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So we cooked some corn a couple weeks ago, left extras in the oven. Fast forward to tonight, I discovered we left it there. The pan it was sitting on was white as a ghost. Tossed that pan.

Is it safe to throw new food in there and cook it? I already got a cassarole baking now. Is it ruined? Only thing I can think would be mold spores, but 400F should kill them.

p.s. I'm paranoid about this stuff, sorry.

Tyler Montney
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  • Forget it, i's OK. If you are so paranoid you could've cleaned the inside of the oven. Do that next. –  Jul 08 '17 at 10:21
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    Hint: cook and bake more frequently and you will discover forgotten food sooner. ^_^ – Stephie Jul 08 '17 at 10:24

2 Answers2

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You will have mold spores in your oven, but the temperature will take care of them. All it means is that you might have some mold spore dust on your food later, which you won't even notice and is perfectly safe. Next time give your oven a good wipe-down with a damp towel before using it again.

There's no need to toss a pan after that sort of thing, just clean it with soapy water and it should be good to go.

GdD
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    Many ovens have a self-cleaning mode that brings the temp up to 600-700F for a few hours. That should be plenty to destroy mold spores. – Wolfgang Aug 18 '17 at 14:12
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I agree. A good clean is all your oven needs (and pan needed), then its good to go. Next time consider storing your food in see-through airtight containers in the fridge. As one tends to use the fridge more often than the oven. That way you'll be able to see the leftovers before they go bad, plus it's way easier to clean a container, than it is an oven, and much cheaper than throwing away a good pan too.

Catija
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Mercedes Clarke
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    While the second half of your answer is perfectly true, I think that leaving the corn in the oven was an accident. :) – Catija Jul 08 '17 at 21:11