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Because of the shattering dangers of the apparently inferior lime glass that Pyrex uses for manufacturing in the U.S. as exposed by Consumer Reports, I'd like to replace my Pyrex with borosilicate bakeware. Apparently Pyrex used to manufacture their bakeware with borosilicate until about 10-15 years ago in the U.S..

I thought I found a manufacturer (Marinex) that used borosilicate, and though they advertise it as such, based on this report, it turns out that the materials used by Marinex still may not be as safe as "true" borosilicate bakeware.

How can I purchase true (new) borosilicate bakeware from the United States? It doesn't have to be manufactured in the U.S., and I'm open to ordering it from foreign stores that export to the U.S.. Specifically, I'm looking for 13x9 and 11x7 rectangular, and 8x8 square baking dishes.

Ching Chong
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Jeff Axelrod
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  • Just a quick note in general: I'm not even sure Pyrex sold in Europe is still borosilicate. The name was sold a couple of years ago. "Pyrex" is possibly not oven-safe. Just make sure it's borosilicate. – Mien Mar 10 '13 at 16:10
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    Good luck finding any. Boron is poisonous which means there's a very high waste disposal cost, so borosilicate is generally only used for two niche markets now: lab equipment, and bongs. If you don't want to use metal bakeware then you might have better luck searching for some vintage Corningware or Glasbake/glassbake/flamex on eBay or in your local thrift stores - pretty much the same thermal characteristics as the old boro, just looks nicer. – Aaronut Mar 10 '13 at 16:40
  • @Aaronut I was looking for new bakeware, thanks. And according to the Consumer Reports article linked to in the question, there is still borosilicate cookware manufactured in Europe. I'm probably going to toss all my Pyrex and replace it with ceramic/porcelain cookware, which unfortunately is not transparent like glass, but at least I don't have to worry about the possibility of it spontaneously exploding in my face when performing basic cooking tasks. – Jeff Axelrod Mar 10 '13 at 17:05
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    @JeffAxelrod Arc International owns the license for Pyrex in Europe and apparently they are still making it there: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pyrex-Borosilicate-Square-Roaster-21x21cm/dp/B000CD9UF6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362935546&sr=8-1 it may be a matter of time before a US alternative shows up. In the mean time, if you make sure your glassware doesn't go through rapid temperature change, chances of the shatter is much less. – MandoMando Mar 10 '13 at 17:14
  • @MandoMando +1, I know that's what is mentioned in the Pyrex instructions, but there seem to be plenty of stories of people in the Consumer Reports article who experienced exploding or shattering glass even when following these instructions. P.S. I love the British wording changes on Amazon.uk: "basket" instead of "cart", "dispatch" instead of "ship". Sounds so much more sophisticated :) Only problem is that they won't ship to U.S. addresses. – Jeff Axelrod Mar 10 '13 at 17:18
  • @JeffAxelrod to be clear, I'm not advocating their keeping. Just to minimize risk _if_ in use. To back the stories, I've witnessed one shatter first hand and until this post, that experience was against the 'laws of pyrex' as known. It was not an explosion shooting shards though, but a complete disintegration and dumping 2-days of work on the floor. Much cursing ensued. – MandoMando Mar 10 '13 at 17:40
  • Get an EU/UK shipping address from a parcel company. They are common in the US, must be some in EU? – TFD Mar 10 '13 at 19:48
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    @JeffAxelrod : I can add to the stories -- tried making a yorkshire pudding in a brand new Pyrex dish, which I've done for years in an older one ... and it exploded from just heating it empty. (it's possible that something might've dripped above, I guess, and as it was its first use, it's possible that it had a defect) – Joe Mar 11 '13 at 13:08
  • http://meta.cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/1292/what-types-of-sourcing-questions-should-be-allowed – SAJ14SAJ Mar 14 '13 at 18:48
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    May want to take a look the comparison at Anchor Hocking of borosilicate vs. tempered lime-soda. According to them, lime-soda glass is mechanically stronger and more temperature shock resistant . Also, it breaks into smaller, less dangerous shards. http://www.anchorhocking.com/Bakeware_Facts.html#BORSILICATE – nullforce May 26 '13 at 04:00
  • @nullforce +1, thanks for the info; however I'm not so sure I'd want to trust the manufacturer rather than an independent organization for advice due to conflict of interest. Consumer Reports and America's Test Kitchen have both issued fairly stern warnings. Personally, I've switched over to ceramics. – Jeff Axelrod May 26 '13 at 13:11
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    @Aaronut, boron is actually considered non-toxic. Its LD50, according to Wikipedia, is 6 grams per kilogram of body mass. I don't think your explanation holds water. – dfeuer Sep 27 '14 at 06:37
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    @dfeuer: You're confusing the definition of "toxic" according to organizations like the FDA (it is completely safe to cook with) vs. the EPA (dumping large amounts of boron waste into a lake or landfill = [bad idea](http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/pdfs/reg_determine2/healthadvisory_ccl2-reg2_boron.pdf)). If you read my original comment a little more carefully, you will surely notice that it was referring specifically to waste disposal and not food safety. – Aaronut Sep 27 '14 at 19:21
  • I'm not sure this is worth an answer, but the Indian company Borosil sells products on Amazon. They're supposedly made of borosilicate glass. Though judging by the reviews, not many people are buying them. – Faheem Mitha Aug 27 '22 at 20:57

2 Answers2

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I believe the following companies advertise that they produce bakeware made out of borosilicate available in the US, :

Luminarc Arcuisine Elegance

I can't speak to the boron/boron plus/zero boron debate, but those are the two I would investigate.

I know that Bodum also advertises borosilicate products, but I'm not sure if they make bakeware.

Spencer Soloway
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  • Are you sure that Luminarc makes glass bakeware? I only know them for producing plates and bowls made of glass which looks like ceramic, in fact their name slowly gets to be used as a generic name for this material around here. – rumtscho Apr 25 '13 at 09:06
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    Rumtscho, it's not their main business, but they do make [ramekins](http://www.luminarc.us/templates/FicheProduit.aspx?IDReferenceCommercial=G4852) and what we'd call a [glass casserole dish](http://www.luminarc.us/templates/FicheProduit.aspx?IDReferenceCommercial=G4854), but they amusingly call a "furn, "which I can only imagine means sort of fun-urn, as in where the ashes of my burn casserole would be. ;) – Spencer Soloway Apr 25 '13 at 13:33
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    nice find. By the way, the old Latin word "fornax" meaning "oven" has descendants in many languages, including the English "furnace". So I guess they were trying to create a name which is somehow related to "oven", in parallel to "Dutch oven", without using a word people already connect with a different meaning. But I agree that my analysis is pure speculation and yours is pure fun :) – rumtscho Apr 25 '13 at 13:43
  • @rumtscho, I rejected the edit to this answer. I think it should be an independent answer. What do you think? – BaffledCook Aug 01 '15 at 09:13
  • @BaffledCook I can't see the edit anymore. But it doesn't matter. Edits are not meant to change the original meaning of a post. If somebody thought to add a different (or more extensive) opinion, they should have posted it as an answer. Rejecting it as an edit is the right thing to do. – rumtscho Aug 01 '15 at 14:54
  • Links are dead . – NoahM Jul 05 '22 at 18:05
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You can buy Pyrex in the USA imported from Europe that is made of borosilicate glass from a site called IcedTeaPitcher.Com. They sell various kitchen borosilicate glassware including the French-made Pyrex.

CMB92
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    That could be generalized to "it's a global world - whatever you want, if it is not restricted by customs issues, just find an importer or even import it yourself." – rackandboneman Mar 15 '17 at 09:10