My husband and I were steaming vegetables in a stainless steel pot and apparently didn’t put in enough water. There was a burnt smell and my husband took the pot off the stove.

His plan was to let it all cool till it was cool enough to handle, then take out the vegetables and steamer insert and clean up. He thought putting cold water in the hot pan would just damage the pot.

I thought that leaving the veggies in there would allow them to keep burning and make the smell worse, since I figured some of the smell must be coming from the veggies being seared in the heat. Plus I thought we should cool down the pot because it was burnt. I took the veggies and steamer insert out. In doing so, I did actually burn myself, and when I added cold water to the pot, it did spatter a bit.

Which approach was the better way? Should I have left it all in there until it was cool for safety? Or is it better for the veggies and the pot to take it all apart asap?