pizza stone problem

[majorly]

I've had a pizza stone for about 2 1/2 years. For a while now there has been this dark brown  substance on the bottom of the stone around the middle. When I baking it drips down in to the bottom of the oven. After it cools down it stickyand I can't get it off the stone. The only things I use the stone with is frozen pizzas and french fries. Does anyone know what this is or what is wrong with my stone?

[Pete-zza]

majorly,

That's the oddest pizza stone problem I have ever heard. Can you tell us more about what kind of stone you are using (type of material, or a brand name), its size and thickness, and whether you cook directly on the stone (that is, without using a pan or tray of some sort)?

Peter

[David]

Could it possibly be some of the Oil residue from the French Fries?

[majorly]

It's 14 1/2 inches wide and the thickness is 3/4 inches. I don't know what it's made of or the brand, it was a gift. I do put the food directly on the stone.

[nahu123]

I'm with David on this one; Frozen French Fries have that oil sprayed on them, this leaves a residue in a pan if you bake them, so it would stand to reason that it would on the much hotter stone surface. 

Kevin

[Pete-zza]

But how does the gunk get on the bottom of the stone around the middle? I can't believe the stone is that porous that the grease migrates down through the stone.

Peter

[jimd]

While the substance on the bottom sounds odd, I have a HearthKit insert at home, and I leave it in the oven when I use the "clean" cycle. Any stains on the material are pretty much burned off by the time the cycle completes, and you may wish to try this and see if it works for you. HearthKit itself recommends this--if the material in your stone in differant, you may have a differant result---I also don't know if the high temperature of the cleaning cycle would in any way be dangerous for your particular stone.

[chiguy]

 Hi, majorly
 I am not sure about the material of your stone but i can't imagine the handeling instructions calls for baking Fries on it?? I will tell you that leting liquids oil or water absorb into a stone may result in the stone eventually cracking. This is what happened to me i washed my stone because i made a mess on it. This was a mistake because apparently it takes forever to dry out these stones. I heated it up a couple of days later and pop!! I would advise you to cook your fries on foil to avoid a potential stone crackdown.
                           Goodluck, Chiguy

[majorly]

Thanks for all the great advise.

[Steeb]

I would advise you to cook your fries on foil to avoid a potential stone crackdown.
                           

Or even bettter - deep fry the fries! mmmm fry daddy.....

I made the same mistake with my first stone - I tried to use it for everything. It ended up a greasy mess and had to be tossed. With my current stone, it's pizza only. So far, so good.