No, cardboard should not go in the oven.
Most cardboards do not catch fire until they are subjected to heat that is over 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Although you can keep your oven below 400 degrees
Fahrenheit, it is not a good practice to put cardboard in the oven while it is still on.
Here’s 3 reasons why putting cardboard in the oven is dangerous…
__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___
People are sometimes tempted to stick the delivered pizza with its cardboard into the oven for heating.
But, this is not a good idea even when the temperatures are kept below 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
A pizza box has grease that increases the risk of ignition even at lower temperatures.
Warming up the pizza while still in its cardboard increases the risk of two things; although the pizza will be crisp and delicious, the cardboard is at risk of smoking terribly and will catch fire that risk spread into your kitchen and in the entire of your house.
If you are using an old oven, they have an element that protrudes outside, thus increasing the risk of catching fire.
While the modern oven has a heating element that is properly circulated and well covered, this does not make it safer; and to completely avoid the danger of catching fire; you should altogether avoid putting the cardboard in the oven.
Table of Contents
ToggleIt increases the risk of fire
Pizza cardboard should not go into the oven since pizza contains oil or a greasy substance that can splatter the cardboard box.
A paper with grease on it can easily catch fire when exposed to a substantial amount of heat.
In fact, when you put cardboard containing such oil into the oven and turn the temperatures to a significant high, it can kindle a fire inside the oven.
It will increase the time required for cooking
Leaving the cardboard inside the oven may create a notion that you are reducing the cooking time; however, this is not the case.
Leaving the cardboard inside the oven means that your food does not have direct heating and the cardboard will act as an insulating material and the food or pizza will not get direct heat.
This will slow down the cooking time and the bottom of your pizza will be getting crispy.
Before leaving cardboard in your oven, it is important to understand that some foods are designed to be baked on a cardboard such as frozen dishes while others are designed to withstand the oven’s heat.
The kind of paper that is not particularly designed for baking should not go into the oven.
It Can make your food have a different taste
Although your cardboard may not catch fire, it can be smoked and will give off some fumes.
These fumes can lead to bad taste in your food and make your kitchen have an undesirable smell.
In some cases, frozen foods have plastic packaging, and when you fail to remove them, this can lead to some nasty taste and smell when heated.
So Is Cardboard Oven Safe?
No, cardboard is not oven safe and cannot go into the oven because it increases the fire risk when it comes into contact with the heating element.
Putting food with cardboard into the oven slows the heating time, and worst of it, the smoke emitted from heating cardboard and other elements has an unpleasant taste and smell that can be part of your food.
__TVE_SHORTCODE_RAW___
Hi all! I’m Cora Benson, and I’ve been blogging about food, recipes and things that happen in my kitchen since 2019.