I've been concerned about the alarming story of newer Pyrex breakage so I did some more in-depth research. Here's what I found:
In 2000, Corning Consumer Products division changed its name to World Kitchen, Inc. and can be found online at http://www.worldkitchen.com They have FAQs at: http://www.pyrexware.com/index.asp?pageId=30
They state that they have used the same soda lime glass for the past 60 years at the same factory in Pennsylvania. It isn't anything new. They DO give tips for how to prevent their products from shattering due to thermal shock, so please review them for your own safety. They go beyond anything else we've seen about protecting ourselves from what can be a horrifying situation with four simple rules. There are a couple that I've been breaking and I will change my ways immediately! (No metal trivets...... really? I've cooled my bread that way for 50 years!) I'd paste them in here, but Blogger won't let me paste, so go see it all for yourself. Some may surprise you as much as they did me!
We all love our Pyrex (and I love my Corningware products just as much!) and want to protect it and ourselves. I shudder to think of a piece shattering with a child in the kitchen, so please, follow their advice for staying safe and enjoying your beautiful Pyrex.
WRONG.
ReplyDeleteThey DO NOT use the same glass. Pyrex before the mid-80s, and Pyrex from Europe even now, use borosilicate glass. In North America now, they use soda lime glass. It is cheaper to produce but they "claim" it has the same heat tolerance as borosilicate. It doesn't, at all.
Consumer Reports did an investigation for the January 2011 issue which is available here: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2011/january/home-garden/glass-cookware/glass-cookware/index.htm
You should never expose hot or cold ceramic, glass, stoneware, pottery, etc. to extreme temperature changes. BUT vintage Pyrex is far less likely to blow up if placed on a room temperature metal trivet after coming out of a 350F oven than new Pyrex is. The new stuff is JUNK. As the guy in the consumer reports video even states, they tested a piece of vintage pyrex to 500F...and it was just dandy :)
Whether or not they use borosilicate or soda lime glass wasn't my point. It was to give some safety tips. I read the Comsumer Reports article also. I saw the video. I wrote that Corning STATES on their website what they use; I didn't categorically state that it is true. What I know from 50 years of cooking is that the old Pyrex does not break when put on a metal trivet, or a rack like I use. I have never had any thermal breakage at all, but then, I don't have any of the new stuff, either. I'm sorry you misunderstood my intent, Rueby. My only issue is safety.
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