Last Updated on September 4, 2021 by
Are you confused about putting cardboard containing your favorite pizza in the oven? While some people do it with ease but at the same time, others face difficulties. According to many claims that cardboard should not be put in an oven as it is combustible and can potentially catch fire from the high temperature of the oven.
We have all been in this state while we are cautious about putting the cardboard in the oven, and the pizza in the box gets colder. Here we are going to answer all your doubts in such a case. Before putting the pizza in the oven with the cardboard, go through this article and get your confusion cleared.
Putting cardboard in the oven is not completely recommendable, but many people do it without any problem because the cardboard does not come in direct contact with the heat while pizza is on the top of it. The cardboard is not ignited for this one good reason. However, the cardboard can catch fire if it is put in the oven for a long time.
Is It Safe To Put Cardboard In The Oven?
We all know that cardboard is a combustible product. It will catch flame from heat. Though, the cardboard will take more time to be ignited from indirect heating of the oven than direct contact with flame. One should always keep in mind that all the people claiming to put cardboard in the oven safely have a history of kitchen smoke or even a huge fire caused by this action. Some pizza companies also use anti-grease chemicals on the cardboard, and it can get mixed with your pizza from heating. So, it is not recommended to put cardboard in the oven.
Why Is Cardboard Used As A Base?
Cardboard is the most convenient base for a pizza and other baked products. The reasons to use cardboard as a base for baking and pizza are the following –
1. A pizza and other baking products are very soft and risk being jostled around if it is not stable on a rigid base. The cardboard gives support to pizza and helps to maintain shape.
2. It gives support to the food item when it is being shipped. It gives ease to hold the item and also prevents the crust from coming in contact with hands.
3. The cardboard is also useful as a base for the pizza cutter.
4. It is a biodegradable product.
The Following Table Will Be Useful To Choose Your Options As The Base For Your Food.
| Name | Usefulness | Convenience | Price Range |
| Pizza pan | Very good for baking or heating pizza. Comes in many shapes. Makes the crust crispy. | Safe to use. Avoid handling with bare hand while heated up. Needs to be cleaned up. | Cheap to moderate price. |
| Cookie sheet | Gives a flat base to the food. | Easy to handle. Need to be cleaned up. | Cheap |
| Pizza stone | Porous nature makes the bottom of your food very crispy. Best option. | It needs to be cleaned up. | Cheap to moderate |
| Aluminum foil | Good for solid food items. | Very easy to use. Multipurpose use as base, cover and also for eating. Does not need to be cleaned up. One time usage. | Very cheap |
| On the rack | Gets heat from every angle so the food is heated up quickly. | Does not go with soft food items. | Nil |
Reasons Not To Put Cardboard In The Oven
The reasons not to put cardboard in the oven are very simple.
1. Cause Longer Cooking Time
Keeping the cardboard and putting it directly in the oven is not the right process to save your time. Instead, you are doing the opposite. Placing the food item along with the cardboard in the oven is slowing down the cooking time as the bottom layer of the pizza or baked food does not get the proper heat and takes longer to get heated up.
2. The Danger Of Catching Fire
The specific heat for cardboard to catch fire is 427 degrees, and a pizza bakes at a temperature of 425 degrees. As we can see, the temperatures are very close, and if we over bake the pizza for a few minutes, the cardboard will spontaneously catch fire.
3. Chance Of Getting Chemicals Mixed With Food
The chemicals used on the top of cardboard have a high chance of getting mixed up with the food when heated. This can seriously affect your health.
4. Cardboard Fumes
The heat from the oven causes the cardboard to smoke and give off fumes. These fumes get infused in the food item, making it taste bad and smell weird.
What To Use For Heating Or Baking In Place Of Cardboard?
The above-mentioned reasons gave you a clear idea of not using cardboard to heat up or bake your food. Now, we are wondering about what to use as a base for the pizzas and other foods. Well, here are the better options for the base of your food item.
1. On A Pizza Pan
One of the best options for baking or heating a pizza or any other food item is the pizza pan. A perforated pizza pan is always considered better. It makes your food crispier base as it allows the heat to be in direct contact with the bottom layer. It also helps the food not to be dripping out.
2. On A Cookie Sheet
The cheaper option for the base of your food is the cookie sheet. It gives a flat base to your food and gives an excellent result.
3. Pizza Stone
A pizza stone is a base surface made of ceramic or stone. The pizza stone’s porous nature gives adequate moisture from the bottom, and the pizza crust becomes crispy and crunchy.
4. On Aluminum Foil
One of the most convenient bases for the pizza is aluminum foil. It is handy and easy to use. The advantage of aluminum foil is that it can be thrown away after use. It is cheap, and we can even eat our food in it.
5. Directly On The Rack
While making a pizza, we can directly put that on the rack after taking out the cardboard. An oven-safe container is also useful. The user can set it directly on the rack. Do not opt for this if the food is greasy or very soft as it can be drip off from the rack after heating.
As the final thought, we can say that it is safer to use heating bases instead of heating food directly in the cardboard. We never know when the highly combustible cardboard will catch fire, and we will be in a massive fire break out. It is safer if we give a little effort to take out the food from the cardboard and place it on any convenient option for heating. In this way you will be out of possible danger the food will taste better too.
