Silicone Bakeware - I'm not so sure
Anyone want to share their thoughts about this? A friend gave me a silicone cake pan that she was given but would never use (since she is a stranger to her own kitchen). Frankly, I'm not completely comfortable with the idea of using synthetic materials with high heat (even Silpat liners). Another friend thinks it's ridiculous to worry about and that it is perfectly safe. I get that they are light weight and flexible and baked foods can just "pop out", but what about 20 or 30 years from now? Will we unknowingly be poisoning ourselves? Is there undisputed evidence of its safety?
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23 Comments:
There isn't undisputed evidence that anything is safe. In 50 years, scientists might discover that stainless steel is bad for cooking. Then again, I could get run over by a bus tomorrow.
If you're not comfortable using it in the oven, don't. They are handy for molding things like ice cream, though. Or give it to someone else. Donate it to a thrift store. Plant seedlings in it.
dbcurrie at 12:51AM on 03/28/09
The only thing I can tell you is that you should avoid poking deep with a toothpick to check cake doneness. The material gets hot and soft and bends when with a metal pan you would get resistance.
As dbcurrie said, science is always finding new bad things for us...
blizcheetah at 1:02AM on 03/28/09
I would use one to form something cold or frozen, as in small chocolates or bombes, ice cream shapes but I am also not baking with them. We were discussing ice cream cake and I think if you baked a nice cake in a reg baking pan and wanted to make a mousse filling or a ice cream one you could use the silcone mold cold or frozen. Maybe even a nice molded jello thing for the kids. I never use silpat either. I got a nice case of half sheet parchment from the restaurant store was worth every penny.
JerzeeTomato at 3:00AM on 03/28/09
We used to have 4 food groups, now we have a food pyramid.
Eggs used to be part of a healthy breakfast, then they weren't, now they are again.
Margarine... now there's the fat of the future, and much better than butter!....oh.... hold on a minute.
Now keep in mind, the FDA has approved food grade silicone for use in this bakeware.... unfortunately, these are the same people who said it was ok to eat trans-fats!
Pavlov at 7:47AM on 03/28/09
@Pavvie ~ You are indeed a wise man! I think it is time to take out the box of Crayolas.
izatryt at 7:53AM on 03/28/09
personally the most silicone I want touching my food is whats impregnated in my parchment paper, at least at high heat. @Jerzee is that a local rest supply store of online?
huneybumper at 9:09AM on 03/28/09
I have a silicone tart pan and once you fill it its tricky to use because you still have to remember to put a sheet pan underneath because the pan is flexible. I dont worry about baking with the silicone as much as my tart ending up all over the floor! I use silpats on all my airbake pans all the time, I have baked thousands of cookies on them I dont worry about the residue because I dont eat sweets.
WSLunch at 9:38AM on 03/28/09
I have a full set, cake pan, muffin pan, bundt pan, mini-bundt pan....and I've had them for four years now. They are in the basement...never been used. I don't know why either...the concept of flexible pans is counter intuitive. Also, how long do you have to wait for someone not to die from exposure to toxic chemicals to know its OK to use?
thegoch at 10:55AM on 03/28/09
Silicone pans really can't be used by themselves with heavy batters like cake in a tube pan. The weight of the batter "bellies" out the pan and the resulting cake is less sculptured than if a metal pan was used.
Regardless of what kind of cake I'm making, I put a sheet pan under the main vessel. I do NOT want to clean batter off my oven if any bubbles over and fuses to the oven walls or floor. I'd much rather scrape a sheet pan.
therealchiffonade at 10:57AM on 03/28/09
I go to the Restaurant Store (thats what it is called) http://www.therestaurantstore.com/
I am sure there is a supply near most any major city.
JerzeeTomato at 11:08AM on 03/28/09
@Jerzee - Been wondering about you. I should have known you were a fellow (I think) Pennsylvanian.
arm1970 at 12:11PM on 03/28/09
I guess the jury's still out on this one. I have no problem using them for molds, but I think I would always worry about the chemical breakdown with high heat. I'll probably just give this one away since there's nothing special about the shape to use as a mold. Thanks everyone.
yankeesgal at 12:57PM on 03/28/09
I have silicone baking sheets that are really useful when I make cookies. As for pans, I didnt bother buying them. I think I have much more trouble with getting cookies to un-stick than cakes and stuff. They were especially useful when making delicate cookies like Linzer tarts.
