While cooking, baking, or even re-heating your food a question might pop up in your mind i.e. can you put a drinking glass in the oven? A valid question indeed that should be further probed before doing any experiment with a drinking glass as it can be dangerous so here we are for your assistance.
Can you put a drinking glass in the oven? “No” you can not put a drinking glass in the oven. It is most likely to get cracked or shatter into pieces. Tempered glasses are oven-friendly and can resist high temperatures, so use them instead.
Furthermore, you can use a drinking glass in a microwave oven but only for a minute or two. It will be risky to keep it longer than that. However, it is not advisable to use a drinking glass in a microwave oven too. There are certain glass utensils with a microwave-safe label, which can be used in a microwave.
Mostly our kitchenware is made up of glass as this material is very easy to wash and does not retain any food smell, unlike plastic which absorbs the aroma of the food and is difficult to clean so let us find out why we can not use this everyday material in the oven. How Can a Microwave Oven have a Metal Rack is also an important question you must read for complete details.
Why you can not use a drinking glass in the oven?
A drinking glass is thinner and more fragile than tempered glass, therefore it cannot withstand heat and can get cracked. Whereas tempered glass is tougher and can resist high heat so is a better option to use in the oven.
The Glass kitchenware comes in different shapes, sizes, and varieties. Some of your glass utensils may be oven safe which can be checked by their label and some are not. Normal glass is modified and hardened to make it ovenproof thus enabling it to endure high temperatures.
This modified or tempered glass is then used for cooking and baking in the oven as it can withstand the high temperature without cracking or breaking.
Other related article: Can You Use an Oven With a Broken Element?
Why does a glass break?
You must have wondered why does a glass break in the oven? Mostly it is because the glass vessel used is not heat resistant and could not endure high temperatures. It can be avoided if you check the oven-safe label on the dish before cooking.
Secondly, the breakage of the glass can be due to thermal shock. This is a term used to describe the temperature variance. For instance, taking out a glass of water from the freezer and putting it directly into a hot oven. The glass will be exposed to two extreme temperatures which can cause the breakage of the glass.
Similarly, taking out a hot casserole from the oven and putting it directly onto a cold countertop, can be a reason why your dish cracked, last Sunday.
As we all know heat makes things expand and cold things contract, so the glass vessel sometimes can not withstand this extreme change of temperature and surrender which results in a cracked glass.
Also read: Are Copper Pans Oven Safe
How to prevent the glass from breaking
First of all, make sure that the glass dish which you are using in the oven is heat resistant. Check the oven-safety tag properly, how much heat can it endure? Check whether it is safe for broiling or not. Sometimes tempered glass bakeware which is oven safe can not be used for broiling.
Examine your glass dish carefully, it should not be chipped or cracked, even a small crack can make it fragile and breakable.
Lastly, try not to give a thermal shock to your glass bakeware. The bakeware should not be exposed to sudden temperature changes. Do not pour cold water in your lasagna dish which is still hot or don’t put a glass pot directly from the refrigerator into the hot oven.
Next time when you make enchiladas, place your glass dish on a mat to cool down a little after taking it out from the oven rather than on a cold countertop to avoid extreme temperature changes which can result in a crack.
Benefits of using glass bakeware
Now you know whether to put a drinking glass in the oven or not so let’s talk about the benefits of using glass bakewares while baking.
Firstly, this cookware looks so appealing to the eye. The sparkle of this material is what catches the retina of one’s eye. It will enhance and richen the beauty of your kitchen cabinets.
Plus, glass bakewares are very easy to clean. After you are done with your baking, it’s time to clean up all the mess. Cooking can be a hectic job and myself being an occasional baker can understand how it feels to even think about washing the utensils afterward.
But no need to worry if you have bakeware made up of glass. Your containers will be cleaned up within minutes, pinky promise!
The glass material does not have a porous surface. This is why no oil or other food particles can be absorbed. So all your dishes will be grease-free and will look just as new.
There will be no smell from the food you ate last night as all the stains and crumbs are wiped off from the surface and nothing seeps in it.
Learn in details: Does A Refrigerator Need A Dedicated Circuit
Precautionary measures to take when using Tempered glass :
Even though tempered glass bakewares or you can say Pyrex are specially designed to level up your baking game, but you would still need to be careful while using them. It is for one’s betterment.
It is always safe not to exceed the temperature of your oven above 425°F while baking or cooking. If the temperature is too high there are likely chances of thermal shock and that is when your Pyrex glass will break.
Furthermore, one should avoid this material in certain situations. Such instances could be: when cooking over a stovetop, microwave( warming already cooked food is fine but DO NOT cook raw food), over a grill, heating empty bakeware in a microwave, while heating butter and/or oil, etc.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we can say that avoid using a drinking glass in the oven and switch to tempered glass.
Even while using tempered glass we need some safety measures to keep in mind as a precaution is always better than cure. Be careful and do not set the temperature of your oven too high. 425°F should be the extreme limit. It is better if you preheat the oven.
Never give a thermal shock to your glassware. Do not expose it to extreme temperature changes.
Hopefully, all your concerns have been addressed and you are all set to bake now but remember don’t put your drinking glass in the oven. And in your Kitchen I recommend you the list of 7 Best Copper Frying Pans you must read and you will love them all.
Happy baking!
