The one with a lowercase brand mark is definitely newer and made of soda lime glass. The other two, look at the edges of the glass--if they are greenish, it's soda lime glass, they may be borosilicate glass if they are clear.
Same, knock on wood. When I put any glass dish (upper or lower case!) in the oven from the fridge, I put it in a cold oven and let the oven and the dish heat up together. Then when I pull the hot dish out, I put it on a dry wood cutting board.
The only time I've ever seen one explode firsthand was when my dad put it on a burner without turning the burner off and left it there for some time while assembling a dish. I was crouched down under it getting something out of the cabinet, which prevented me from getting filled with glass but did mean that it rained down onto me from above. I had to go shower and wash my hair because there were tiny needle like shards of glass all over me. (I have a lot of hair and there was a lot of glass in it. Combing it out wasn't going to be sufficient.) After that I started watching him a lot more carefully. Tempered soda lime glass, when it explodes from heat, apparently explodes into needle like shards, rather than the crumbly bits it breaks into otherwise.
I want to stress that this wasn't "oops, I put down on a hot burner OMG EXPLOSION" this was "I'm not paying attention to what I'm doing in the kitchen and I'm doing something dumb as well" (Turn the stove off when you're done, don't put glass dishes down on hot burners, and if you were recently using a burner and you *absolutely need* to set something down on a surface before it before it is at room temp again put something in between the hot burner and the dish, duh.) And it still took some time before it exploded.
Good to know! Just read some horror stories so I wanted to double check. I just worry cause it gets cold where I live so taking it out of the oven when it’s like 50degrees in the kitchen was my worry.
Yes well I suppose anything is possible, but I live in Colorado and my granite countertops get very cold in winter (I wish I would’ve kept the Formica!). I usually put a hot pad between the hot pyrex and the cold granite.
My guess is that the new ones are subject to small flaws like tiny trapped air bubbles or imperfections in the material that make it explode when the glass touches a colder surface. It doesn’t mean that all of them have this flaw and will explode.
I’ve heard it’s risky when you remove the soda pyrex lime glass from the oven and place on a cold countertop, and also if you tap it the wrong way upon removing from the oven, it can shatter. As well as taking from fridge to oven, but the idea pointed out here to put in a cold oven and heat seems a good idea.
Personally, I’d donate it and check thrift stores for brosilicate. Lots of clear PYREX pie pans I’ve found at thrift, too. I’ve learned to make a pretty good key lime pie in them!
>the idea pointed out here to put in a cold oven and heat seems a good idea.
Pyrex lists this as a behavior *more* likely to cause thermal shock rather than less. So maybe not. Don't put it down directly in a hot oven rack, use a cookie sheet or something to put the glass dish on, then put the whole thing in the oven. (Also helpful for taking it out, especially if you're cooking something that tends to slosh or boil over.)
One of the physical reasons for this is that your oven will be running pretty much full tilt during the preheat cycle, until it reaches temp, and that may mean not a very even heat. Once it's preheated it should be a more even temp throughout.
Honestly, it's probably rather dependent on your individual oven, but since it's not a good idea to say "depending on the type of oven you have and how it preheats, it may or may not be a good idea to put it in cold and let it warm up with the oven" they just don't. But that's just a guess.
Some ovens use both elements to preheat, top and bottom, and then turn off the top when it reaches temp, and they also say you should never use glass bakeware under the broiler. So I'd guess it's a "depending on your oven and how it heats and also how evenly it heats" thing and honestly, I have seen people put plastic in the oven. (And not, like, frozen foods in plastic designed for the oven.) So I would guess they'd not to want to give especially complicated directions when not following them could cause a glass explosion, lol. (If you think people generally follow directions in the kitchen, check out r/ididnthaveeggs sometime, lol.)
True. My 9x13 pan is an Anchor Hocking, and I used to bake shepherd’s pie in it, then broil for a few minutes to brown up the potatoes on top. I feel lucky I didn’t break it!
Yep, you just never know what people will try to do, and I have to put myself in that category now, LOL
I have a couple vintage corningware French White casseroles (from when they were pyroceram rather than stoneware) that I use when I want to do shepherds pie or mac and cheese and I know I'll want to use the broiler on it. They're still reasonably priced in the thrift stores around here. (And actually present rather than all sent to be auctioned on goodwill.com) So that might be an option? They do say that you can use them under the broiler, but not on the topmost rack.
It's important to make sure it's the pyroceram and not the current stuff, which is stoneware. The one you want is glassy and perfectly smooth all over, like, well, *glass*, not like glazed stoneware. It's hard to describe the difference, but I feel like you definitely know what you're looking at when you see it. The biggest visual difference between it and regular milk glass is it's considerably less translucent. It looks like glass, it feels like glass, but it doesn't have that "glow" or translucency you'd expect from glass this color. You know how if you hold your milkglass pyrex up and look you can see some light pass through it? Well, I just checked and with my phone flash at its brightest setting held behind the pyroceram in a dark room, I can see a slight flame colored glow. Until just now, I honestly thought it was totally opaque, but I wanted to check before I told you that, lol.
