NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Turkey, stuffing and pies! Your oven’s big day is coming up. But it may need a little attention before then.
Well, if it’s covered in last year’s drips and splatters, you might be in for more smoke than sizzle. So you'll want to clean it and the self-clean cycle may not always be the best choice.
Between boiling, broiling, and baking, experts in Consumer Reports' range lab also put every oven’s self-clean cycle to the test.
They rate how a tough baked-on mixture of tapioca, cheese, lard, and cherry pie filling can be wiped away after the self-clean cycle. Most ovens pass the test, but Consumer Reports editor Paul Hope says people still wonder about the safety of the self-cleaning cycle.
“It’s easy to find a lot of horror stories online about people who say they’ve damaged or destroyed their ovens by running the self-clean cycle," said Consumer Reports' Paul Hope. "Our testing finds that the self-clean cycle is generally safe to use and pretty effective.”
Consumer Reports says those high temperatures that help your oven clean also produce smoke and fumes, so you’ll want to take a few precautions:
First -- keep kids and pets out of the kitchen when you run the self-clean cycle. If you have a range hood, turn it on and open some windows. Remember, the top of the stove can get pretty hot, so keep it clear.
And just because it’s self-clean doesn’t mean you’re totally off the hook; you’ll need to remove the racks and clean those by hand. You’ll also need to wipe down the oven after the cycle to remove the ash buildup.
One final tip from Consumer Reports:
“The best approach is to keep your oven as clean as you can while you’re using it, wiping spills up as they occur and cleaning up grease after you cook something fatty like a chicken or a roast,” said Hope.
Now, all you have to do is put on an apron and cook up a delicious holiday meal!
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at jennifer.kraus@newschannel5.com
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