you didn't know/remember this?

Remember some of the stories about the 'exploding' glassware just sitting on the counter?

Yes, get that old pyrex at the next garage sale ...

bragu...I do now!

Aw, really? I didn't know it either! Wish I'd not given away so much when I last cleaned out the kitchen cupboards.

Estate sales around here are a good source of all the old (the good stuff) cooking and serving pieces.

ETA: If you like the French White casseroles, don;t buy the new. They are rough on the bottom and are not the same stuff. The new are more of an ironstone, the old is a glass.

I rarely use pyrex and now own very few pieces. I had back in the late 70s a pyrex dutch oven filled with scalloped potatoes in the oven. It broke and all that goop went all through the oven. No mater how I cleaned the oven every time I turned on the oven it poured out smoke. I ended up having to get a new oven. Sorry, give me metal or cast iron.

Corningware has also changed in much the same way. Old pieces are quite sought after.

I've picked up a few of the old pyrex dishes at antique stores recently. There are so nice looking. I had heard about the newer one exploding also. We shouldn't have to worry about things like that. Especially if we pay good money for the items.

Yes, I knew. Corning Glass sold the Pyrex line to another company in the late 1990s and I think the new owner decided for whatever reason to change the chemistry of the products.

How would you know if it’s old vs s newer version that had been abused and therefore looks old. I love pyrex and Corning Ware.

I didn’t know about change in thermal properties.

I have old Corningware that I have been holding onto. I had buy a replacement top for one of the pieces, but I bought it on eBay, and I think it is also vintage. I seldom use my Pyrex pan (I only have one) because I like using the lids with Corningware, but when I make enchiladas or crêpes, I use the Pyrex pan because it is exactly the correct size, but then I have to cover it with aluminum foil. I have a collection of Pyrex measuring cups (various sizes), and I use those a lot, but I do not do anything more than microwave in them (besides measuring). I have one that holds 8 cups that I rarely use, but it is very easy to pour batter from it. I have two that hold two cups and two that are one cup, and I use them all the time.

I don't know if it's still true, but a couple of years ago pyrex for Europe was still borosilicate. It's only in the US that they changed it initially.

Hey thanks for the heads up! I had no idea.

The article clearly states that the borosilicate Pyrex is being manufactured in Europe, and can be purchased @ Amazon, etc..

I have a lot of vintage Pyrex, Fire King, etc. and use it often.

Along w/ certain patterns that can be used to date vintage pieces, I judge the age of a piece by whether it has the word 'microwave' on it or not.

Thanks for the warning. There are a few things I use my 8 cup Pyrex cup to heat-up in the microwave. I don't know why but I never set it down directly on the granite - always have something underneath, so I wonder if I've heard this before and just don't remember.

Yikes I bought 3-4 sizes Pyrex measuring cups less than 5 years ago. I’ll have to watch those

The article clearly states that the borosilicate Pyrex is being manufactured in Europe, and can be purchased @ Amazon, etc..

Yes, you're right. I hadn't read the whole thing because I thought it was another article I had read recently. My bad.

I have tons of the old stuff and kept them just because they seemed like a good thing but I never use them anymore-it's all cast iron or ceramic bakers.

So the new glass measuring cup I hunted down ISN'T what I thought it was. Fabulous. The garage sale ones no longer have markings!!!

Arcy, check Estate sales. That is where I replaced the big pyrex 4 cup measure I broke.

I found this out the hard way when a baking pan exploded right after I had removed it from the oven. It was in the 90’s, we had gone to an outlet and I splurged on some new pyrex pans. I called to report it to the store where I had bought it from and they basically blew me off. I’ve never heard that it was because of the change in formula.

Nice going Pyrex..I wonder how much money they saved while risking serious injury to their customers.

Thanks...I did not know this about Pyrex. The same thing must have happened with Pampered Chef! The Heritage PC stones still get great reviews...but the new ones have bad ones...just crack right in the oven even after following all instructions.

I am so glad to see this news-to-me! As I sort through my parents' house I was planning to put all the Corning/Pyrex in the estate sale. But now I'm going to pick out some for me. My mom has a ton of Corning and Pyrex.

Yes, I knew, we've discussed it here in the past. Here's an old thread from 2011:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2420148/has-anyone-really-seen-corning-ware-or-visions-cookware-explode

Elery did have a Visions pan break while he was using he, he promptly got rid of the rest of the set.

