Is food that burnt in an 18/10 stainless steel pot still edible? I was cooking Christmas tamales in an 18/10 stainless steel pot and I accidentally let the water evaporate and the pot started burning.  I think it was probably burning for around 5 minutes or less.  There were a lot of tamales in there and I'm wondering if they are safe to eat or if I have to throw them out?
Your stainless steel pot is thoroughly thermally stable well above the temperature of your stove, and there are no volatile compounds present that could migrate out of the pot and into your food. It is (was) perfectly safe to consume the tamales cooked in this pot.