Can You Bake Pizza On Cardboard? – Safer Options
While others can make their homemade pizzas, some have challenges making their own due to some constraints. Others do not have the proper equipment to use, so some use cardboard to make pizzas. However, can you bake pizza on cardboard? Is it safe to use for cooking pizza? Although it seems convenient to use the pizza box for baking your pizza, it is simply not safe to put cardboard in the oven. Read on to find out why.
Reasons Why You Should Not Bake Pizza on Cardboard
At some point, you remember that you have a delicious pizza, and you want to eat it, so you put it in the oven immediately from the fridge and walk away. After some time, you realize you forgot to take the cardboard off the pizza. You then wonder, can you bake pizza on cardboard?
The following are the reasons why cardboard should never go in the oven:
The Threat of Spontaneous Combustion
The cardboard or corrugated board is flammable and should, therefore, be protected from flying sparks. The cardboard has a high chance of burning when the temperature hits 427 degrees Celsius. To ensure the safety of everyone, refrain from baking or reheating pizza on cardboard.
Most pizzas are baked at 425 degrees Celsius and above. This two-degree margin is a little too close for comfort. When you cook your pizza with cardboard on it, either your pizza will be crispy and delicious without burning the carton, or the cardboard will smoke tremendously and even catching on fire that would ruin your pizza night.
Older ovens have heating elements exposed to the inside of the stove, which increases the risk of fire. On the other hand, newer ovens have the heating elements covered better and circulate heat making fire less likely.
Slows Down Cooking Time
Leaving your pizza with cardboard on the bottom or other food can slow down the cooking time. It also keeps the bottom of your pizza from getting nice and crispy.
Some food can be baked with paper dishes as they are made to withstand the over. Ensure that you only use paper products designed for baking in the oven, for the safety of all.
Makes Your Food Taste Weird
Even if the cardboard does not catch fire, it can still smoke and give off smells that can leave a bad taste on the food and make your oven and kitchen smell.
Also, most frozen foods include plastic packaging to prevent freezer burn, so if you remove the packaging and just put it in the oven, that can create an unpleasant smell and taste.
Baking or reheating food on cardboard has no advantage. To help others and eliminate the question, can you bake pizza on cardboard, share these facts to help others understand that there are options on how to cook or reheat pizza without harming yourself and the person/s around you.
If somebody asks you if you can bake pizza on cardboard, you have to explain the disadvantages of baking the pizza with cardboard to understand better.
What to Use Instead of Cardboard
Here are the alternatives to cardboard that you could consider for baking or reheating your food:
Cookie Sheet
You may use cookie sheets in cooking pizza as they are oven safe. You will get the quality of food that you are looking for; excellent crispy pizza.
Casserole Dish or Baking Pan
If you do not have a flat cookie sheet, you need to put it in a casserole dish or baking pan.
Aluminum Foil
If you have nothing else to put your pizza into, you may use some aluminum foil. Before preheating the oven, take out the oven rack and cover it with aluminum foil.
Pizza Block
A pizza block might be a worthy investment in your kitchen if you love pizza so much. These are ceramic sheets that you put directly into your oven to bake your pizza on. They make the crust crispy and prevent cheese from dripping into your oven.
These alternatives are just some options; you may even cook or reheat your pizza in a pan without baking. You have to be resourceful and creative and always consider safety first. Find out more about baking pizza.
Conclusion
Can you bake pizza on cardboard? For everybody's safety, it’s a huge no-no. Thankfully, there are other ways to reheat and bake a pizza that is safe and will keep the quality of the food. Just follow one of these, and you can enjoy eating your pizza warm.
