Glass Bakeware

[mistereric]

An interesting article on glass cookware. Seems like the soda lime glass used in the USA is not as good as the borosilicate glass used in Europe (and used to be used in the USA).

They had a NOS borosilicate glass dish that was made decades ago, and it outperformed even new European glass.

http://consumerist.com/2010/12/cons...-of-glass-investigating-shattering-pyrex.html

 

[whirlcool]

Except for a measuring cup or two, we have a lot of Pyrex that was bought in the 80's & 90's. I wonder if this is the borosilicate stuff?

 

[kevin313]

Interesting article

I bake in Pyrex almost exclusively, and have pieces both vintage and modern. I have never had a pan shatter or crack - UNTIL THIS MORNING!

I baked a batch of brownies to take into my office and had them in an 8x8 Pyrex dish. Getting out of the car, it slipped out of my hand and down it went onto the cement surface of the parking garage. Shattered into a million pieces. I can replace the dish and the brownies - but those were going to be so good about 2:00 this afternoon! Cest le vie!

This was not the fault of the manuafacturer, but my own clumsiness. That said, I will continue to bake in glass because it cooks so evenly and clean-up is always easy.

 

[petek]

Not that I bake a lot but I've never been a big fan of glass bakeware. I prefer a good quality metal pan. Bread made in pyrex loaf pans don't seem to brown as nicely on the sides etc and when it comes to cleaning it's more a chore. I've never had one shatter though.

 

[mrb627]

Glass Measuring Cups

Seems I have to replace them every year or so as my dishwasher likes to scrub the measurements off em. Pyrex just doesn't last like it used to...

Malcolm

 

[lordkenmore]

Interesting article, although it's not a surprise. I haven't had any problems with modern Pyrex, but it seems like everything is not as well made as it once was.

Is there any easy way to identify the borosilicate? (Obviously if the age is known, that will help. But I'm thinking of making buying decisions in thrift shops where the history of a given item almost always is "Who knows?")

 

[launderess]

Just Read The Consumer's Reports Article

Yesterday and am quite shocked by the reports of "Pyrex" and "Anchor Hocking" glassware apparently shattering out of the blue.

Aside from the newly aquired Cuisinart oven, my only "Pyrex" pieces are some vintage measure cups, a long "roasting" pan, and one "Fire King" square pan.

Quite honestly am too much of a chuckle-head sometimes to be bothered with glass cookware. One small mistake such as taking a dish from a hot oven and setting it down on the *wrong* surface, and it is all over.

It's not so much the loss of the vessel that would worry me, but the wasted food! *LOL*

 

[spiceman1957]

I get CR

and read this article as well. I have quite a bit of glass cookware and really like it and it cleans easy. You do have to use common sense when use this type of cookware like not putting a hot dish on a wet surface, not using it under a boiler and etc. Read the article on other safety precautions.
John

 

[combo52]

BREAKING GLASS COOKWARE

I have to wonder how much of this is caused by placing hot dishes on these silly granite countertops. I have some pyrex cookware but much prefer to use any of my over 500 pieces of Corningware cookware.

 

[circlew]

World Kitchen claims on their website that Pyrex first began being made with soda lime glass back in the 1940's. They say Corning used both formulas (soda lime and borosilicate) concurrently for a number of years. Furthermore, they claim soda lime glass is less likely to break from impact than the borosilicate type.

I've not bought any Pyrex recently, in fact the last was a measuring cup set that's still in the box. I have however bought an AH FireKing bowl set (aqua) and baking dish (cobalt blue), and had no trouble.

http://www.worldkitchen.com

 

[norgeway]

I have some!

Ancient Pyrex and it certainly is better than what you get now,I have a 9 inch pie plate my Grandmother got for a wedding present...in 1926, and it shines like new.

 

[dj-gabriele]

I bought from the used stuff shop a couple of pyrex dishes, Sedlex brand, made in France in 1958! I simply loved them and they look brand new after more than 50 years!

They go directly from the fridge over the stove and in the oven and dishwasher as soon as I finished using them, they're very easy to clean if any residue from automatic dishwashing is left but a hell compared to non-stick pans!

Of this advert I have both the square dish and the coverable round dish on the right bottom side!

 

[joeekaitis]

Oh, the irony!

World Kitchen just acquired Snapware, a manufacturer of food storage containers which includes a line called Glasslock.

From the Glasslock FAQs at www.snapware.com (emphasis added):

Is Glasslock oven safe?
No, Glasslock is made from soda lime glass and is not oven safe. It is however safe for re-heating in a microwave and for storage.

. . .

Can the Glasslock containers go from freezer to microwave?
No, Glasslock is designed for both the freezer and microwave, however as with any glass product, Glasslock containers should not go from one extreme temperature to another quickly.

 

[joeekaitis]

World Kitchen responds. (.pdf file)

 

[joeekaitis]

On a related note . . .

. . . tales have been told of glass oven windows exploding during baking or self-cleaning cycles, but most of the incidents were traced to users draping dish towels over the oven door handle. The damp or cool towel touches the hot window, and, KA-FLOOEY!

That's why I remove all the dish towels from the oven door handle when I bake or self-clean. It's just common sense, folks!

 

[frigilux]

I was shocked by the article in Consumer Reports, too. I have a bunch of Pyrex items and I use them regularly. Mostly rectangular baking dishes (a couple 4-quart 10" x 15", several 9" x 13", an 11" x 9"), a few 9" square baking dishes, and 6 or 7 pie plates varying in size from 8" to 11".

Have had only one breakage experience, quite a number of years ago. I pulled an over-cooked meat loaf out of the oven, then thought I could stop the smoking (burned-on drippings) by pouring a glass of water in the pan. The pan broke in half, but did not throw shards of glass or anything dramatic like that.

I love to cook casseroles, pies, etc., in Pyrex. It's great to be able to check to see if the bottom crust of a pie is sufficiently browned, for instance.

 

[passatdoc]

I have 1980s vintage Pyrex measuring cups, the markings have survived 25 years of dishwashing. They still look brand new.

I have four bread pans, two are Anchor Hocking and two are Pyrex. Also several sizes of Pyrex baking pans. I have eight Anchor Hocking round mini baking dishes (12 oz and 20 oz, four of each) with glass covers, great for reheating single portions or baking a small amount of something.

Never had an issue with any of them. Then again, I would never lay a 500 degree pan on a wet counter (duh)....I use a trivet or cooling rack.

I do remember years ago in grad school cracking a glass Corningware lid which I placed right in the sink after removing its baking dish from the oven. The water was not running, but the sink was wet from recent use. The lid cracked instantly. This was c. 1978.

 

[hunter]

Pyroceram!

Pyroceram all the way - I don't have 500 pieces of it (GRIN) but I have quite a bit.

It is awesome.

And it reminds me of the days when the US was a science based nation!

 

[iheartmaytag]

I have never had a problem with Pyrex or Corning Ware, however, most every piece in the house were purchased around or near the Nixon Administration; as this is when we got our first microwave.

They have all been through thousand so of cooking cycles in the microwave as well as conventional oven as well as many, many diswasher washings.

Now I heard of the Visions cookware having problems with them exploding, which was funny because one of the GoodWill stores had a set of amber Visions cookware las Saturday. I didn't buy it.

 

[polkanut]

I too have many pieces of vintage Corning glass bakeware, and Glasbake brand items as well as some newer (12 years old) pieces that have withstood the test of time. Many of the older pieces we have were estate sale finds and/or my late mother-in-laws. All have performed flawlessly for us, and have been through many dishwasher cycles without incident.