Are Mugs Oven Safe?
Before you put anything into the oven, you should make sure if the dish you are using is oven-safe or not.
As desserts baked in mugs have become widely popular, you may wonder if it is safe to bake in your favorite coffee mug.
Are mugs oven-safe? Mugs can safely go into the oven only if they are labeled as oven-safe or made of stoneware. With other mugs, it is risky to put them in the oven; they may crack and shatter as a result of being exposed to high temperatures.
This article is all about the relationship between mugs and the oven – what mugs can go into the oven and what mugs you should keep away from it. Additionally, we will tell you how to prevent oven-safe mugs from cracking as well as answer a few other topic-related questions you may have.
So let’s get started.
Can Mugs Go into the Oven?
If you have seen a mouth-watering chocolate mug cake or single-serve applesauce oatmeal crisp recipe and want to try it in the oven, you probably wonder if mugs are even oven-safe.
Mugs can be oven-safe. So long as the mug is made of an oven-safe material and the manufacturer states that it is oven-safe, you can safely put it in the oven.
It is also best to check the highest temperature your oven-safe mug can withstand before using it for a baked dessert. Your mug may be labeled oven-safe, but if it can only withstand temperatures of up to 200 Fahrenheit, you may not be able to use it in any recipe.
How Do You Know When Something Is Oven-Safe?
When it comes to identifying oven-safe items, including mugs, you should look for the oven-safe symbol. You can usually find it underneath plates, bowls, mugs, or cups.
Checking the manufacturers recommendation and finding information online is another way to find out whether the mug is oven-safe or not.
However, sometimes there is no symbol on the mug or it has already worn off. Or you may not even know what brand is your mug in order to check it online on the manufacturer’s website.
Putting mugs in the oven without making sure that they are oven-safe is risky. Thus, it is important to have general knowledge about which mug materials are oven safe and which ones you should never put in the oven.
What Mugs Can Go into the Oven?
If the oven-safe symbol on the mug is missing and there is no information provided by the manufacturer regarding the proper use of the mug, it is best to make use of your general knowledge about which materials can safely go into the oven.
Metal mugs can go into the oven. However, you need to be sure that the mug is pure metal. Pure metal is a great heat conductor and can safely go into the oven.
However, before you put a metal mug in the oven, make sure that there are no plastic parts on it. Additionally, it is not recommended to put metal mugs with a non-stick coating into the oven as the added non-stick layer reacts poorly with the heat of the oven.
Mugs that can safely go into the oven and withstand high heat are the ones made of stoneware. Stoneware mugs are thick and won’t crack or shatter when exposed to heat. These mugs either have a textured surface or a glazed finish.
Stoneware Mugs – The Best Mugs for Baking
If you are craving a dessert baked in a mug, you should certainly pick up a stoneware mug.
Stoneware is a type of non-porous ceramic. Stoneware clay is fired at very high temperatures – up to 2,370 degrees. Thus, it is not surprising that it can hold up against the high heat of the oven – around 350 degrees. As stoneware is fired at such high temperatures, stoneware mugs are the best for baking.
Stoneware mugs are also great for baking as they distribute heat well, resulting in an evenly baked dessert. What makes stoneware mugs even better for baking is that they have a nonstick surface. This is the result of the natural non-porous surface of the material.
So, you can bake a small batch of your favorite treat in a stoneware mug, end up with an evenly baked dessert, and clean the mug easily thanks to the non-stick surface of the material.
Can You Put Glass Mugs in the Oven?
Glass mugs are not typically oven-safe. While glass has been tested to withstand very high heat, most glass mugs will shatter if you expose them to high oven temperatures.
Nonetheless, some manufacturers produce oven-safe glass mugs. However, you need to be extra careful when putting a glass mug into the oven.
Before you do that, check the manufacturer’s recommendations and if the glass mug is oven-safe, don’t expose it to a higher temperature than the manufacturer claims it can withstand.
Mugs You Should Never Put in the Oven
There are a few materials that should never go into the oven.
- Porcelain: Porcelain bakeware is oven-safe and can withstand high temperatures. However, this is not the case with porcelain mugs. These are made of thin porcelain that will crack and shatter when you expose it to high heat.
Before you decide to put your porcelain mug into the oven, make sure to look for the oven-safe symbol. If it’s missing, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Don’t put porcelain mugs in the oven.
- Bone china: Bone china is another delicate material that should never go into the oven. Mugs made of bone china are very thin. Additionally, most bone china mugs are painted and decorated which makes them even more unsuitable for the oven.
- Plastic: As you would expect, putting plastic mugs in the oven should be avoided. Plastic will melt if you put it into the oven. In the best-case scenario, if the temperature of your oven is set at the lowest, the plastic mug will deform.
You should never put any dish into the oven if it has plastic details on it.
- Earthenware: Earthenware mugs may look thick and durable; however, we recommend you don’t put them in the oven as this material is prone to chipping. The paint will start to chip and come off as you put an earthenware mug into the oven.
In addition to the material of the mug, you also need to pay attention to the decorations of the mug. The decorations, added after the mug has been fired, will most likely chip or crack when the mug goes into the oven.
Decorations can also sometimes be made of other materials, which may affect how oven-safe a mug is.
What Happens If You Put a Non Oven-safe Mug in the Oven?
If you still think that you can get away with putting a not oven-safe mug into the oven, here’s another warning. Putting a mug into the oven that isn’t meant for that purpose will ruin the mug and mess up your oven too.
The mug will break and shatter. The broken particles will spread all throughout the oven and the liquid inside the mug will spill all over. You will have to do lots of tedious cleaning to get rid of the consequences of putting a mug that is not oven-safe into the oven.
Can I Put a Microwave-safe Mug in the Oven?
Microwave-safe does not mean oven-safe. Some mugs can be microwave-safe but putting them in the oven will result in a disaster. Plastic mugs, for example, are usually microwave-safe but should never go into the oven.
A mug should go into the oven only if it has a label saying that it is oven-safe.
Why Do Some Oven-Safe Mugs Crack After Baking?
As we have already told you, some mugs can safely go into the oven. However, even mugs that are oven-safe can crack.
They don’t usually crack in the oven but after you’ve taken the mug out. You may take your beautifully baked mug cake out of the oven and the mug may crack out of nowhere.
Why does this happen? When you expose the mug to drastic temperature changes, such as from the oven to colder temperatures or vice versa, the thermal shock it experiences causes the mug to crack.
All materials are susceptible to thermal shock even if the mug comes with an oven-safe label. Of course, the stronger is the material the lower are the chances that it will crack as a result of a thermal shock.
How Do You Prevent the Mug from Cracking?
To prevent your mug from cracking because of a thermal shock you should follow two simple rules:
1. Don’t set the temperature of the oven higher than recommended for the mug. Setting the oven temperature higher than the mug can withstand increases its chances of cracking.
2. Avoid drastic temperature changes. Never transfer a mug that has been in the fridge or freezer right into the oven. Similarly, when you take the hot mug out of the oven, let it rest on your kitchen counter instead of moving it to a colder environment in order to cool it down quickly.
As you can probably guess, this point suggests that you should never put hot mugs under running cold water either. Wait a little while before you try to wash or presoak your mug.
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