Why not a toaster oven?

Factual Questions
1

I reppare many TV dinners using my toaster oven, even tho the box states Do Not Use in a Toaster Oven. The food always come out just fine.

Why am I not supposed to be using the toaster oven?

–Patch

2

I’m guessing it’s a potential fire hazard, since the heating elements are pretty close to the food. I can’t think of any other reason for such a warning.

3

The food must taste better when it bathes in radiation for a few minutes. It must unlock the radioactive flavoids - though I think you can use a 20’s style death ray for that too…

BTW, I don’t own a microwave, or any nonstick cookware. I prefer my food uncontaminated with radiation and seeping chemicals from non-stick surfaces. My Iron pans, oven, and toaster oven are all I need.

4

Heh. Better make sure you don’t let sunlight hit it or listen to a radio while you’re cooking… :slight_smile:

5

Your TV dinners should be just fine if they are in metal trays. If they’re in those papery plastic type of trays, putting the tray that close to the heating element will likely scorch and possibly ignite the tray.

6

I assume you’re joking, but on the off chance you’re serious:

  1. Microwaves don’t contaminate food with radiation. Microwaves are just high-frequency radio waves. The food is NOT radioactive, no matter how long you leave it in for. Not even a little bit. The stuff you eat has infinitely more natural radioactivity than any oven can induce (the amount of which, as I said, is zero).

  2. If your cast iron pans aren’t nonstick, you’re mistreating them. Properly seasoned and maintained cast iron cookware is as nonstick as any Teflon surface out there.

7

So how do you properly season and maintain cookware so that it stays nonstick?

8

The plastic trays they put TV dinners in these days are not stable to high temperatures. The radiant heat coming off the coils of your toaster oven, may cause the plastic to degrade more quickly than does the hot air in a conventional oven.

9

Well, it’s only for cast iron. It won’t work for aluminum and stainless steel cookware. You season cast iron by coating the cooking surface with a light vegetable oil, like corn or sunflower seed oil and baking it at around 350 F for an hour or so. Never clean your cast iron pans with soap or steel wool or put in the dishwasher. Use warm water and a sponge or soft cloth only then wipe dry immediately. New, rusted or misused pans should be seasoned after each use until the nonstick surface is well established–typically a month or so. Rust spots, should they develop, will need to be steel-wooled off and the surface reaseasoned. Very acidic foods, like tomatoes, vinegar and lemon juice may remove the seasoning, so either reseason after cooking foods like this, or avoid cooking them in your cast iron pans.