You may know Mary Berry for her legendary cooking skills. But it turns out that the former Great British Bake Off judge is a pretty great source for cleaning hacks, too.
It makes sense, I suppose ― all those baking trays and pans must have taught her how to get stubborn stains off of metal.
But even with that understanding, I was surprised by how innovative her baking tray-cleaning hack is (which is impressive, considering I recently wrote about how the humble spud can shine up your tins).
Speaking to the Independent in the lead-up to her 2021 book, Love To Cook, the Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef shared that she swears by a dishwasher tablet when deep-cleaning baking trays.
It’s especially useful for extra-grimy trays, the author and chef says
Mary Berry doesn’t use this trick for everyday cleaning. But “If you’ve got a really burnt dish that you’ve been roasting in, put a dishwasher tablet in it and pour boiling water on it and leave it overnight,” she says.
“You’ll be amazed how easily it comes off.”
TikTok user@laurenscleaning also shared the hack on her account, adding a single dishwasher tab and boiling water to a baking tray that had cremated sausage remains in it (RIP to those chipolatas).
She left the boiling water for ten minutes rather than overnight, and still found that the brunt-on residue “literally melts it away.”
“This is gonna be a lifesaver,” one commenter said.
Anything else?
Yep! Mary Berry recommends using a walnut to re-polish old-stained, or worn wood (and yes, it’s a real thing ― FYI, James Acaster’s girlfriend always keeps some on their dresser in case of water rings from cups).
She also says the smell of cut onions can neutralise the odour of fresh paint.
The cookbook author and telly legend also recommends using white vinegar for cleaning everything from her washing machine to her windows (I’m taking notes).
Talk about a gift that keeps on giving...