How To Remove Food Stains In Your Kitchen

Nothing is more annoying than trying to remove the food stains in our kitchen!

Atsuete, Turmeric, Coffee, and Beets — these foods have one thing in common: they stain! The worst part is, it’s not as obvious as soy sauce or ketchup when they spill on the counter. So when we try to remove these food stains, it’s stressful to scrub off and bothersome to stare at.

But these foods are essential ingredients in a lot of recipes. Atsuete is a favorite in Filipino cooking, giving Chicken Inasal and Kare-Kare its vibrant orange color. Turmeric is part of curry; whether Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, or Filipino-style curry, it gives food a bright yellow color. Coffee’s a no-brainer; it’s what keeps the world from self-destructing.

Unfortunately, the stains from these foods are slow-acting. We only realize much, much, later that the dyes already seeped into our countertops. But here are ways to remove them without spending so much time scrubbing:

1. Baking Soda

Baking soda seems to be everyone’s clean-all. Mix some water and baking soda into a paste before letting it sit on the food stain for the next fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, add a little lemon or vinegar for that extra scrubbing power. Calamansi works just as well. And if we have none of those, hot water does the trick too.

2. Shaving cream

Some kitchen whizzes swear by the power of shaving cream. Spray a small bit onto the stain and let it sit for the next thirty minutes or so. Then, wipe it off with a clean cloth. Some say that shaving cream also works on removing tough grease stains, which is a godsend considering how much pork some of us eat.

3. Lemon

If it’s a new stain, lemon does the trick! Not only does it leave the kitchen counter smelling nice and citrusy, but it also removes stubborn food stains. It doesn’t just work on marble but also cloth. However, the stain needs to be recent if we’re trying to remove it. If it’s already seeped into the pores of the marble or cloth, baking soda’s the way to go.

Bleach: Might too be strong to remove food stains from kitchen tops

While bleach is our go-to for removing stains, directly applying the stuff may destroy the countertop. Like most chemical cleansers, they can break down stone or cement when used constantly. Baking soda at least is not so destructive until mixed with a strong acid like vinegar. However, to prevent these stains in the future, might as well put a dark silicon pot holder or tissue under it.

More kitchen care?

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