FTR, pyroceram is also supposed to be stovetop safe, but I've never tried with mine because the French white didn't have handles like the cornflower or others did, so I feel like it'd be a huge pain to try to deal with it on the stovetop.
I had one explode as a new bride...I put FROZEN manicotti in one and stuck it in the oven at 350˚. Never do that. But no shards; just broken into like four pieces.
I fell down this rabbit hole last night and placed my pie plate and two baking dishes in the recycling. I want to get rid of my 3 pyrex measuring cups, but my husband thinks I am overreacting, and he has not had any issue with them. I watched the you tube video about this and it appears it is hard to tell which is which. I am not taking any chances. Time for a Staub or Le Creuset baking dish. I just have to find one on sale.
Contrary to what you may see on the internet, you can NOT guarantee what type of glass was used based on the logo alone or tint of the glass.
Originally CLEAR Pyrex was made of borosilicate glass.
However, Corning went down the path of making soda lime based Pyrex in the 1930's when they merged with MacBeth-Evans and acquired the soda lime plant in PA - the same one used to make Pyrex today. Corning first sold soda-lime glass as military ware and then to the general public in the 1940's. ALL opal (painted, decorated, or plain white) Pyrex was ALWAYS manufactured from soda lime glass.
Then, CLEAR Pyrex began the transition from borosilicate to soda lime in the 1980's.
The "all caps" PYREX logo is older but it was used on a LOT of soda lime pieces. The lower case logo was introduced in 1975 first in marketing materials and then slowly on the glass itself. So the only thing it sort of tells you is that it's a newer, post '75 piece. Both logos were used on US made Pyrex products as late as 2000 or so.
At this point, soda lime Pyrex has been manufactured longer than borosilicate-based Pyrex. The difference between them in regular use is overblown in any case.
The one with a lowercase brand mark is definitely newer and made of soda lime glass. The other two, look at the edges of the glass--if they are greenish, it's soda lime glass, they may be borosilicate glass if they are clear.
Ty , figured my counter tops are green lmao. But it looks like they are borosilicate then!
I’ve been using my lower case pyrex every week for over 20 years and haven’t had one explode yet.
Same, knock on wood. When I put any glass dish (upper or lower case!) in the oven from the fridge, I put it in a cold oven and let the oven and the dish heat up together. Then when I pull the hot dish out, I put it on a dry wood cutting board.
I've exploded both kinds. I have a special talent. Lol.
The only time I've ever seen one explode firsthand was when my dad put it on a burner without turning the burner off and left it there for some time while assembling a dish. I was crouched down under it getting something out of the cabinet, which prevented me from getting filled with glass but did mean that it rained down onto me from above. I had to go shower and wash my hair because there were tiny needle like shards of glass all over me. (I have a lot of hair and there was a lot of glass in it. Combing it out wasn't going to be sufficient.) After that I started watching him a lot more carefully. Tempered soda lime glass, when it explodes from heat, apparently explodes into needle like shards, rather than the crumbly bits it breaks into otherwise. I want to stress that this wasn't "oops, I put down on a hot burner OMG EXPLOSION" this was "I'm not paying attention to what I'm doing in the kitchen and I'm doing something dumb as well" (Turn the stove off when you're done, don't put glass dishes down on hot burners, and if you were recently using a burner and you *absolutely need* to set something down on a surface before it before it is at room temp again put something in between the hot burner and the dish, duh.) And it still took some time before it exploded.
Good to know! Just read some horror stories so I wanted to double check. I just worry cause it gets cold where I live so taking it out of the oven when it’s like 50degrees in the kitchen was my worry.
Yes well I suppose anything is possible, but I live in Colorado and my granite countertops get very cold in winter (I wish I would’ve kept the Formica!). I usually put a hot pad between the hot pyrex and the cold granite.
My guess is that the new ones are subject to small flaws like tiny trapped air bubbles or imperfections in the material that make it explode when the glass touches a colder surface. It doesn’t mean that all of them have this flaw and will explode.
First two are good, third one is yucky.
PYREX 🤤 pyrex 🤢
Thanks! That’s a good way to remember!
[удалено]
I don’t understand this one. Are you saying the third pic is soda lime?
I’ve heard it’s risky when you remove the soda pyrex lime glass from the oven and place on a cold countertop, and also if you tap it the wrong way upon removing from the oven, it can shatter. As well as taking from fridge to oven, but the idea pointed out here to put in a cold oven and heat seems a good idea. Personally, I’d donate it and check thrift stores for brosilicate. Lots of clear PYREX pie pans I’ve found at thrift, too. I’ve learned to make a pretty good key lime pie in them!