I've never had it happen to me, but I have a cabinet full of "vintage" Pyrex, FireKing, Anchor Hocking, CorningWare. I picked most of it up at the on line auction for a couple of dollars, I've finally just stopped even looking at it. The Pyrex bowls get purchased for quite a lot of money, especially if there's a whole set, but I bought a FireKing casserole still in the box from the 50s for $1.00. I only buy the old/vintage stuff in patterns that are no longer available. Now my girls both have all they want/need and I sigh and pass it up.

Annie

The Pyrex line of cookware was sold as well as the brand name. The "They" of which you speak is the new owners who changed the formulation and gave a lame reason for doing so.

You can use Google to find the sale date, and I believe there is a small difference in the brand name. I forget, but I seem to remember that it had to do with an upper or lower case "p" in the Pyrex name.

Yep, your best bet is to scan garage and estate sales for the old stuff.

I only use any of it for fridge cooling/storage, mixing/fridge/container storage for a couple days....leftovers, salsa, etc. taco night multi bowls at the table,...no longer for the freezer or freezer/re-heating after a careful partial thaw into a cold oven when I had a boom/crack years ago. That was a lasagna. No oven mess as I always have a boil-over sheet pan below, but had to toss it being glass.

And that was vintage.

Sherry, all the french white I've seen is porcelain and made in France.

This is one example of vintage. Made in USA

https://www.amazon.com/Corning-Ware-10-F-3-B-INCH/dp/B079C3TR6F/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1536752754&sr=8-3&keywords=vintage+corningware+french+white

It explains the difference in the bottom, as well as made with the good glass and not the stoneware version or the newer glass.

I knew there was a change in Pyrex but could recall all the technical details. I saw the same article, Annie.

I have several old Pyrex casserole dishes, and Corning too, and didn’t want to get rid of them. Yes, there always seems to be a need for them now and then because they are the perfect size. Guess there is even more reason to keep them now.

Sherry, I always heard that called Blue Cornflowers or Corning White since it's American made glass from Corning. My French White ovenware is porcelain made by Apilco in France, hence the name French White. That's why your post was confusing to me.

I just realized that I have more Pyrex than I thought. I have a set of mixing bowls that came with plastic lids, but I just use them for mixing and very rarely for storing anything, since they are an inefficient use of space. I also have a Pyrex pie pan that I forgot about - actually two, but one is deeper and slightly larger in diameter. I make quiche in it, but I use make pies in the other Pyrex pie pan.

I don't know how old most of my stuff is except that I do not that the measuring cups are fairly new. The pans I've had for a very long time, and I bought the mixing bowl set in the early 1990s.

Mostly the Pyrex I have is custard dishes and measuring cups, but it is easy to tell the new and old custard cups apart. The ones on the right are new (er). They are chunky and heavier. The old ones on the left have a scallop-y rim and are much thinner. I prefer the old ones. The top photo is a 1/2-cup size and the bottom is the larger size - 3/4c?

I've sold an arsenal of collectible Pyrex pieces in the past.

Regrets, I've had a few . . .

Sol

I didn't know! Good thing all my Pyrex is between 40-52 years old!

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but yes the original Pyrex pieces were made of borosilicate glass while the newer pieces are made of tempered soda lime glass. One can clearly see the difference in the photos of the custard cups above. Borosilicate is clear while soda-lime is green. Pieces currently made under the pyrex label in the USA are made of soda lime glass while pyrex brand pieces made in Europe are still made from borosilicate glass. As is unfortunately the case with so many other products, price (cheap cheap cheap) rules in the USA.

BUT the Catamount glass company makes a small amount of household items, including measuring cups, in borosilicate glass.

Catamount Glass

I've bought all my pyrex at resale shops or antique malls. Is the color a definitive way to tell borosilicate glass apart from soda lime glass?

I have an ancient one-cup Pyrex measuring cup whose lines were fading. I painted a couple of the important lines back on with acrylic paint and a narrow brush. They are still holding and it's been a year at least.

I have to resist the urge to buy old Pyrex at Goodwill because I have ENOUGH.

We got married in '82 and received quite a bit of Pyrex. I had 2 casserole dishes break in the oven!!

That was BEFORE they sold in the '90's.

Pyrex is basically glass even the white type. If it is cold and placed in a hot oven it will break. Sometimes there can be small fractures that finally reach a breaking point but most breakage that I have experience was from too quick of a temperature change.

If you guys give me the cold shoulder ...

... and I go over to Hot Topics too soon after ...

... don't be surprised if I blow a gasket, either!

Sometimes problems seem to have legs!

o j