Stove Top Frozen Pizza Science Experiment

Are you interested in a fun and edible science experiment? Let's find out whether you can cook a frozen pizza on top of a stove. This is a practical science project that will either result in a ruined pizza or a tasty treat!

Apply the Scientific Method To Cooking Pizza

You can apply the scientific method to practical matters, not just to experiments in the lab. Here are the steps of the scientific method:

1. Make observations.
2. Form a hypothesis.

3. Design an experiment to test the hypothesis.
4. Perform the experiment.
5. Analyze the data and determine whether or not to accept your hypothesis.

Unless you have never cooked before, you probably have made some observations about cooking frozen pizzas and might have an opinion about how likely it is you can cook this type of pizza on a stove rather than in an oven. For example, you may have observed that stove top cooking directions are lacking on the frozen pizza packaging. What do you think that means? Also, you have some experience cooking food on the stove. Usually you cook in oil, water or some other liquid. What might you expect, if you heat a dry ingredient in a pan? What differences do you see in food that is cooked while covered on the stove top compared with uncooked food? Are there certain brands of frozen pizza that seem more/less likely to cook properly on the stove?

You could hypothesize that you can't cook a frozen pizza on the stove top, but if you are a bad enough cook, it's likely you will ruin the pizza even though another "chef" might cook a decent pizza. Therefore, if your experiment supports this hypothesis, it doesn't prove that pizza can't be cooked on the stove. This result simply supports the hypothesis.

On the other hand, if you hypothesize it is possible to cook a frozen pizza on a stove and do succeed in cooking a pizza you can stand to eat, do you think this proves your hypothesis? If you ruin the pizza, does that disprove this hypothesis?

As you might imagine, experimental design is critical! Chances are, if you put a frozen pizza on a pan, set it on the stove and crank the heat to high, you'll have a fire department call on your hands and not dinner for two. What cooking conditions might offer you the best chance for success?