If you dont want to use silicone, then don't. You should be able to grease/flour/parchment paper a pan well enough that it wont have a sticking problem.
engmcmuffin at 1:27PM on 03/28/09
I have the same reservations about silicone, and I also ended up with cake batter slopping all over the floor when I tried to use a cake pan the first and only time I tried it (the pan went, accompanied by a lot of bad words, right into the trash).
I do occasionally give in and use a silpat. However, if you are expecting bake goods to brown on the bottom, forget about silicone. The bottoms of regular chocolate chip and other cookies and other vanilla type cookies will come out looking strange and lack the little snap and taste boost on the bottom, if you like soft on the inside, crisp on the bottom. The silpat works well for chocolate chocolate chips/Soho Globs, etc. Forget it for gingersnaps, cat's tongues, cinnamon crisps.
IMHO, parchment works better, but after shelling out the bucks for 4 silpats, I at least want to get a little return on my investment.
MMinNYC at 2:41PM on 03/28/09
I don't have any info on the safety of silicon, but the silicon bakeware has been touch and go for me in terms of its usefulness in baking. it works well for loaf pans, as long as you do put a sheet pan underneath. but for muffins/minimuffins/cupcakes, it can be VERY difficult to remove the end product from the liners. I've ruined many a pretty little cupcake because of a silicon liner :(
teenagefoodie at 3:07PM on 03/28/09
I have never used anything (in my baking) but parchment since 1990. Before that I used heavy duty foil with cookies. I have never had a cookie stick to parchment. I make some sticky cookies too.
JerzeeTomato at 6:00PM on 03/28/09
While I use either silicone baking mats or parchment paper depending on the situation, I have to admit I loathe silicone baking pans. Flexible pans do not make sense, and worse, I find they really stink for cakes, quick breads, etc. because they change the texture of the outer crust (in my experience).
lovesomething at 7:33PM on 03/28/09
I second all those who prefer parchment & metal for baking. I have a few silicone muffin pans, and I find that they take longer to bake and never quite get crisp or crusty. So they sit in the closet. But they might come out for molded cold stuff. Thanks for the ideas!
whoot at 11:01PM on 03/28/09
Not sure about the safety, but I agree with the previous posters about cakes losing their shape when baked in silicone pans. I have never had a good experience baking in silicone pans.
killatofu at 11:19PM on 03/28/09
Silicone can be put to better use...if you know that I mean :-)
dmcavanagh at 12:41AM on 03/29/09
My mini-muffin silicone pan ROCKS! I do flourless chocolate mini-cupcakes in it (I hit the pan with non-stick spray and a little cocoa for decoration) and they just literally pop out. Yes, I do have to put the pan on another pan, but that keeps my oven clean.
After I use the pan, I run it through the dishwasher (top rack), which I never could do with my "non-stick" metal pan. The pan also is great for shaping hot wontons into little cups for appetizer bites filled with shrimp or chicken salad.
I do not have larger silicone pans, but I can say that the new silicone "high heat" spatulas are fabulous, as are the silicone pastry/sauce brushes that can be used on the barbecue grill without fear of fire (as with the natural bristle brushes). Again, they all go into the dishwasher and turn out great!
Mizbee at 3:22PM on 03/29/09
The only time I felt okay using silicone pans was during my frozen dessert portion in pastry school. The really help retain the shape of the product without having to dip them in hot water and melt a portion to get them out like you do with regular pans. So, if you have certain molds and don't feel comfortable heating them, make a semifreddo!
meem21 at 12:18PM on 03/30/09
I always felt bad throwing away sheets of parchment every time I baked with it. Silpat avoids this problem, plus silicone is a naturally abundant resource. It's true, you never know what we might find out about the stuff in 30 years, but you can't plan for that now.
Embackus at 2:38PM on 03/30/09