How can brown stains be removed from pots and pans? I haven't been cooking for long &#8212; recent college grad &#8212; so I'm doing a lot of experimentation and making a lot of rookie mistakes.  One of them is shown here for your viewing pleasure:



My mom gifted me this pan less than a year ago.  She used it for over 15 years and kept it spotless the entire time, so I'm more than a little embarassed.  I suspect that these stains were caused by stray drops of oil getting onto the bottom of the pan and getting burned on.  Is that right, or were they caused by something else?  I use an electric stove with resistive heating coils, if it makes a difference.  And more importantly, how can I get this pan clean again?
Bar Keeper's Friend in powdered form and some elbow grease will solve this problem. The first time you tackle it, it can be a real pain to get the pan cleaned up, but if you keep up with it regularly after that, it's not to bad. Great cleaning supply.