My Pyrex exploded

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Kirby

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
11
:ohmy:Well, it kind of exploded. I took it out of the oven and set it next to the sink. It made a couple crackling sounds and then quieted for a few seconds before letting out a loud pop and splitting mostly in half, dropping half my dinner into the sink.

I just found that pyrex is not supposed to be used under a broiler. Maybe the top heating elements with the "broil" setting on make the pyrex too hot? It's also a little chilly in my apartment, about 55 F.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/pyrex.html

I got this pyrex pie pan around November. I thought pyrex was much stronger than that. I wonder if they'll replace it.


Any suggestions on what to use to broil meat in the oven? I found that I can finish ribs pretty well this way, but will need a better pan.


Kirby!
 
Yikes! I'm glad you werent hurt... that could have resulted in a nasty cut or burn!

Anyway, what about using a roasting or a broiler pan?I have one like this that I use for broiling and it works well.
 
What did you set it on when you removed it from the broiler? If the temerature differential between the Pyrex and whatever you set it on is too much, the Pyrex will "explode". I put Pyrex under the broiler all the time but also put it onto a wooden cutting board with a towel on it when I take it out.

Mark
 
That's a scary tale Kirby, I've very glad that you were not hurt at all by the breaking dish!

When I was in my teens my mom was cooking a roast chicken & fixings one day, as she went to remove it from the hot oven the glass pan quite literally "fell apart in her [oven glove covered] hands". Thank goodness neither she nor anyone else was hurt, but from that day forward I've been (one might say "overly") paranoid about using glass cookware of any sort. I make sure never to put cold liquid into a hot glass pan and to always set my glass cookware onto a clean, dry tea towel, trivet or large pot holder so that it does not run the risk of breaking while it cools down.

A noticeable difference in temperatures from that of the glass dish to what it touches can result in breakage or cracking. I've seen it happen with ceramic cookware too. Interestingly despite all the "precautions" that I try to take the only glass thing that I've ever had split and shatter on me was a Pyrex cake pan too. It was cool to the touch and the cake had been removed a while ago so I thought it was safe to put in the empty sink. I'd barely turned to walk away when I heard the distinct sound of glass shattering. A bit "plexing" because the Pyrex wasn't hot any more, and it was placed gently (and flatly) in the sink. Perhaps the centre of the dish had retained more heat then the edges and the cool metal sink reacted with that heat resulting in the breakage.
 
I have never had pyrex do that, but I did have Corningware split on me. The buzzer had just gone off telling me that whatever I had in the oven at the time was done. I opened the oven, pulled out the rack, and then POP! and the Corningware casserole dish split right down the middle, in almost two equal pieces. I miss that paerticular dish, and I still have the lid but I have no use for it. That particular lid is 10 inches in diameter instead of the usual 8, and it doesn't fit anything else I have. My 8 inch Corningware lid doubles as the lid for my crock pot.
 
Markf said:
What did you set it on when you removed it from the broiler? If the temerature differential between the Pyrex and whatever you set it on is too much, the Pyrex will "explode". I put Pyrex under the broiler all the time but also put it onto a wooden cutting board with a towel on it when I take it out.

Mark
Smart idea.

My counter was probably the same temperature as my apartment ~55 F, which was obviously too cold. A towel or something wood will be the way to do it in the future.
 
Kirby said:
:ohmy:Well, it kind of exploded. I took it out of the oven and set it next to the sink. It made a couple crackling sounds and then quieted for a few seconds before letting out a loud pop and splitting mostly in half, dropping half my dinner into the sink.

I just found that pyrex is not supposed to be used under a broiler. Maybe the top heating elements with the "broil" setting on make the pyrex too hot? It's also a little chilly in my apartment, about 55 F.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/pyrex.html

I got this pyrex pie pan around November. I thought pyrex was much stronger than that. I wonder if they'll replace it.


Any suggestions on what to use to broil meat in the oven? I found that I can finish ribs pretty well this way, but will need a better pan.


Kirby!



I'm glad that you weren't hurt also! Was it a steak?

NEVER use any glass cookware for broiling at all!!!

Use a METAL pan next time. Or the broiling pan in your broiler, if it has one.

When I cook a thick steak, I usually start it on the sovetop in a medium-sized cast iron skillet. Then I finish it in the oven, let it rest for a few minutes for the juices to retract, then I eat it.


~Corey123.
 
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If you had a bit of water on the counter it could cause it. I would use only metal under a broiler, if it is for any length of time. If it is a matter of minutes, then you can probably get away with it.
 
Yes!!

Placing a hot glass pan directly from the oven onto a counter that has any water on it causes a sudden temp change drastically, and the pan can't handle the shocking sudden change, so it cracks and breaks.


~Corey123.
 
That happened at my house

I took a pyrex dish out of the oven with a huge pasta meal in it and when I put it on the counter it must have touched something cool because the whole dish shattered into little pieces of glass that went everywhere. That was the end of dinner, we had to take the guests out. I'm glad you weren't hurt. I will never use pyrex for anything like that again.
 
I've had a Pyrex baking dish break into a few pieces but no explosions or flying pieces of glass were involved. Just a sharp noise and a puddle.
 
Gee, I guess I've been lucky. In 45 years of cooking, I've never had anything like that happen. But then, I've always been an overly cautious scardy-cat.
 
Visions cookware, which is still available at Cooking.com, and the old square Corningware - those items can still be used for stovetop cooking.

Interestingly enough, Pyrex made those items. But now, their cookware these days is only made for use in the oven. What a **** shame though! Except for the Visions cookware, you can't use their other stuff on the stovetop.


~Corey123.
 
I had a clear Pyrex bowl "explode" on me once for no apparent reason. Although suspicious - lol!!! If I remember correctly, it held something that I planned to incorporate into supper that my husband wasn't too fond of. Darned if I can remember what it was. Anyway, I went to take it out of the fridge & the bowl was cracked into pieces. Husband thought it was WAY funny, but somehow I couldn't share his glee, what with all that glass to clean up.
 
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