Silicone lids - a great reusable topper

[Smithy]

Earlier this year, or maybe last year, I started picking up these great silicone toppers, marketed under the name of Charles Viancin - Paris. (I later read a label and realized they're actually made in China. Let the buyer beware.) These things are great. They're oven-proof to 400F or so, they're microwave-proof, unlike an earlier iteration given to me as a wonderful present, they're refrigerator-proof. They make a very tight one-way seal with any other smooth surface: I can put a lily pad on a Pyrex bowl and lift the bowl by the lilypad's knob...although there are limits (the small lid in the photo can't pick up the jar of kraut in the photo), and the manufacturer does NOT recommend using the lid to carry a load. The one thing absolutely prohibited is to cut on these with a sharp object, and it makes sense: surely some knife will ruin the smooth surface, and then you won't have a good seal.

Most of my lids are in the shape of lily pads - very whimsical - but there are also sunflower shapes and banana leaf shapes. The banana leaves are squarish or rectangularish, and intended for thing like casserole dishes.

Aside from the fact that these can't be biodegradable and are likely to be around even after the cockroaches all die off, I think these are a wonderful innovation. Is anyone else around here using them?

[andiesenji]

I have a bunch of them, including the "lily pads" and a huge rectangular one that will cover a large baking dish and in the oven as well as microwave.

I posted about them on my blog in January 2012.

Edited November 15, 2013 by andiesenji (log)

[emmalish]

I've got several of the Lekue ones and love them. I was hesitant to buy them at first, because they're a bit pricey for what they are. But then I won one in a store draw and loved it so much I decided I needed additional sizes. I use them all the time and only use plastic wrap on oddly shaped things now.

[Shel_B]

I don't understand how they work. Would you be kind enough to explain ... ?

[Mjx]

Suction.

[Smithy]

To elaborate on Mjx's answer: they're very smooth and somewhat flexible, so they "stick" just a bit to the rim of any sufficiently smooth object. Glass, plastic, metal: if the rim is smooth, there's a good enough fit that if you pull up on the handle of the lid, air can't get in to break the seal. On the other hand, if you simply life an edge, the lid releases. If gas pressure builds up under the lid, that gas can escape because the contact between the rim and the lid isn't sticky enough to trap gases in. My sister and I established that it will hold against a small liquid pressure - sloshing gently - but I wouldn't trust it for transport as much as, say, a fitted snap-on lid.

[Shel_B]

To elaborate on Mjx's answer: they're very smooth and somewhat flexible, so they "stick" just a bit to the rim of any sufficiently smooth object. Glass, plastic, metal: if the rim is smooth, there's a good enough fit that if you pull up on the handle of the lid, air can't get in to break the seal. On the other hand, if you simply life an edge, the lid releases. If gas pressure builds up under the lid, that gas can escape because the contact between the rim and the lid isn't sticky enough to trap gases in. My sister and I established that it will hold against a small liquid pressure - sloshing gently - but I wouldn't trust it for transport as much as, say, a fitted snap-on lid.

So, where do you get these things? What are they called - did I miss that? I'd like to see one in action ...

Edited November 15, 2013 by Shel_B (log)

[Smithy]

I bought mine at some of my favorite kitchen stores. They're getting easier to find, so you probably don't need to go to your local Sur la Table for them. If you want to see them online, just google "Charles Viancin" or, for what I'm showing, "Charles Viancin lily pads". A lot of links will pop up.

Edited to add gratuitous Amazon link:

AMAZON LINK

[FauxPas]

I was given some as a gift. I have a couple of the sunflowers and a couple of the hibiscus ones, all in the small 4" size. They are useful for keeping bugs out of drinks when we sit outside on the patio.

But I use them mostly as lids for some of the small Pyrex custard bowls. I use those bowls a lot for food prep or for sauces, dips and so forth. It's easy to use those lids to cover things temporarily or for leftover bits that will go in the fridge. I read a suggestion to store them on the fridge door and that's not a bad idea. They stick very easily and don't get lost in a drawer that way.

[blue_dolphin]

At the time of andiesenji's foodblog, I bought the same set that Smithy linked to above. I use them all the time.

Like FauxPas, I use the small ones very often on Pyrex custard cups or the little square Duralex bowls that I use to microwave-defrost a hunk of any number of things (carmelized onions, pesto, puréed sundried tomatoes, chipotle pepers, etc.)

[Maison Rustique]

I've been curious about these--thanks for all the info!