One of the best pleasures of life is to find out that some of that mouth-watering pizza from last night is still sitting in the fridge for you, looking oh-so welcoming!
But the pizza is stone cold! Does this bother you? We know that if you are a true-blue food enthusiast, you will shudder at the prospect of reheating that leftover pizza. No one likes unevenly heated hard pizza with some of the toppings burned, right?
Well, let us tell you, here in this article today, that there is a way to heat pizza in the oven without compromising on its freshness and texture.
Yes, you heard us right! There is a way to do it without sinning against the gods of flavor!
Don’t Just Store It Away, Store The Juices In
We have delved into the depths of the internet and emerged victorious with the perfect “scientific” method to reincarnate what remains of last night’s delicious pizza.
A cold slice of pizza never hurt anyone. But wouldn’t it be glorious to have that cheesy, greasy, meaty goodness sizzle up the hot crispy dough again?
Well, your wishes have been granted. You no longer have to make do with that slice of cold pizza in the fridge. If you have an oven at home, you have all you need. Get the hot grease sizzling afresh, let the dough be crispy again, with a few simple tricks of the kitchen at hand.
There are science and art at play here, so read carefully, and learn. It all starts the night before when the pizza goes into the fridge. Don’t be lazy and shove the pizza into the fridge and let it wither overnight.
Did you know that you can keep left-over pizza fresh in the fridge for up to 3-4 days at a stretch?
Yes, it’s true! And here is the “scientific” method we promised, that will let you do that.
The Method We Promised
First of all, don’t just store it in the box that it came in. The cardboard box will allow a lot of moisture to be drawn out of the pizza and cause it to dehydrate within a few hours. So, you have to seal it to keep the juices packed into the pizza.
In order to do so, you will need a plate, some paper towels, some plastic wrap, and a bit of effort.
Step 1: Take a clean, dry plate and line it with paper towels.
Step 2: Now lay one slice of pizza over the paper towel.
Step 3: Put another paper towel on top of the slice.
If you have more slices, then repeat steps 2 and 3, and stack them all up on top of each other.
Final Step: Take some clean plastic wrap, and cover the plate with it. Make sure that all the ends are closed, with no space for air to get in.
This method ensures that the moisture of the pizza does not get sucked out. It also prevents the flavors from escaping and drying out the pizza.
So don’t just put the pizza away into the fridge. For an overall better taste, trap all the juices in with the plastic wrap, and keep the freshness and the taste of the pizza intact.
After you have properly stored the pizza in this way, you can rest assured that it will remain fresh in the fridge for at least a few days without drying out.
But of course, we know, if you are a lover of pizza, you will hardly let it stay untouched for that long. So, here is how you should heat up the pizza to reap maximal benefits of this whole plastic wrapping storage technique.
The Rules
You should never, ever heat pizza in the box. This is the biggest sin anyone could make while heating up pizza, and it’s unpardonable! As the cold pizza softens up, it will absorb some of that musky paper smell from the box, and be ruined completely.
Moreover, putting the paper into such an extremely high temperature is a massive fire hazard. So, however lazy you might deem yourself to be, always keep this one rule in mind.
Don’t ruin the pizza, and don’t burn down the house. Always keep the cardboard box away from the oven.
Shock It With The Heat
Chucking the pizza into the oven is a custom among us pizza-craving, hungry people. But if you have ever heated pizza in the oven, you will know that it doesn’t yield the best results.
Even with a properly stored pizza, if some technicalities are not maintained during heating, you will still find yourself dissatisfied with the taste. Storing is the first part, while the second part is to heat the pizza properly.
The pairing of these two techniques will give you results that will change your entire outlook towards leftover pizza. It might even taste better to you because the joy of getting unexpectedly fresh pizza on the second day is truly rewarding.
So these are the steps that you need to follow.
Step 1:Preheat! Preheat! Preheat!
Crank up the temperature of your oven to 375-degrees Fahrenheit. You don’t want the pizza to warm up slowly. You need to shock the cold, dead pizza into wakefulness with a lot of heat.
A slow warming up will take away from the crispiness of the dough. All the grease will seep out, and sit with the pizza as it slowly heats up. This will cause the pizza to soften up as it takes its sweet time to heat up.
Step 2:Prepare The Baking Tray
Take some aluminum foil paper, spread it onto the tray. Now put this tray into the preheated oven so that it is searing hot, ready to shock the cold pizza.
Step 3:Lay The Pizza Onto The Tray
Wearing oven mitts, take out the tray, put the pizza on it carefully and put it back into the oven.
Now, put the heat on for about 8-10 minutes, while keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t get burnt.
Supplement Your Pizza
If you want some extra kick to the experience of raising your pizza from the dead, then we suggest you also try to enhance the taste a bit by adding some of your favorite pizza sauce, or some freshly grated cheese on the topping.
You can also add meat, sausages, or any other taste enhancer if you want of course. We are just putting the idea out there for you. Run with it as your heart desires!
Conclusion
Finally, we would just like to remind you to be careful with this whole process since it involves a lot of heated utensils. Take caution so that you don’t burn either yourself or the pizza.
We hope this article was able to help you find ways to enjoy your pizza better even after it becomes cold and rigid. Enjoy!