Sooo i kinda did a dumb- well, I had a "learning experience" the other day. I set my Ti pot on to boil and when I check it about five minutes later, I realize i stupidly forgot to put water in the pot!! Rookie mistake. Well ok, I'm a rookie.

Anyway, the outside is torched, though I'm not one for looks. What worries me is the inside being similarly messed up, and what appears to be rust or something at the bottom on one edge that I can't scrub away.

What to do? Keep or trash? Also is it safe to steel wool the rusty part away?

You said it was a Ti pot right, it is oxidation similar to rust but totally inert. Unless it is flaky I would leave it, it adds character.

Darn I thought this would be a thread on cooking pot roast in your snow peak. I guess that explains why this thread isn't in the food section.

Anyway, I agree with above, it is oxidation which would be called rust if it were iron. If it hasn't compromised the integrity of the pot, then you don't really have anything to worry about. You should be able to clean it off with steel wool. Ignore that advice if the inside of the pot has a non-stick coating. In that case you have compromised the coating and will be eating and burning flakes of it. Teflon is not good for and I wouldn't use it anymore.

Yep, the boys are correct. What you have is a layer of titanium dioxide, inside and out. When titanium is heated above 1620* F, its crystalline structure converts from the alpha to the beta phase. This means nothing to you, of course. Then, when the metal cools back down past 1620* F, it reverts back to the alpha phase. This is when oxygen will be incorporated into the surface of the metal, forming a tenacious layer of titanium dioxide, measuring just a few angstroms thick. This layer refracts light differently, with the color of the patina dictated by the thickness of the titanium dioxide layer. Feel free to scour the pot with an S.O.S. pad--it won't hurt the titanium, and it might possibly shave off a bit of the oxide coating. The layer adheres to the main titanium metal quite well though. But even if some were to chip off, it won't hurt to swallow it--it has FDA approval for use as a food additive. The white letters on an M & M are actually a titanium dioxide paint.

Now, if the pot does have a non-stick surface, toss it. As was mentioned, your mama don't want her baby eating Teflon.

I see the process Gary describes every time I make a trowel and my own FireFly stove is now a deep bluish purple color after many burns. I think it's beautiful and I would not want to scrape it off. No harm to leave it be and just enjoy the rainbow patina.

Teflon is actually pretty safe to eat; the same properties that make it non-stick also make it almost entirely biologically inert. While I'm not saying it would be a good idea to eat large amounts of Teflon, it wouldn't do you much hard.

However, it does decompose under high heat into some less pleasant compounds, although those tend to evaporate away into the air.

If the pan was non-stick, you have ruined the non-stick-ness of the pan, but it's still safe to use, if you feel so inclined.