Cleaning your oven is crucial to keeping it at peak condition and, most of all, to prevent food from absorbing pesky smells and flavors. Many times, pizzas that look unappetizing and taste worse are the result of baking in an oven that wasn't properly cleaned. The quality and fragrance of food baked in a wood-burning oven is not only dependent on the oven, temperature, and wood used, the cleanliness of the oven matters too. By following the simple steps below your outdoor oven will be ready to cook all kinds of food while enhancing its flavor!
Alfa Ovens perform best when cleaned after each use, and it may sound obvious, but it’s worth saying that you should wait for the oven to cool down completely, especially its floor, before cleaning it.
Instructions for cleaning/maintaining Alfa Ovens
After each use, scrub the cool oven floor with a brush, then wipe the oven floor out with a damp cloth. To remove wood ash, use a shovel or a brush coupled with a scraper or a knife to gently scrape away debris and residual food, being careful not to damage the oven floor.
- In the event offood spills, raise the oven temperature to burn the spilled food. Then, once the oven is cool, clear away the encrustations that develop.
- To removegrease stains, rub the offending areas with a sponge soaked in water and vinegar, and rinse.
- Use a damp cloth toclean theoutside of the oven. To clean the stainless steel, wash the surface with a soft cloth and a solution of soap and water. Make sure to rub following the grain of the stainless steel.Never use detergents containing acid, white spirits, turpentine, xylene, or other strong solvents. Rinse well.
- Apply a light coat of vaseline to the outside metal tomake the oven shine and to avoid rust. If traces of rust begin to appear, clean with a polishing brush and apply a thin coat of vaseline.
- Remove andclean the chimney flue once a yearby blowing out any loose debris.
- If the oven isroutinely exposed to salt water(if you live on the beach) it's recommended to clean the oven frequently with fresh water.
- Ingas-powered ovens, the gas burner should be cleaned periodically by carefully removing any cooking residue with a brush, when the burner is cool.
After each use, scrub the cool oven floor with a brush, then wipe the oven floor out with a damp cloth. To remove wood ash, use a shovel or a brush coupled with a scraper or a knife to gently scrape away debris and residual food, being careful not to damage the oven floor.Note: Do not use chemical products to clean the oven, as the chemicals could get into your food and affect its flavor and nutrition.
