Never throw out burnt food for this scary reason


Think again.

We’ve all been there — you reheat or cook something, you get distracted and then suddenly your smoke alarm is going off.

Your first thought is to throw out that burnt food — but think again because an EMT says that’s the most fire-hazardous thing you could do.

The expert named Ally, who was an EMT at a fire department for over 10 years shared in a now viral TikTok video a story of how a “young woman went to heat up her brownie and instead of putting it in the microwave for 20 seconds, she put it in the microwave for 2 minutes” which burnt the sweet treat and in the garbage it went.

“After throwing it in the trash, it started a fire.” Here’s why this seemingly innocent habit is a bad idea.

The expert explained that even if everything “looks under control, if you have burnt food, don’t throw it into the trash until it cools somewhere safe, like the sink or stove top.”

If you throw it out — before you know it, you might be dealing with an unasked-for fire.

“Fire doesn’t need a flame to start from something really hot. When you burn food, part of what makes it burn is that it got really, really hot and inside the black charred burnt parts of the food, can actually be little embers like a campfire.”


Woman taking burnt cookies from oven.
Most people panic when they see smoke in their oven or microwave. Mediaphotos – stock.adobe.com

“Your trash is filled with other things that can help a fire grow and make it really dangerous, so we don’t throw out things in our trash that are actively smoking.”

To avoid a run-in with your local fire department, at the first sign of smoke, turn off your appliances and shut your microwave or oven door immediately.


Smoke billowing from an oven door.
The expert said to leave the appliance’s door open until the smoke dies down. Evgeniy Kalinovskiy – stock.adobe.com

Wait until all the smoke dies down before taking the food out.

If it still feels hot, let it carefully cool off.

Something so simple — but so dangerous.

While most amateur cooks try their best to avoid burning something — one NYC bakery is being asked by customers to do just that to their cakes.

Last year, people couldn’t get enough of burn-away cakes — a trend where bakeries light the top layer of a cake on fire to reveal a hidden message or picture.

“This one has been insane,” said Nerwan Khalife, the owner of Astoria’s Cakes by Nerwan. “Our phones have been going off the hook.”

While a piece of burnt toast might start a pyro show in your home — these fun cakes won’t.

“It’s like a candle on a birthday cake, just a little bigger,” said Khalife. “It’s not gonna burn your house down.”



Credit to Nypost AND Peoples

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