Toothpicks are often used to help people prepare various dishes when they’re cooking. You might use toothpicks to specifically hold certain types of food together, and this makes it so that it would be more convenient to put the toothpicks in the oven along with the meal that you’re trying to bake.
Can a toothpick go in the oven, though, or are they going to catch on fire if you decide to do that?
Lots of people are unclear about whether or not toothpicks are going to be oven safe. The answer is fairly simple in most ways, but there are some other things that you need to consider.
Take a look at the information below so that you can learn everything that you need to know about toothpicks and whether they’re oven-safe.
Why Would You Put Toothpicks in the Oven?
Most people who want to use toothpicks in the oven will be using the toothpicks specifically to hold something together.
Sometimes you might need to roll food up and hold it in place so that it will bake together. For example, you might roll up some type of appetizer such as a little burrito, but it’ll only stay together if you have something holding it in place.
You’ve probably seen lots of foods being served on toothpicks at parties, too. Many of these aren’t necessarily baked on toothpicks, but they’re used as convenient serving tools.
When you’re wanting to bake something in your oven using a toothpick, it’s a bit different since it’s focused on the practicality of keeping food in place.
Once you bake something in the oven with a toothpick, you’re going to want to remove those toothpicks before serving your meal. If you need to hold the food in place still, then you can definitely remove the old toothpick to replace it with a fresh one.
This way, you won’t have to hold onto charred toothpick ends or anything like that.
Yes, Toothpicks Can Go in the Oven
The first thing to say is that toothpicks can safely go in the oven under most circumstances. If you’re talking about an average wooden toothpick that you normally see people using, then these can go in the oven without becoming a fire hazard when they’re used in food.
If you have special toothpicks that use frills or some type of decorative element, then they might not be safe to use because that part of the toothpick will likely catch on fire.
Why wouldn’t a normal toothpick catch on fire in the oven even though it’s made out of wood? Well, it basically absorbs moisture from the food that you’ve stuck together using the toothpick.
This keeps the toothpick from being able to catch on fire effectively, and you can take things a step further than this for safety purposes.
Most people who are going to be using toothpicks in the oven will soak the toothpicks a bit so that they will be even less likely to burn. If you soak your toothpicks first, then you probably won’t have to deal with the tips of the toothpicks getting burned.
If you’re going to be baking food that takes longer than 10 minutes or so to finish, then definitely take the time to soak your toothpicks ahead of time.
Even just soaking your toothpicks in cold water for around 10 minutes will do the trick. It doesn’t take long to do, and it’s simply going to ensure that your baking experience will be as safe as it can possibly be.
A little bit of preparation time will make your life a bit easier when you’re using toothpicks while baking something.
You Can Also Buy Toothpicks That Aren’t Wooden
Some people will buy toothpicks that aren’t made out of wood, too. You can buy special baker’s toothpicks that are made out of different types of metal.
These will definitely heat up a lot while you’re baking your food, and you’re going to want to avoid touching them when you remove the food from the oven, but they work really well.
You’ve probably seen lots of people using similar things when they make shish kabobs in their ovens. Sometimes it just seems more convenient to use a metal toothpick or skewer because you’ll be able to reuse it time and time again.
Once you’ve used a normal wooden toothpick once, you’re going to be throwing it away, and some might find that to be less than ideal.
If you know that you’re often going to be baking things that need to be held in place, then using a metal toothpick or skewer will be just fine. There isn’t anything wrong with using wooden toothpicks either, and this really just comes down to preference.
There are even some unconventional alternatives that you can use that will be discussed below.
Holding Food in Place with Noodles
One weird idea that actually works out fine is to hold food in place using spare spaghetti or pasta noodles that you have sitting at your home.
You’ll want a type of pasta noodle that is long and straight, and spaghetti is going to be the most commonly available type for this. Simply use the spaghetti noodle as you would a normal toothpick and you’ll be able to get fine results.
Granted, this isn’t going to be as sturdy as a toothpick, but it can work out fine when you’re in a pinch. It doesn’t really matter what happens to the spaghetti noodle during the baking process either.
Some people have used this option when they forgot to buy toothpicks and they don’t have any skewers or other piercing items on hand that will fit the bill.
Being able to think outside the box a little bit is helpful when you don’t have everything that you need sitting around. You might not find this to be a great alternative to using toothpicks, but it’ll definitely work okay for many things.
Just keep it in mind if you ever find yourself in a pinch.
Move Forward with Confidence
Now you know that it’s fine to use toothpicks in the oven so long as you’re being careful.
Typically, a normal wooden toothpick is going to be oven-safe so long as it is getting moisture from the food that you’re trying to bake. It’s even safer to go ahead and soak the toothpicks in cold water beforehand to avoid any potential issues.
Remember that it’s also imperative to buy toothpicks that are standard and normal. Buying toothpicks that use unusual materials or have special decorative elements might cause them to catch fire in an oven.
When you’re buying toothpicks, most of them will note if they’re oven-safe when you read the boxes that they come in.
You also learned that you can buy toothpicks that aren’t made out of wood. If you have never considered these options that have been presented to you until now, then you’ll be able to think about what the best idea is for your situation.
Whatever it is that you decide to do, it’ll be a lot easier to have a good experience when baking with toothpicks.
Your next meal will definitely have an easy time staying together since you’re so prepared now. Enjoy baking your meals using toothpicks and don’t worry too much about things. You know what needs to be done and the results are going to be great.
I have two Associate’s degrees, one in Medical Assisting and the other in Computer Technician, and I am roughly five classes from a bachelor’s degree. Though I never ended up working in the medical field, I have five and a half years of experience in IT. I recently became a stay-at-home mom to my two young boys, and I’m so excited to start this adventure with them! In my spare time, I love to bake and read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.