• Autoclave pizza? The (hot) dream of future pizza makers!

  

  In the vast universe of cooking techniques, from the wood-fired oven to the microwave, by way of the barbecue and the air fryer, no one— no one! —had ventured where science dare not put its shovel: into the autoclave .

  Yes, you read that right. Pizza in an autoclave. The most absurd, sterile, and... vaporous idea the kitchen has ever encountered.

  But were here on a serious mission (more or less): to discover whether the perfect method for cooking pizza really can come from the world of hospital sterilization.

• 🔥 How does a pizza actually cook?

  

  To understand the potential of the autoclave, you need to understand why pizza is a capricious queen of cooking .

  A good Neapolitan pizza requires:

  1. Very high temperature (450–500 °C in a wood-fired oven)
  2. Very short times (90 seconds or a little more)
  3. Three heat transfer modes :
  4. → conduction from the hot base,
  5. → hot air convection ,
  6. → direct radiation from the fire.

  In this physical-chemical miracle, wonderful things happen:

  1. The dough swells due to the thrust of the steam and gases.
  2. The Maillard reaction takes place, which gives that irresistible aroma.
  3. The edges brown, the bottom browns, the mozzarella melts perfectly.

  Its high culinary engineering .

• 🧪 What about the autoclave?

  

  The autoclave itself is a masterpiece of hospital engineering.

  1. It works at temperatures between 121 and 134 °C , but in a steam-saturated environment and at high pressure (2–3 atmospheres).
  2. Pressurized steam cooks materials thoroughly and evenly.
  3. In the hospital, its used to eliminate all life. In the kitchen... it depends.

  A researcher from the University of Pisa (I swear, its true) suggested, half-jokingly, that the autoclave could be an extreme cooking chamber for leavened products.

  But what happens if you put a pizza in there?

• 🧫 Sterilized pizza: how did it turn out?

  

  Here is the scientific response:

  I wait
  Crispy crust	❌ Absent: too much humidity
  Brown coloration (Maillard)	❌ No: the steam inhibits it
  Mozzarella	❌ Purring yes, but watered down
  Perfume	❌ Neutral, almost “boiled”
  Hygiene	✅ Sterile as a scalpel

  So, yes, autoclave pizza is technically cooked… but it tastes like focaccia boiled in a hospital .

• 🔬 Why isnt it working?

  

  The Maillard reaction , essential for crispiness and taste, occurs only in a dry environment and above 140°C .

  The saturated steam of the autoclave, on the other hand, prevents browning and hydrolyzes everything.

  In other words: it cooks, but cancels the pleasure .

• 🧠 Conclusion: oven beats autoclave, 10 to 0

  

  Pizza is both art and science. It requires fire, air, patience, and a good peel.

  As fascinating as the idea of cooking in a sterile laboratory is, pizza remains a wild creature , which needs fire, not pressure.

  So next time youre wondering what the perfect oven is... forget hospitals. Go to a pizzeria.

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Data di inserimento 05 mag 2025

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