Is it safe to put aluminum foil in the bottom of the oven?

Mama used aluminum foil to keep the oven clean, but could it create a bigger problem?

If you’ve ever tried shimmying a fully loaded pizza dough onto a pizza stone in your oven only to have ingredients go everywhere, you might be all too familiar with deep oven clean-up.  Whether it’s a fear of food spilling over onto the oven floor or a desire to keep a brand-new appliance sparkling clean, it might seem like reaching for a roll of aluminum foil is practical.

Of course, we can see why it might be tempting to line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil to catch any drips or spills, but we’re here to tell you why this isn’t actually a good—or safe—idea.

Is It OK To Line The Oven With Foil?

No, it’s not OK to line the bottom of your oven with foil—even with the best of intentions.

There are many reasons this isn’t a good plan of action for avoiding spills and messes.

• Blockage: Laying aluminum foil down blocks the flow of air in the oven and decreases air circulation. This can actually damage the appliance and lead to expensive repairs.
• Inconsistent cooking: If you have a gas oven, a layer of foil on the bottom of the oven can cause problems with the flame, ultimately resulting in uncooked food or unevenly cooked food.
• Potential overheating: Since aluminum foil traps heat, a layer of the workhorse kitchen tool can increase the heat in the oven and cause the oven surface it is covering to overheat. Scratching, chipping, and other surface damages may arise. The foil can also get so hot that it melts into the oven—making an even bigger mess!
• Potential overcooking: Baked goods may cook too fast, leading to overcooked, dry baked goods.

3 Ways To Use Foil In The Oven

Although lining the bottom of your oven with foil is ill-advised for all of the reasons we outlined above, it doesn’t mean there’s no place for foil in the oven. Here are three ways to use aluminum foil in your oven:

1. Line baking sheets and trays. If you’re cooking a saucy casserole or baking a cake and worried about overflow, simply line a large baking tray or sheet with foil and then place the casserole dish or cake pan on top of the lined tray.
2. Cover dishes. Is the top of your tray of classic lasagna getting dark, but the inside isn’t quite piping hot? You can tent the top of the dish with foil to prevent further browning while you give the rest of the dish a chance to heat up.
3. You can also safely cook food in aluminum oven dishes. Similar to aluminum foil, these disposable baking dishes can tolerate high temperatures. They’re also a nice alternative to baking dishes—with no clean up!

Read the original article on Southern Living