Restore day-old stale pizza to full freshness with microwave mug trick

It's one of life's greatest pleasures: a delicious takeaway pizza loaded with toppings, a little bit too much oil and definitely too many calories, but hey, you only live once.

But sometimes that extra large, loaded stuffed crust with toppings sounds like a brilliant idea on an empty stomach but becomes too much to manage - and you end up with a plate of cold leftover slices. That's probably one of life's second greatest pleasures: smashing the pizza leftovers the morning after. But many pizza fans might not realise there's a perfect 'magic' trick to instantly bring pizza back to life using the and a mug.

It also works with leftover Chinese, Indian or any other takeaway of your choice, but the impact is probably best seen with day-old pizza slices.

Simply pop a mug full of water in the next to your pizza, and then warm it up for 20-60 seconds depending on how hot you like it.

The mug of water will evaporate into the pizza and make it taste moist and fresh again.

Alternatively, you can forego the mug and just sprinkle water directly onto the pizza.

Pizza fans on swear by this 'magic' trick. In r/CookingforBeginners, one user said: "I used to HATE microwaving pizza because of the rubbery taste. So I've always opted to put it in the oven but that's a long process so I just eat cold pizza LOL.

"I've tried microwaving my pizza with a cup of water and some magic happens and the pizza does not have that rubbery taste to it and it tastes as good as the oven!"

Another user replied: "This is the correct way to heat bread and other "dry" food in the microwave."

Restaurant Plaza Pizza says: "Next to your pizza, place a microwave-safe mug full of water, and heat on high (not full power) for 30 to 45 seconds. The water will absorb some of the energy and redistribute the microwaves more evenly, so the cheese melts before the crust goes dry.

"If you have a toaster oven, , or skillet, microwave the slice for 30 seconds first with the water, and then crisp the crust for a minute or two in another appliance."

This is backed up by All Recipes, which says:

"Use a mug of water to keep the crust crispy, while returning moisture to the cheese.

Place a pizza slice on a microwavable plate.

Fill a mug with water.

Place the plate and the mug side-by-side in the microwave.

Microwave in 30-second increments until the slice is heated through. Allow the pizza to cool to a reasonable temperature before digging in.