In this article, we will answer the question “Can tempered glass go in the oven?”, and how to keep the glass from breaking in the oven?
Can tempered glass go in the oven?
Yes, tempered glass can safely go in the oven. If there is no label on the glass that declares it oven-safe or tempered, you should not take the risk of putting it in the oven. Such glass will shatter to pieces when exposed to high temperatures of the oven.
Why does glass shatter?
A glass shatters due to its exposure to thermal shocks beyond its tolerance. Under the sudden and extreme shock, the glass expands and relaxes. In doing so, the glass loses its structural integrity and shatters into small shards.
Borosilicate pyrex glass is the most suitable for baking. It has 5% boric acid added to it which makes it thermal shockproof and chemical corrosion resistant.
Hence the perfect bakeware award to make casseroles and pies goes to the borosilicate pyrex glass. The pyrex dishes manufactured before 1998 were made using borosilicate glass unlike the present-day pyrex dishes made up of soda-lime glass.
How to keep the glass from breaking in the oven?
Protect the glass from extreme temperature fluctuations
Temperature fluctuations will shatter the glass. Therefore, you should never put the glass straight from the fridge or freezer directly into the oven. Make sure you let it come to room temperature and then put it in the preheated oven.
Similarly, after taking out your glassware from the oven, place it in a warm place like hot pads or at room temperature.
Remember not all the glass bowls are oven-safe.
Use tempered glass
Make sure you use oven-safe or tempered glass for baking. The lids for the glass containers or the drinking glasses cannot withstand oven temperatures. Do not use such glassware in the oven unless it has been labeled use for oven use.
Avoid high temperatures
When baking with glass bakeware, you need to make sure you stay below the upper-temperature limit for glass recommended by its manufacturer. This temperature limit ranges from 350 F to 500 F. staying in the safety zone is important to safely work with glass bakeware.
Look for structural weaknesses
Before baking with glass bakeware, eliminate the possibility of the presence of any cracks or scratches in the glass. These represent structural weakness.
When the glass is subjected to a temperature high enough. It will shatter due to these cracks or scratches.
Add liquids to the bottom for dry foods
When you heat dry foods in glass pans, the moisture that evaporated might still be cool and It must not contact the heated surface of the glass. When you pour water into the bottom of the glass, you give It time to warm up as the glass is heated.
Temperature tolerance of pyrex glass
Borosilicate glass is better adapted to withstand temperature shocks. It can safely tolerate a thermal shock up to 170°C.
Pyrex can withstand temperatures as low as 446°C and up to 914°F. However, care should be taken when heating about 450 degrees celsius. Never place an empty pyrex in the oven or else it will burst into pieces.
Benefits of heating food in glass
Nontoxic
Other cookware or bakeware that have a non-stick surface have been found to release toxic compounds when heated to high temperatures. This is not the case with glass and we are highly thankful for that.
Retains food for longer
The fact that glass retains heat much longer than other cookwares and bakewares make it a perfect choice for serving your meal when you have guests over. Because It will stay warm for a long time. Plus It looks very pleasant.
Clear surface
When food is baking in glass, you can see through it. You can tell by looking at the bottom how long you should bake your food. In other bakewares, you have to check for doneness by only looking at the top surface.
Easy to clean
Glass is very easy to clean due to its nonporous surface which is absent in other cookware and bakewares.
Can be used for storage and reheating
Unlike other cookware, you can glass is multipurpose. You can use it to bake, store and reheat food all in the same container. Make sure the food has cooled down to room temperature before refrigerating. You can store your food in the glass by putting it in the fridge.
Conclusion
In this article, we answered the question “Can tempered glass go in the oven?”, and how to keep the glass from breaking in the oven?
