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I just discovered a sheet pan in my oven that must have been there for well over a month or more. It looked like it had been used to bake chicken and there was a burnt outline of the pieces, but there was no mold, only a rancid oil smell. I took the pan out and have had the oven on at 450 degrees for about an hour. Is the oven safe to use to bake cakes and cookies?

user985366
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Patti
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2 Answers2

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The oven is safe. When you bake chicken plenty of fat ends up on the inside of the oven, the chances are there's more on the oven walls than the pan you left in there. You don't need to run the oven for hours to make it safe -- by the time it's up to temperature any nasties will have long been fried.

The pan should be fine, too, after a good soak and cleaning.

Doug Deden
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GdD
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    I'm pretty sure that lots of people have left dirty/used dishes in their oven for weeks or even months in the past, and if it was a cause of illness and death, we would know about it. – Stuart F Dec 16 '21 at 20:43
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    Your cookies may taste a little ... chickeny if the oven is particularly messy. – lmat - Reinstate Monica Dec 16 '21 at 21:07
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    Source if the op is interested: https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/60701000/FoodSafetyPublications/p328.pdf (pdf) . The vast majority of food molds and bacteria are killed at 160 F within minutes, even the more hardy things like botulism will succumb at 250 - 270 F aka sterilization temp (which is why you use a pressure cooker when canning) – eps Dec 16 '21 at 22:58
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For complete peace of mind you might choose to do an oven clean. It is not required, but will help you feel more confident.

There are spray-on products which will foam up sit inside your cold oven overnight and soften/lift grease and baked on grime. Next day you can wipe it off with a damp paper towel or cloth.

You can spray this cleaner on your tray/s and shelves as well, it won't harm them. Likewise, the inside of the window can be sprayed this way.

Do be aware that these cleaners are strong and nasty. You want good ventilation, no kids/pets in the kitchen, and a window of a day or two where the oven won't be needed.

If one night doesn't get it all, you can simply repeat. I once had to do 4 cleaning passes on an oven that hadn't been cleaned for many years.

Some fancy modern ovens have a "self clean" function which means they run at a very high temperature for a while. This may or may not not be able to remove the smells.

You should read the manual for your oven to see if it has such a function, and whether that prevents doing a chemical clean.

Criggie
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    To extend Criggie's warning about cleaners being nasty: Wear gloves. I'd go a step further and wear a face shield (or at least eye protection). I admit I'm a bit paranoid, but I know people who were seriously injured by unexpected splashing. – Brian Dec 17 '21 at 18:39
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    @Brian I don't think safeguarding your eyes from caustic chemicals is in any way paranoid. Some warnings are stupid ("Warning: This fishing lure contains lead, and is harmful if you eat it"), but not oven cleaner warnings. – Wayne Conrad Dec 17 '21 at 22:29
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    Any cleaner brings with it some health risk, as opposed to rancid fat. This makes zero sense from a health perspective. – Peter - Reinstate Monica Dec 18 '21 at 15:01
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    @WayneConrad: Some people might not be aware that some fishing lures contain lead. – Vikki Dec 18 '21 at 19:21
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    @WayneConrad I wonder how many more injuries are caused by people ignoring warnings (because of desensitisation) than those often redundant warnings prevent… – Tim Dec 19 '21 at 01:45