by Ogelthorpe Q. Sighvatson

Created on: April 30, 2009

What do you need to know in order to store leftover pizza properly? Really only one thing: Pizza is Food.

This means that it subject to all of the usual food storage considerations that we afford to less exotic fare like cheese or tomato sauce or meat or veggies. Proper food storage is about two things: safety and flavor. To preserve both of these elements, you want to refrigerate it and you want to keep too much air from getting at it. This means that we need to contain it in some way.

If you have the room in your fridge, feel free to just slide the entire box in there. This takes care of the refrigeration issue which is key to preventing the blossoming of foodborne pathogens which are your biggest concern. The drawback here is that pizza boxes are pretty roomy and allow for plenty of air to get at your pizza. This dries out the pizza and makes subsequent consumption less pleasant and reheating a near impossibility. All the same, if your intention is to finish the pizza off within the next 8 hours or so, sealing out the air is not of tremendous importance.

Let's consider the possibility of needing your leftover pizza to be both safe and edible 24 hours after ordering. You are definitely going to want to keep air out if you want the pizza to taste anywhere near as good the second time around. For this you have two common sense options: plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Both of these will require that you allow the pizza to come to a firmly cheese congealing room temperature, as hot cheese can stick to foil and warm crust can become soggy in either.

Wrapping invididual slices versus larger portions is an individual choice which may be driven by anything from future eating plans, refrigerator space or personal quirk. I tend to break up anything bigger than two pieces into individual slices. Plastic versus foil is a similary personal decision.

I go with foil for a couple of reasons. It's crimpability assures that my pizza will remain sealed until I choose to unleash it upon the world. It also turns into its own baking sheet. Allowing me to simply unwrap the slice and place it in the oven (if I choose to heat it) with foil under it to prevent cheese from dripping all over the place.

This brings us to the most imporant part of the leftover pizza situation. No matter how you store your leftover pizza, be kind to it when it is time to eat. Cold pizza is a time honored tradition enjoyed by generations of college students, bachelors and free spirits of every stripe. Still many of us will reheat out pizza. I am going to take this opportunity to plead with you, dear reader. Do no microwave your pizza if you can avoid it. The soggy/spongy crust, the rubbery cheese and the shriveled veggies that result from the use of the microwave oven can all be avoided by using a conventional oven or toaster oven. Sure it take a little bit longer, but if you've taken the time to read up on the correct storage of pizza leftovers, you owe it to yourself (and your pizza) to do the right thing.

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