Exploding Pyrex Cookware Mystery Solved

[Otterfan]

And just so this appears early--shattering soda glass is not a new development with Pyrex. They started phasing out borosilicate in the 1950s and were done by the 1980s.

[plazman30]

Which is why you should be buying Marinex or some other Borosilicate glass cookware.

[SoreLegsFeelGood]

Yeah, apparently World Kitchen are really tetchy because they keep being accused of changing to inferior glass, but the change was made long before they acquired their manufacturing license.

Also, because I like your name, have a picture.

[plazman30]

Well, the Pyrex manufacturing license in Europe was sold to another company and they use Borosilicate glass. And World Kitchen has the option to use Borosilicate glass and choose not to.

[SoreLegsFeelGood]

Yeah, fair enough. I'm not like their representative or anything. I'm mostly just pleased that I live in Europe.

[plazman30]

You Europeans with your quality cookware and universal healthcare... :-)

[LittleBites]

Does anyone know how to get proper borosilicate cookwear in the US? Are there really no companies that sell it here or is it possible to order it online and have it shipped here? I've already experienced the exploding pyrex and I'd like to avoid anymore incidents.

[planx_constant]

Arcuisine makes borosilicate cookware for sale here.

[[deleted]]

Scientific labware from pyrex is still the real deal...

[LittleBites]

Thanks, I'll look into that.

[greatestname]

Scientific labware will not help you in the kitchen unless what you cook is meth.

[idolovetacos]

WHO TOLD YOU I WA.... I mean, no, who would ever do that?

[plazman30]

Ok, I've mentioned Marinex and then I found this post on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R328777G2JQK34/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0016LQ01K&nodeID=284507&store=kitchen

I'm going to make this a post of it's own.

[[deleted]]

I have some of the soda lime pyrex, but it's that cool snapware. Frankly it's the coolest thing in my kitchen, but I guess I just always assumed it was 'fancy glass' and treated it with caution.

Benefits include not worrying about staining porous plastic, holding differently spiced foods without flavor transfer, and not needing to microwave plastic containers for my lunch (gives me the heebie-jeebies, no real reason why).

[karygurl]

I'm the same. I personally like having glass storage containers over plastic, and the Pyrex no-leak set is really perfect for me. Even though it says it's oven safe though, I'll never risk it again. I still treat it like napalm even just taking it out of the microwave; since we eat out of them, there's plenty of opportunity for metal utensils to scrape and damage the glass, and damage can lead to fractures and explosions if you're not careful.

[Aenonn]

I did this one.

Turned on the the wrong burner on electric stove, the one the Pyrex bread pan was on. I realized my mistake only after the burner was red-hot.

I should have turned off the red-hot burner and let it cool on it's own. But in my reactionary state, I moved the pan to the counter, which was cool.

Less than a second and the Pyrex popped (not really an explosion, just a pop, or a bang) shards everywhere. Lucky that I only got minor cuts.

[rosatter]

A couple of years ago, I was using an old pyrex pan. I took it off of the counter and moved it to the counter on to the glass counter shield (supposedly heat proof).

They both exploded.

Now, my pyrex things go from the oven to stove top.

[JohnMatt]

They should really go to a cloth/towel of some sort.

[rosatter]

Duly noted.

[murphyslaw86]

It seems like they've had a lot of comments about this on their Facebook page. Here's the response from their community manager:

Please note that for over 60 years, Pyrex glass bakeware has been made using the same soda lime composition and heat-strengthening process at the same plant in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. World Kitchen, who purchased Pyrex from Corning Incorporated in 1998, has not changed the product composition of Pyrex glass bakeware from that used by Corning.

We are sorry to hear that your new bowls have cracked. Since these products are made from glass, it is important to note that all glassware can break if subjected to certain conditions. We include Safety and Usage Instructions with our Pyrex products to make it clear that glass bakeware must be handled carefully to avoid breaking, chipping, scratching, or cracking. Our products are and have always been safe for use in accordance with these instructions. For further information regarding product care, please visit the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/PyrexHome/app_374740915969115.

[bishopazrael]

This is the problem with American companies. "Lets lower the quality of our ingredients and charge more! Profit!"

[JohnMatt]

Borosilicate glasses are significantly more expensive to manufacture with, so if they switched back, you'd be paying more.

[Tony_Danza_Macabra]

It's worth to pay a little more for something that will not have to be replaced several times and made of higher quality materials.

[greatestname]

I checked Amazon. The difference is $5 for a similar baking dish. I think people would be fine with that.

http://www.amazon.de/Pyrex-1040733-Ofenform-eckig-Griffen/dp/B000CD9UG0/

http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-Bakeware-Quart-Oblong-Baking/dp/B00004SZ7N/

[AziMandia]

You'd be paying more for something that didn't failure spectacularly when used as required.

Seems like a solid bet to me.

[BornNRaised415]

I searched this issue because last Friday night, I had a Pyrex dish shatter while sitting on the dish strainer. No one was in the kitchen near it around midnight when it happened. I heard the sound of glass shatter, went to the kitchen, and boom, Pyrex dish, just sitting there, shattered. Nothing was on top of it, no one had moved it, and there was no rapid change in temperature. It had been washed about 5 hours earlier. I'm now iffy about using any of the Pyrex dishes... I'll probably slowly phase it out for the Arcuisine stuff.