Husband Runs Hot Pizza Under Cold Water to Cool It Down
Food Network recipe developers react to this, er, interesting viral "hack."
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Social media can be counted on to support all kinds of weird – but sometimes genius – food hacks, but the latest sounds positively wrong. But is it so wrong that it’s maybe right?
According to the rather cutely named DaddyRavioli on Reddit, their husband found a hack to cool down hot pizza quickly and easily – he runs it under cold tap water.
By any stretch of the imagination, that should lead to cold, wet, soggy pizza – which is the last thing on Earth that someone would want to do with hot, fresh ’za, right? But maybe he’s onto something we’re not.
According to the Redditor, the taste of the pizza is not changed at all by this hack. Which makes us wonder if the reality is… this guy just doesn’t actually like pizza?
Several commentors on the Reddit thread said that this trick would remove none of the grease, but all of the flavor and this would likely destroy the crust – both statements that do seem to ring rather true.
Maybe the experts can shed some light. “I really tried my hardest to think of why this would benefit a slice of pizza, but it’s just all wrong,” said Amanda Neal, a Recipe Developer for Food Network. Guess not!
“Yes, the water will cool it down, but don’t you want a hot slice of pizza anyways? Hello warm, melty cheese!” pointed out Neal. True! What is pizza, if not hot and melty? But also: “Not only do you run the chance of water getting onto the dough and making it soggy, you may also wash off loose toppings and seasonings, such as dried oregano and grated parmesan,” said Neal, who said the better way to cool down a slice of pizza is just to… leave it alone for a few minutes before digging in. As in on your plate, not in the sink.
“I mean, he’s not wrong, the water would certainly cool down the pizza,” said Nikki Scott, a Digital Culinary Producer for Food Network. “I guess once the water hits the hot cheese, the cheese would seize up and make a barrier between the water and pizza dough so it wouldn’t get soggy... again this is just a guess,” said Scott.
There is truth to the fact that running cold water on a food could help to cool it down (think of a hot pot that is now being rinsed in the sink), or even help to defrost a frozen item more quickly – for example, a quick way to thaw frozen shrimp is to run it under cold water in a bowl for a few minutes. But while this pizza may not be as hot after this maneuver, you risk turning your crust into a soggy, spongy mess.
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