I have these frozen mini pizzas which come with a silver piece of cardboard (see image at the end). I disregarded it at first, but then read the cooking instructions and it says that it is a microwave tray, which you put between the pizza and the plate.
What is the purpose of this silver cardboard tray? Does it make any difference, or would the pizza be identical without it?
The piece of cardboard is a microwave browning element.
Ordinarily, most of the heating energy in a microwave is absorbed by water in the food. The result is similar to steaming. The material on the cardboard is designed to absorb microwave radiation and convert it into heat, attaining a higher temperature than boiling water would reach, to allow the bottom of the pizza to crisp up a little and keep it from getting soggy.
It makes a huge difference as it makes the pizza much crisper and allows it to cook all the way through
