Silicon cookware... Any thoughts on safety?

Discussion in 'Recipes & Remedies' started by floot, Jun 24, 2014.

  1. floot

    floot Junior Member

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    Hello all,

    I had seen siliconeware being used at brumbies bakery and wondered if it was safe? I did ask my good friend who owns a Subway if it was safe? He replied 'I don't know but it is easy to use!!'

    Anyway I only ever pondered the issue till yesterday when I went to grab my patty tins and they had gone. Wife had tossed them cost they looked 'rusty'. Dammit, dammit, damn it!. I had had them for years. My ever considerate wife replaced them with 2 silicone patty tins. [Please do not anyone point out to me they are 'muffin trays' or I will ignite and go ballistic, she threw out 2 old friends....

    Here comes the rub. I wanted to make some Yorkshire pudding. Easy to make.. flour, eggs, salt, milk and REALLY hot oil. How do you heat oil in a silicone thingy. Yorkshire pudding is a very old family recipe and something I make every couple of years, the old way, it is based on liquefied lamb fat from a roast. How do you heat a silicone dish to that temperature?... Apparently it is microwave safe but I am reluctant to even believe that microwave technology is that good for us. I acknowledge it is convenient. I am in a quandary.

    I will try out a traditional Yorkshire pudding recipe with 2 silicon trays and report back. Oh btw.. this is a Lancashire Pudding cos my dad is from Lancashire but really close to the Yorkshire border.. so it mighta leaked across... :)

    Can anyone here advise me on safety of silicon cookware?


    Cheers,

    Mike
     
  2. Benjy136

    Benjy136 Junior Member

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    First off, I don't, at present, own any "silicon kitchenware". I have, however, run through the internet for answers and have found a few.

    First, if you are going to evaluate it's performance, make sure you are buying true silicon and not silicon with filler. Most of the time you can twist the material tightly and the filler (if present) will show up in the ridges that appear. Usually, though, if you can trust the brand name, you can trust their product. You usually get what you pay for.

    I have read several opinions from many people and read, in one case where the smell of dishwasher soap lingered on his product. He didn't get any response from the company he purchased it from, which leads me to believe the first part of this article was not adhered to. Who knows?

    The temp rating leads me to believe that, as long as there are no fillers in the product, you might have difficulty overheating it in the oven or the dishwasher. After all, it's predecessor was used to protect astronauts during re-entry.

    One problem with it is that it insulates the bottom of the muffins being cooked from the bottom resulting in almost "raw" bottoms unless they are resting on a metal sheet in a conventional oven...

    As long as you buy the "pure" product it does't appear, from what I've read, that any harm can come from the silicon cookware. It's only been in use now for a couple of decades in the kitchen, so I have no idea whether or not it has any long term detrimental effects. For years (or centuries) people thought copper was great for cooking, and lead was used for hundreds of years in connection with water systems. If anyone else has any more info, I'm still up in the air 'til I learn more.

    Benjy136
     
  3. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Personally I'd go hit up a thrift shop or similar and get hold of some old metal pans and start again!
     
  4. floot

    floot Junior Member

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    eco...

    you are a 'man' after my own heart.... lol
     
  5. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

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    I'm with eco, esp for the heating really hot bit.

    It does leave the problem of what to do with the silicon ones though...
     
  6. 9anda1f

    9anda1f Administrator Staff Member

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    Kind of not-on-topic, but I just wanted to say Greetings to Mike! Long time no see ... good to have you around again!
     
  7. Martin Bernal

    Martin Bernal New Member

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    I own no silicon cooking products in my house. It is all Cast Iron, Stainless Steel or wooden spoons.

    if you can find some silicon Patty tins to use in the mean time. I recommend having a plant to purches some metal Patty Tins in the future and asking your wife to ask first before she throws them out. if possible find some patty tins that are stainless or cast iron.
     
  8. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Swap them for the old metal ones at the thrift shop!
     
  9. Eli Darlene

    Eli Darlene New Member

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  10. horsebob456

    horsebob456 Junior Member

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    I'd rather not be the test subject to find out if it is safe or not! Just stick with the time-tested cast iron, stainless steel and high-fired ceramic! You have to be careful with low-fired ceramics as they tend to have lead in the glaze.
    Maybe try to explain to your wife that you appreciate her trying to upgrade but you are concerned with the safety and would feel best if you went back to stainless steel. Then she wont feel offended her brand-new, brightly colored, silicon, jiggly muffin pans were replaced with old used pans. :)
     
  11. dreuky

    dreuky Junior Member

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    Know it's an old thread but can't stand silicon trays etc. They flop when you get them out of the oven. But can I have your Yorkshire pudding recipe please?
     

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