Corning WARY

[danemodsandy]

Disaster.

I made myself a great dinner tonight - spaghetti with homemade meat sauce, dishing it up in a piece of Corning Ware with one of the clamp-on handles. I was taking it off the range, when suddenly, whammo! The handle evidently unclamped itself somehow, and the dish crashed to the floor.

Spaghetti and Pyroceram shrapnel everywhere. I mean everywhere. The kitchen is separated from the living room only by an archway, and the range is right next to the archway, so I ended up with food and Pyroceram on the living room carpet as well as the kitchen floor. A mess on the top of the range. On the front of the range. Under the range. All over about a quarter of the kitchen floor, which is a cream-and-yellow no-wax that would stain quickly if tomato sauce sat on it too long.

I've been cleaning for about an hour, and have it taken care of - including a full scrubbing of the floor and range, Spot Shot on the carpet, washing all the dishes, etc. - but that is my lastest trip around the block with a Corning Ware handle, trust me.

Fortunately, there was a TV dinner in the freezer that I could microwave to have something to eat.

Grrrrh! Angry. Waste of time, food, money and temper.

Has anyone else had this happen with one of these handles?

 

[SactoTeddyBear]

So sorry Sandy:

Your Meal sounded great, it's been quite a long time since I've had Home-Made Spaghetti's Meat Sauce. What a shame that had to happen. I'm glad that you were able to get the mess cleaned-up, before Stains begain to set-into the Flooring and Carpet.

I own a fair amount of Corning Ware, but it has been some time now since I've used the Clamp-On Handles, I usually just use Pot Holders or Mits to carry Cookware, from the Stove/Oven to the Table or Counters.

Peace and Kind Regards, Steve
SactoTeddyBear0503...

 

[laundromat]

Sorry for your loss----

Uh oh---Spaghetti nos!!

 

[appnut]

Sandy, I am extremely sorry for all that happened with the meal. But I'm very grateful you weren't hurt. I won't use one of those clamp on handles just for that reason, don't trust them. I'm like Steve, carry/hold on to with pot holders or oven mits. I got 5 large pieces and 8 24 oz mini pots of Corning Ware that were my moms and I'm very careful with them, the sentimental value, would kill me if I were to break one.

 

[danemodsandy]

This Piece:

Was from the thrift store, so no great loss on that score.

The worst of the incident was that my cat, Tony, came a-running to the scene - spaghetti is his very most favourite Forbidden Thing. He wants it so bad, and begs for it, but he can't have it, because of the onions and garlic in it; they can cause anemia in cats. He has to be bought off with salmon-flavoured kitty treats when spaghetti's on the menu.

Anyway, he smelled spaghetti like he'd never smelled it before - hell, it was everywhere - and came running, licking his chops, and did not want to leave the scene. He's normally a very unusual cat in that he "minds" well, responding to verbal instructions, but not this time, which concerned me. Not only was the sauce bad for him, I was worried because of all the Pyroceram shards everywhere - Tony goes barefoot, after all. I had to holler and stomp to shoo him back to the bedroom, where he could be closed in until I got things cleaned up. He was not misbehaving, understand - he was just too excited and tempted by all that Forbidden Stuff just laying there for the slurping to remember his usual good manners.

Hell of a night.

 

[mattl]

Yup...

Had one of those handles with the Corning-ware that came with the Corningware range we had in the '70s. Broke too many pots over the years and the handle went in the trash early on. Used pot holders and the the breakage stopped. Still have a few of the flat bottom pieces, it's funny -they are so flat that they glue themselves to the counter if they are the least bit wet.

Glad no one got hurt...

 

[112561]

What an ugly surprise!

I'm glad neither of you were hurt! We've had Corelle accidents here, not involving hot food, just family pieces. I haven't attempted to use my Corning frypan and heat element, or any of the electric or rangetop percolators. At least not until I get the house to myself.

 

[swestoyz]

Sandy -

Maybe it is time to get a Vision....

