Which is better, a Pyrex casserole dish or a metal/nonstick baking dish?

Question

I've always used nonstick baking dishes/casserole dishes for making casseroles, cakes, etc. However, they don't last all that long (maybe a year or so) before pieces of the coating start flaking off and I have to buy a new one.

I'm wondering, would it be better to buy a glass or Pyrex-type casserole dish? Do things bake in these dishes the same way they bake in the metal dishes?

Thanks for any information you can give me!

Answer 1

You will get much more use out of glass/Pyrex bakeware. Some people keep theirs for 30 years and longer.

For casseroles, you will get similar results as metal pans. I suggest using cooking spray (such as Pam) on the pans so your food won't stick. Over time, you will get some brown or black stains on them, which you can scrub off with a scouring pad.

You can bake cakes and bread in glass pans; however, you will get more browning and thicker crusts, which some people don't like. For cakes, you should lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees when baking in glass. Be sure to grease and flour the pan to be absolutely sure your cakes won't stick. Or use a baking spray, such as Pam with flour.

If you bake a lot of cakes, I'd go to a store that specializes in cake-making and decorating, and get some professional weight aluminum pans. You will have to grease and flour these pans also. As you've experienced, the nonstick stuff is just too much hassle, as it always starts peeling off.

Glass pie pans are excellent, as they bake the bottom crust well so it's not soggy. If your pie crust browns too quickly in glass, add 2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar to the water you mix into the dough, which will reduce browning.

Go, go Pyrex!

Answer 2

Pyrex Casserole Dish

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Which is better, a Pyrex casserole dish or a metal/nonstick baking dish?
I've always used nonstick baking dishes/casserole dishes for making casseroles, cakes, etc. However, they don't last all that long (maybe a year or so) before pieces of the coating start flaking off and I have to buy a new one.

I'm wondering, would it be better to buy a glass or...

Answer 4

IMO Pyrex is a worthy investment. They will last a life time as long as they are used properly. I recently broke one because I got it WAY too hot under the broiler with fish and then put it in water to cool it down, big mistake, it shattered. This was a bad idea even if I had been using metal. I should have been using the broiler pan! So be wary of that - but otherwise Pyrex is fantastic and you will get even results with none of the possibly dangerous non-stick stuff coming off in your food! You will have to experiment a little to see if your recipes require a little more or a little less time in the oven, but it is a worthwhile experiment. They also sell some of the Pyrex dishes with convenient rubbermaid lids that snap on so you can take a casserole out on the road with you.

Answer 5

Pyrex Baking Tray

Answer 6

Glass conducts heat differently than metal--it is a poorer conductor, so it takes longer to heat as well as to cool down and your foods will probably take longer to cook in glass. On the other hand, if you have any problemes with the bottoms of things burning, this will happen less quickly in glass than in metal. Glass is not signficantly harder to clean than nonstick, and will last a long time unless you break it. I use both, but most often I use glass dishes for casseroles and metal for baked goods.

Answer 7

A Pyrex dish is the way to go> Save yore old worn out non stick pans to throw at you hubby when he comes home way after the Monday night football game been over and he don't know the final score,if you catch my drift. A Pyrex dish when used properly can last a lifetime but if you drop it it might bust. The two saddest moments of my life was went I let my son borrow my big old Pyrex dish to put ribs in. he dropped it. and I also had a big old glass cook pot that I was fond of and I think his GF threw it at him. I was not there. That's the only draw back. heat in the oven will not hurt them pan but drop them pan and they bust all over the place.

Answer 8

I have always preferred the glass baking pans.I broke down this year and bought a set of 4 different sizes of glass casserole pans cause one was not enough.but I have had it for almost 15 years.I cant think of the number of metal pans Ive gone through,in that time. the coating flakes off,they become bent and misshapen,they are hard to get clean without scratching them.
I'm sticking to the glass.even if they are a bit more expensive.
peace><>

Answer 9

I prefer Corning Ware/Pyrex type cookware most of the time.
Depending on what I'm cooking, I sometimes use metal, so I'd still want to have that on hand also.

Answer 10

I'm curious about what website(s) you read this on but I have a cabinet full of Pyrex glass ware and never had them explode in either the microwave or the oven