This Is What The Drawer Underneath Your Oven Is Actually For

January 19, 2017

Depending on the model, you've probably been using the drawer underneath the stove wrong your whole life.

If you're like me, you use that drawer for storing pans, cookie sheets, and muffin tins. Unfortunately, many of us have been doing it wrong, according to the good people who manufacture stoves.

While it does serve as a great spot for all of your back-up cooking tools, on many oven models it's actually meant to be a warming drawer.

Check the inside of the drawer or owner's manual, and you may find it says something like this: "The warming drawer is designed to keep hot foods at serving temperature. Always start with hot food. Cold or room-temperature foods cannot be heated, warmed, or cooked in the warming drawer. Bacteria will grow very rapidly in food tht is between 40 and 140 degrees Farenheit."

This news may or may not come as a surprise to you, but if you think you'd miss the extra storage space, we have a solution. Continue storing your extra pots and pans in the drawer — and then just empty it to keep dinner warm when your guests are running late. Win-win!

(h/t) country living