Ben

 

[toggleswitch2]

oh my what a disaster! The good thing is (if there IS one...) is that it was not the main course for a dinner party, and a hungry crowd!

Poor frustrated Tony. But I do have to ask, aren't many cat foods loaded with onions and garlic? My understading is that these are used to get cats to crave the products, even though loaded with meat byproducts.

LOL oh Ben. Here's a pot that actually conducts heat, is made of non-poisonous non-toxic material, goes in the DW, has a flat non-warping bottom and won't shatter, and is easily held. Inagine that? LOL! (ducks and runs!)

 

[sudsmaster]

General Information
Garlic and onion are used as flavor enhancers in food. Some human baby foods have onion in them, and it is not recommended to feed them to pets. In dogs and cats, garlic and onion can cause Heinz body anemia, resulting in a breakdown of the red blood cells and anemia. The very small amounts of garlic that are present in some commercial pet foods have not been shown to cause any problems.

The bulbs, bulbets, flowers, and stems of the garlic and onion are all poisonous.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1&aid=2414

 

[jetcone]

Sandy!

I had a bizarre incident just two weekends ago with CorningWare!
I have these poorly built cabinets with tacky shelf supports.
Slowly I have been cobbling a correction around the kitchen since they were installed.

Well I was standing ACROSS the kitchen NO WHERE NEAR THE Cabinet when all of a sudden this great CRASH occurred. The top shelf near the ceiling gave way and all my platters came down on my Induction cooktop! I thought for sure the glass had broken on the cooktop! But no thank god the Ceran glass wasn't even scratched! However a huge gouge was cut in the solid surfacing countertop. BUT my Corningware platter, I have to say, EXPLODED into a thousand little sharp chips! IT WAS EVERYWHERE! I am still finding pieces two weeks later. I have never seen Corning ware break and when it does it is dramatic! I can imagine what your spaghetti looked like! Christmas was ruined! Hopefully you had backup spaghetti!

 

[turquoisedude]

Wild coincidence!

The exact same thing happened to me last week! Yes, I admit the casserole I was using was over 25 years old (the handle even older) but GEEZ was I pissed off! I had to move the range (in the apartment in the city) to get all the Cauliflower au Gratin and ceramic shards cleaned up... Have we done something to anger the gods of CorningWare???

 

[jetcone]

I think

the coringware gods are just pissed off that the real stuff isn't made anymore, its a general god-rebellion!

 

[112561]

Counter productive of the Corningware gods!

I have seen small Pyroceram frypans with the handles in the same material. Maybe there was a larger model with that handle too.

 

[panthera]

Twice

I've had Corningware shatter over the last 30 years.

Both times, there was no really discernible reason, I've had pieces fall much harder which are still in use - and I got them from my dad's mom who bought them in the 1960s.

Vision, on the other hand, I've had explode on me when boiling water. Once. Never going to trust it again.

My cat loves onions and garlic and tomatoes and coffee and chocolate and booze. Keeping her out of that stuff is a full time job.

Sandy, I'm glad neither you nor your cat were injured. The mechanism of the handles in both designs I have was never that sturdy to begin with, never mind that they are all now 'middle-aged'.

Funny, the basic material was great but it seems handles and grips were just never quite built to the same level of quality.

We still have real Corning pyroceram in Europe, by the way. It's only in the US that they stopped making the real thing. Wonder why?

 

[petek]

Sandy that's exactly why I don't use them although I've never had it happen I always had that gut feeling it could and I didn't want to take the chance.

 

[danemodsandy]

Thanks, Guys...

...I appreciate all the commiseration and the war stories. I don't feel quite so much like, was it something I did?

I have to clean the kitchen floor again today; the room still smells faintly of spaghetti sauce in spite of the floor having been cleaned once with ammonia and once with Pine-Sol.

No more trust in those handles, that's for sure. P.S.: For all of you who suggested other types of cookware - I already have about forty pieces of vintage Farberware, the damndest collection you ever saw, with a lot of rare stuff. It'll be coming up in the Spring from storage in Atlanta.

