Before you go and put your new pan into an oven, it’s vital to ensure it is oven safe. Oven safe means it can go into the oven at certain temperatures. These temperatures often vary based on the material your product is made from. Additionally, it’s important to know your product well as sometimes symbols are hard to see or difficult to find! So, how do you know if your product is oven safe? Lets look at the oven proof oven safe symbol.
How do I know if my product is safe to go in the oven?
In order to determine if a product such as a pan is oven safe, there a few things you can do. The easiest way to make this determination is by checking for an oven safe symbol. These are small symbols or phrases that let you know an item is oven safe. This symbol can be located in various areas and also may appear in a variety of formats.
Most of the time, pans are oven safe, but pending their material they may not be! It’s vital to check for this symbol or you risk ruining your pan and potentially your oven!
What does an Oven Proof Oven Safe Symbol look like?
Pending the product in reference, there’s usually a symbol that you’ll see that clarifies if it is oven safe. Most of the time, this symbol looks like a small oven. This determines if it is safe for use in ovens. However, you do still need to check with your product maker to ensure you aren’t putting it in an oven at too high of a temperature or for too long. Everything has a melting point, and you need to be fully aware of it before you even try putting something in an oven!
Sometimes, there won’t be an oven symbol, but there will be word words that say something like “oven safe”. Keep an eye out for that as well if you don’t see an oven symbol specifically.
Where are oven safe symbols located?
Most of the time, oven safe symbols are located on the bottom of a product. Pans for example usually have the symbol on the bottom. However, manufactures know that this symbol can wear away with time. So, they’ll also usually put it on the box that the product came in as well as in the product description book.
The book can also tell you the temperatures allotted for you product. For example, stainless steel pans can often withstand temperatures of around 450 degrees Fahrenheit so long as there’s no other material in them. Nonstick items though can typically only go up to 350. You’ll need to check the handbook to be sure of at least look it up online!
Do all products that are oven safe have this symbol?
All products that are oven safe do have the oven safe symbol on them. However, if you got your pan from a thrift store or a friend and it is used, you may not be able to see the symbol clearly. This is often due to wear of the item. If this is the case, you’ll need to do some research on the item before putting it in the oven.
What happens if I put an item that isn’t approved into the oven?
If you put a pan that is not oven safe into the oven, you are risking a lot. You are putting your pan at risk as you don’t know if it can withstand high temperatures. This can cause your pan or its handles to melt, which not only ruins your pan, but also your oven! You now have a metal or plastic mess that cannot be cleaned up (not easily at least) and will likely have to get a whole new oven put in. Even if the pan doesn’t melt, it may be breaking down and leeching harmful toxins into your food.
Additionally, you risk starting a fire. You don’t know what materials were used to make the item you’re putting into your oven. If there’s no oven safe symbol, it’s for a good reason. You risk having the item catch fire from the excessive heat. This puts your oven, your cookware item, and you at serious risk.
What if my product doesn’t have the safe symbol?
If your pan doesn’t have an oven safe symbol, it’s likely not oven safe. That, or the symbol has worn down over time. However, this isn’t something you should risk. If you really want to use that pan in an oven, you’ll have to determine who made it and contact them to ask. If you know you have the usage booklet that came with your pan, then you can also check that to determine if it is safe. Just follow the instructions.
If there’s no symbol, play it safe and don’t put it into the oven.
What kind of pans usually have an oven safe symbol?
Most of the time, pans that are made from the following materials will have that oven safe symbol:
- Aluminum
- Stainless Steel
- Cast Iron
- Carbon Steel
- Copper
If your pan or item is made from any of these materials, it will likely have an oven safe symbol on the bottom of it. If it doesn’t, there’s a chance it has some materials in it that are not oven safe. Additionally, if your pan has anything rubber on it (such as the handle) it is not oven safe and will not have an oven safe symbol on it.
If an item is microwave safe, is it also oven safe?
Not always, no! Microwave safe items are not always oven safe, and you should check the bottom of your item to make that distinction. There will be a microwave safe symbol as well as an oven safe symbol if an item is safe for both. Whereas yes, the heat levels may be the same, often times, the length of time is not and that’s what can make the difference here.
Final Thoughts
The oven proof oven safe symbol is really the make-or-break identification that determine whether or not that new pan of yours can go into the oven. If the symbol is not there, play it safe, and do not put an item into the oven. You should contact the manufacturer or read the booklet first to confirm whether or not your item is oven safe! If it isn’t, and you put it in the oven, you risk damage to your pan, oven, and even yourself.
