In gardens and terraces all around the world, an uprising and revolution have been taking place over the last couple of years.  Cooking with a wood fired pizza oven.  The wood fired pizza oven is not a new method of cooking, far from it as it dates back as far as Roman times.  But why now is there a resurgence of this traditional method of cooking and as people realise all of the benefits a wood fired pizza oven has both in a restaurant and at home.   

The Benefits Of Using A Wood Fired Pizza Oven

With many people listing pizza as one of their favourite foods, there is little doubt why there are an increasing amount of restaurants are starting to use a wood fired pizza oven.  The popularity of pizzas and use in restaurants has most certainly been a major factor in igniting, no pun intended, the trend and revolution of wood fired pizza ovens being bought for the home.   So here are the top five benefits of using a wood fired pizza oven.

1. A Wood Fired Pizza Oven Enhances Food Flavour

If you've ever tasted great pizza it's most likely been cooked in a wood fired pizza oven.  The difference between a pizza cooked in a wood fired pizza oven versus it's electric or gas counterpart is so significant you would wonder why you'd even bother eating a pizza again if it wasn't cooked in a wood fired pizza oven.  

The reasons are two-fold.  Firstly, the even heat distribution of a wood fired pizza oven means that the pizza gets cooked both from the hot bricks below and the hot air convection currents above.  Secondly, the wood imparts a unique, smokey flavour that is impossible to recreate outside of a wood fired pizza oven.

2. Wood Fired Pizza Ovens Cook Food Fast

The ideal temperature to cook great pizzas is somewhere between 350-500 degrees Celsius (660-930 degrees Fahrenheit), which is hot.   This is really only achievable in a wood fired pizza oven as neither gas or electric can get that hot.  What this means is that a wood fired pizza oven can cook pizzas, or any food, incredibly quickly.  Depending on the temperature of the oven most pizzas are cooked in less than 2 minutes and if the fire really gets going (500 degrees Celsius) can be cooked in 60 seconds.  Watch the UUNI 3 cook a pizza in 60 seconds.

3. Cooking With A Wood Fired Pizza Oven Can Be Healthier

If you're a health conscious person and like to be a little more experimental with your pizzas you can add tasty fruits, veggies, and other healthy toppings to your pizza.  The beauty of the wood fired pizza oven and how hot the temperature gets is that pizzas take only a minute to cook which helps retain the nutrients and antioxidants of the ingredients.  With a longer cooking process a reduction in nutrients of the ingredients can be caused and therefore the pizza becomes less healthy. 
 

Pictured: UUNI 3 Pizza Oven

Any of the following ingredients upon being blasted in a wood fired pizza oven taste great and should be tried: asparagus, black beans, walnuts, pine nuts, broccoli, zucchini, pears and of course pineapple!   We know these won't be everyone's idea of a tasty pizza but give a different option to those more health conscious and adventurous. 

4. Fulfil Other Cooking Purposes Than Just Pizza

5. Bring Friends & Family Together More Often

It's becoming more and more of a tradition for families to have a pizza night every Friday night or whichever night suits them.  There is something special about cooking with wood fire ovens, something that makes mealtime more of a big deal for friends and family.  Cooking with fire just feels more primitive and where we've come from, it's great.  It's only when you experience cooking this way do you really wonder why we've settled for gas and electric for so long.  
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Pictured: Alfa Allegro 

Just like the barbecue, cooking with a wood fired pizza oven goes hand in hand with standing around with your friends discussing the finer things in life which is all part of the social aspect of getting together with the expectation of great food.  The same could never really be said with standing around an electric or gas oven in the kitchen.  Let's just be thankful that wood fire ovens have now arrived and they're not going anywhere.