 

[kenb]

Unfortunate...however at least nobody was hurt.

After a similar experience many years ago my mother banished all Corningware from here kitchen.

I've never used or owned the stuff, as I've never understood the attraction of Corningware...

 

[toggleswitch2]

They make nice serving pieces, and can be placed in the nuker, or heated stove-top as the need may arise.

 

[petek]

My mom never cared for it either, said it was too hard to keep it clean. I only started collecting some a couple of years ago after becoming infected with it from this site LOL
I don't find it that difficult to keep clean, just some Ajax or BonAmi type powder.
We had a set of Visions ages ago when it first came out but neither of us liked the stuff,, too too heavy and slow to boil, slow to cool down. We tossed it all iirc when we moved here. Plenty of it at the thrift stores.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Funny, and I thoguth glass (and glass-like) was the eastiet thing to keep clean, espcially being so dishwasher friendly.

I bought pleanty of Corning Ware and glass ware second-had where one could tell the owner didn't have a dishwasher to thoroughly de-grease and de-slime it, especially in the nooks and crannies.

No matter; a bit of Easy-off (Lye-based [sodium hydorxie] oven cleaningn spray) and the schmutz literally melts right off. A little saopnification (turning of the grease into SOAP) and it further helps clean the piece!

A good rinse and a subsequent run through the DW on "HOT" and it's FABULOUS!

 

[toggleswitch2]

UGH to my reading and editing skills!

 

[brisnat81]

I havent broken any of the new Pyroceram stuff yet, its bounced the few times I've dropped it. Perhaps age also has something to do with the fraility.

I do find it impossible to get clean in the dishwasher the first time. There are always shadows left particularily if its been used on the stove top.

Once its been washed, I add a bit of detergent and the shadows just rub off. I'm not sure why they easily wipe away, but wont come off in the dw.

 

[hunter]

Europe and Asia versus USA.

My observation about pyroceram in Europe/Asia versus North America:

It is not cheap.

Typically Corningware is sold as ovenware here. Ordinary glass (Pyrex) or stoneware (the existing disgusting corningware) is cheaper.

Personally I REALLY like using pyroceram as saucepans on my electric smoothtop. The results are excellent. And nothing EVER flavors from the pan. It is non reactive. It is easily cleanable. Etc.

I don't use it for frying though.

Hunter

 

[danemodsandy]

Nathan:

The breakage that happened last night wasn't a case of fragility - it was a good four-foot drop onto a hard floor, so pretty much anything that could break would have broken. I blame the handle, not the pot.

The "shadows" you mention are called starch film. Starch in food bonds to cookware during cooking, and does not wash away from cookware readily; you need to do some hand-cleaning. It's perfectly normal. It shows up more on some types of cookware than others; stainless and Pyroceram are particularly susceptible to it. On my Farberware, I've always used Cameo stainless cleaner to remove starch film, since it builds up over time and can make food stick to the cookware.

 

[sudsmaster]

I once had a kitten who loved strawberries and bananas.

I came home one day to find she had clawed all the ripening bananas in a bowl on the kitchen table.

As she grew older, however, she lost her craving for fruit.

 

[nashmaytagbear]

i only have a couple of pieces myself

As you can tell i only use 1 or two pieces. LOL I love Corning Ware works great on my flat-top stove. I have only had 1 handle to give me trouble.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Funny, and I thoguth glass (and glass-like) was the eastiet

Hey Steve,

When we do bread stuffing, it's in the Corningware, in the oven, for a few hours. I like the outside to have a bit of a crust! If I spray the dish before putting the stuffing in, there's virtually nothing that soap and water won't handle. That is, unless I forget to wipe off any over-spray that may have gotten on the rim/handle!!

Chuck

 

[panthera]

Teflon and well seasoned cast iron

Are far easier to clean that even vitreous ceramic or glass.

When a piece of (real) Corningware has burned on/baken on ick, I just toss it into the self-cleaning oven and that takes care of that.

 

[sudsmaster]

Or, we could say...

Corning B-Ware