Cleaning raclette: These tricks will save you hours of scrubbing

First Christmas, then New Year's Eve - our raclette, which sits in a box in the basement for the rest of the year, is busy this week!

But after the feast comes the big scrubbing: burnt-on remains of fish, meat and cheese in the raclette pans and on the grill plate make you despair. Especially on such a cozy evening, we really don't feel like spending time cleaning.

Clean raclette properly: It depends on the device

Not every raclette is cleaned in the same way, because there are models with a natural grill stone plate and some with a Teflon-coated grill plate (Practical: This raclette grill from Amazon has both*).

But the two raclette grills have one thing in common: you don't have to clean them immediately with a full stomach. Leave the raclettecool completelybefore you remove the respective grill plate and start cleaning.

Clean raclette with a natural stone plate

To clean a raclette with a natural grill stone plate, you first have to let it cool down thoroughly. Large temperature fluctuations, for example if you run cold water on the hot plate, can damage the stone.

You should avoid too much water with this model anyway. A natural stone slab is alloweddefinitely notsoaked or put in the dishwasher. The stone soaks up water and becomes porous and unusable in the long term.

To get rid of dirt, a damp sponge and a little detergent are usually enough. Then dry the stone well with a clean kitchen towel.

Tipp: Discoloration on the stone is completely normal. So you don't have to try to laboriously scrub away the patina.

Clean raclette with coating

For raclette grills with non-stick coatings such as Teflon, it is important never to work with sharp objects. Instead, you should carefully remove burnt-on and larger food residues with a wooden spatula (e.g. with the small wooden spatulas that come with the raclette pans).

Tipp:Before you attack the grill with water and dish soap, it is much easier to remove grease residue from the still lukewarm plate. Just use a piece of kitchen roll.

Most grill plates with Teflon coating can simply be insertedDishwasher. If you don't have a dishwasher, you should soak the plate in warm water with a drop of detergent. If you have very stubborn dirt, let the plate soak overnight.

Clean the heating elements from the raclette

The part of the grill through which the heating hoses run rarely gets dirty. If something still happens, you can use a commercially available grease dissolving spray (here from Amazon*) use for cleaning. Spray it onto the dirty area, leave it to act for a few minutes and wipe it off with a soft cloth.

Important: You should never keep this part of the raclette under water!

Cleaning raclette pans: It's that easy

Raclette pans are always used for some culinary miracles. And finally, of course, everything is covered with cheese. Luckily, the dirty pans can be cleaned very easily:

• Remove coarse dirt and leftover food with a wooden raclette spatula or a kitchen towel.
• Soak the pans in warm water with dish soap.
• Then clean it with a sponge. Here too, avoid using rough dishwashing brushes or steel wool.

Tip: It's worth taking a look at the raclette's operating instructions. With most pans it is no problem to put them in the dishwasher.

*

Home remedies can cause harm

We're usually big fans of practical home remedies - but when it comes to raclette, they can do more harm than good. Stay away from baking soda and the like. This can damage the coating of the grill. Lukewarm water and detergent are usually sufficient.

Finally, it's best to store your raclette in its original packaging. This way you have everything in one place and it is protected from dust until it is next used.