell has disappeared! I cooked some beet in it (thinking fish goes well with beet) and there is not a trace! The pan did not have a lid on. Yippee: it was, and is again, a good pan!

The next batch of fish bones could be tomorrow and if this is a fave pan you don't really want to be leaving it in the shed for a few months all the time, the smell could also attract un wanted visitors like raccoons. You could try cutting a lemon in half and rubbing it around the inside of the pot, leave it to dry with the lemon juice still in it the wash the next day... I have used this trick a few times with great success. Good luck!

I would be most pleased to see a raccoon in my shed... living as I do in the UK. But thanks for the tip, good idea! Love A.