We use our ovens for a variety of purposes such as making delicious meals and reheating food. However, there are some things you should never put in your oven since they might damage your cuisine or produce a culinary disaster. Therefore, here is a list of materials that you should not put in the oven!
Plastic and Styrofoam
Plastic containers should be avoided in general, especially for hot food, because they might melt if heated for too long in the oven. You may think that at lower temperatures and shorter programs, this isn’t a problem, but plastic includes a lot of hazardous chemicals that are released. What is more, heated plastic emits dangerous chemical vapors in 95% of cases.
Likewise, plastic containers contain chemicals that can leak into food. As a result, it is extremely dangerous to use plates made of this material in the oven. Likewise, you must know that putting styrofoam in the oven can also be dangerous for a variety of reasons. For example, styrofoam is constructed of polystyrene, which expands and does not withstand high temperatures. For that and many other reasons, styrofoam cookware should never be used in the oven. Instead, make sure you switch to glass or ceramic containers to store and cover the food.
Food paper packages
Most of the food you purchase comes in paper and plastic containers, and cardboard boxes, and although they come in useful when it comes to preparing meals for takeout, bear in mind that they are not suited for use in the oven. This is because they can start a fire in such instances, while boxes with metalized handles can create sparks, which can permanently harm your oven. The same goes for food taken to work in paper and plastic containers from home. Hence, ensure you put the food on a porcelain dish before placing it in the oven.
Magnetic metals
Anyone who has attempted to reheat food in magnetic materials knows how difficult it can be. The oven began to crackle, and sparks flew, frightening indeed. Those who have not yet tried this method of cooking food are advised not to. This is because heating these types of metals can induce sparks, which are more prone to ignite a fire. Therefore, if you wish to reheat leftovers from the previous dinner, put them on ceramic plates, cookie sheets, and the like.
Old vintage style cups
All dining services, cups, and other utensils with enticing vintage style are not usually not designed for ovens since they commonly include residues of metals, leading us to the already reasoned conclusion that using them in this manner is not safe.
Cold, damaged, or non-tempered glassware
Although glass cups and plates commonly go safely in the oven, you should be careful. First of all, be wary of putting cold glassware into a hot oven. The danger here is from the thermal shock. Thermal shock refers to the scratch difference in temperature between two items. Glassware is susceptible to thermal shock and as a result of putting it into an oven with high temperature it can result in cracking, and even explosion! For this reason, make sure that you put into the oven only the special glassware that is designed to withstand high temperatures and is resilient to thermal shock. Likewise, never put a plate from a freezer directly into an oven, but rather let it warm up.
On the other hand, even with especially oven-designed glassware, there may be problems if they are damaged. For that reason, the role goes that all damaged materials are possibly dangerous if put in ovens.
Wax paper and wet towel
To handle objects that go in and out of your oven, such as moving racks in and out, rotating or shifting jars or trays, make sure you only use thoroughly dry materials. This is because, in the high temperature of the oven, any moisture in the towel or oven glove will convert to steam and cause burns. To that end, in the oven, only oven-safe cookware can be used. You can tell if your plate, cup, or bowl is oven safe by looking for an Oven-Safe mark below it.
Wood
Although wooden plates and cups can withstand high temperatures and won’t melt in ovens, of course, that doesn’t mean they won’t burn, or at least get charred. However, the good point is that they will not release chemicals like some plastics do when put in ovens. Nonetheless, in an oven, you should avoid using wood. The reason behind this is that it will likely warp. What is more, the danger is that if there are glue lines in the splits, they may leak or vaporize.
Make sure you avoid putting these materials in the oven and you will worry less!
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