We all have our reliable glass dishes and bakeware that we reach for over and over. But, glass can shatter with fluctuations in temperature. When it comes to the glassware in your cabinets, there are some precautions to keep in mind.
Learn what causes these dishes to crack in the oven, as well as ways to prevent damage to your glassware to so you can keep these pieces for years to come.
What Causes Glass to Crack in the Oven?
Glass dishes are perfect vessels for casseroles, roasted meats, cobbler desserts, or lasagna. Pies and quick breads also bake evenly in glass dishes with delicious results. But when they are moved from one location to another with quick changes in temperature, it can be a problem .
A glass dish that experiences a rapid change in temperature when it goes from a place with a cold environment to a hot one can experience "thermal shock." The same can happen in reverse when a hot dish is removed from an oven and placed in a refrigerator or freezer without being allowed to cool to room temperature first. The thermal shock can cause a dish to crack or break into pieces.
Standard glass cannot be used in the oven because it's unable to resist heat and begins to break at 302-392 degrees F (150-200°C). The intense temperature of an oven will cause the ordinary glass to crack. Different parts of a piece of bakeware can expand or contract at varying rates and cause kitchen and bakeware to lose its core structure and result in the dish shattering.
How to tell if a Glass Dish is Oven Safe?
You want to be sure the glass cookware pieces you are using for the oven are labeled oven-safe. Look for dishes with a clearly visible Pyrex logo or consult the manufacturer suggestions for use in the oven.
Pyrex is oven-safe up to 425 degrees F. However, direct contact with heating elements from a broiler is not recommended. You can identify if a plate, pot, cup or bowl is safe for use in the oven. Check to see if there is a marked "Oven-Safe" symbol underneath the piece.
Glass bowls made of borosilicate or tempered glass and marked as oven-safe can go in the oven and withstand high temperatures. Those made of non-tempered glass may not be suitable with heat resistance and withstanding temperature changes. Never use non-tempered glassware (such as drinking glasses) or thin glass dishes in a hot oven.
How to Prevent Glass Dishware from Cracking in the Oven
The main concern with avoiding damage to glassware with oven use is to prevent extreme fluctuations in temperature for the items.
Never take a dish directly from a hot oven and place it in the cold environment of a refrigerator or freezer. The same goes for an item being removed from the freezer or refrigerator and being placed in a hot oven. Always allow dishes to come close to room temperature on a kitchen counter.
Other steps you can use to avoid shattering glass dishware include:
- When you're cooking foods like roast chicken or pork loin that don't cover the entire surface of the bottom of the dish, add a bit of liquid to the dish before you place it in the oven to help keep the dish temperature even.
- As your protein roasts, don't baste it with cold water or broth.
- When you take baked pastas and casseroles out of the oven, don't place them on a cold surface or a wet towel. Put the hot dish on a dry cloth potholder instead.