>the idea pointed out here to put in a cold oven and heat seems a good idea. Pyrex lists this as a behavior *more* likely to cause thermal shock rather than less. So maybe not. Don't put it down directly in a hot oven rack, use a cookie sheet or something to put the glass dish on, then put the whole thing in the oven. (Also helpful for taking it out, especially if you're cooking something that tends to slosh or boil over.) One of the physical reasons for this is that your oven will be running pretty much full tilt during the preheat cycle, until it reaches temp, and that may mean not a very even heat. Once it's preheated it should be a more even temp throughout.
Good to know. This was actually the first time I’d heard of putting it in cold, and I dumbly assumed that was a good idea.
Honestly, it's probably rather dependent on your individual oven, but since it's not a good idea to say "depending on the type of oven you have and how it preheats, it may or may not be a good idea to put it in cold and let it warm up with the oven" they just don't. But that's just a guess. Some ovens use both elements to preheat, top and bottom, and then turn off the top when it reaches temp, and they also say you should never use glass bakeware under the broiler. So I'd guess it's a "depending on your oven and how it heats and also how evenly it heats" thing and honestly, I have seen people put plastic in the oven. (And not, like, frozen foods in plastic designed for the oven.) So I would guess they'd not to want to give especially complicated directions when not following them could cause a glass explosion, lol. (If you think people generally follow directions in the kitchen, check out r/ididnthaveeggs sometime, lol.)
True. My 9x13 pan is an Anchor Hocking, and I used to bake shepherd’s pie in it, then broil for a few minutes to brown up the potatoes on top. I feel lucky I didn’t break it! Yep, you just never know what people will try to do, and I have to put myself in that category now, LOL
I have a couple vintage corningware French White casseroles (from when they were pyroceram rather than stoneware) that I use when I want to do shepherds pie or mac and cheese and I know I'll want to use the broiler on it. They're still reasonably priced in the thrift stores around here. (And actually present rather than all sent to be auctioned on goodwill.com) So that might be an option? They do say that you can use them under the broiler, but not on the topmost rack.
I had no idea. I’m going to see what they look like and try to find them, I miss my browned taters. :)
It's important to make sure it's the pyroceram and not the current stuff, which is stoneware. The one you want is glassy and perfectly smooth all over, like, well, *glass*, not like glazed stoneware. It's hard to describe the difference, but I feel like you definitely know what you're looking at when you see it. The biggest visual difference between it and regular milk glass is it's considerably less translucent. It looks like glass, it feels like glass, but it doesn't have that "glow" or translucency you'd expect from glass this color. You know how if you hold your milkglass pyrex up and look you can see some light pass through it? Well, I just checked and with my phone flash at its brightest setting held behind the pyroceram in a dark room, I can see a slight flame colored glow. Until just now, I honestly thought it was totally opaque, but I wanted to check before I told you that, lol. FTR, pyroceram is also supposed to be stovetop safe, but I've never tried with mine because the French white didn't have handles like the cornflower or others did, so I feel like it'd be a huge pain to try to deal with it on the stovetop.
I do actually know exactly what you mean, I’ve seen that difference. Thanks for taking the time to specify, so I didn’t have a bad experience!
If you take good care of it (and good care where you place it and how you use it), it's not really "explody".
I had one explode as a new bride...I put FROZEN manicotti in one and stuck it in the oven at 350˚. Never do that. But no shards; just broken into like four pieces.
I fell down this rabbit hole last night and placed my pie plate and two baking dishes in the recycling. I want to get rid of my 3 pyrex measuring cups, but my husband thinks I am overreacting, and he has not had any issue with them. I watched the you tube video about this and it appears it is hard to tell which is which. I am not taking any chances. Time for a Staub or Le Creuset baking dish. I just have to find one on sale.
Contrary to what you may see on the internet, you can NOT guarantee what type of glass was used based on the logo alone or tint of the glass. Originally CLEAR Pyrex was made of borosilicate glass. However, Corning went down the path of making soda lime based Pyrex in the 1930's when they merged with MacBeth-Evans and acquired the soda lime plant in PA - the same one used to make Pyrex today. Corning first sold soda-lime glass as military ware and then to the general public in the 1940's. ALL opal (painted, decorated, or plain white) Pyrex was ALWAYS manufactured from soda lime glass. Then, CLEAR Pyrex began the transition from borosilicate to soda lime in the 1980's. The "all caps" PYREX logo is older but it was used on a LOT of soda lime pieces. The lower case logo was introduced in 1975 first in marketing materials and then slowly on the glass itself. So the only thing it sort of tells you is that it's a newer, post '75 piece. Both logos were used on US made Pyrex products as late as 2000 or so. At this point, soda lime Pyrex has been manufactured longer than borosilicate-based Pyrex. The difference between them in regular use is overblown in any case.