Glass, Metal, Melamine - What Do You Prefer In Your Kitchen

[Porthos]

My search of eGullet didn't turn up anything on this topic. If it already exists, feel free to merge this into it.

 

A comment Smithy made in the Princess Camping thread got me to thinking. With only a few exceptions I loathe having glass for cooking/baking in my kitchen. I am fine with ceramics and such but for the things that I choose (my DW has her own favorites)  glass is limited to measuring cups. I also don't care for melamine. I want my steel. Steel mixing bowls are the highest priority here; mine are heavy-duty, NSF rated, and have a lip that helps in picking them up. Next up are metal baking dishes. My DW has some PYREX baking dishes and both glass and melamine mixing bowls. I don't use them. Except for steaming vegetables I don't cook in the microwave so metal isn't a limiting factor there.

 

My reasoning:

For glass it is both the threat of breakage if dropped and the weight. With my declining strength and agility moving around stacks of glassware in the under-cabinet shelving is difficult. Her 4 qt glass mixing bowl weighs 3 pounds 13 ounces. At 1 3/4 pounds my steel 5 qt mixing bowl weighs less than half of that. For melamine I don't care for how it comes out of the dishwasher. The melamine that we do have is of my DW's choosing and has ridges and never dries completely in the dishwasher so I have to turn the pieces over and let the trapped water drain away.  If you inadvertently get it too close to a flame it gets damaged.

 

So are there others here that dislike glass for cooking? Are there those of us who could not give up their glass? I'm curious.

Edited December 8, 2017 by Porthos (log)

[Anna N]

 Glass for cooking… No! Glass for storing… Absolutely. Melamine.... no never if I can avoid it.  Metal mixing bowls most certainly.   But I think to each their own and I’m not standing in judgment on anyone. 

[Darienne]

Melamine I loathe in any way shape or form.  Not really sure why.  My Mother-in-Law had Melamine dishes and I hated them.  ????  They are thin and feel yucky.  

 

Have a set of India-made rubber bottomed stainless bowls that I love with a passion.  And a set of small ceramic microwaveable bowls for microwaving...as in melting a chunk of butter or heating up the cream for mixing in. 

 

Other than that it's pretty much Pyrex dishes of all shapes and sizes.  And yes they weigh a lot.  And because they are 'old', (and unscratched), I don't worry about breakage.  Would never buy new glass.

 

We live in a century+plus farmhouse and do have little un-invited guests, and the occasional larger one,  everything is stored in plastic and then in Rubbermaid.

[Lisa Shock]

I purged my kitchen of glass cooking/prep containers a few months ago. It really has simplified my life. I have steel bowls and commercial cookware. The only glass left are my canning jars, which I use for general dry food storage with my vacuum sealer, and for leftovers.

[Kim Shook]

I love my metal bowls and never use anything glass unless I have to microwave in it.  I have one very large glass measuring bowl with a lid and spout that I do large amounts of chocolate melting in.  I hate the weight, but don't use it very often.  I don't like the rounded edges of glass baking dishes.  I do have a couple of glass and ceramic that I use for casseroles.  I have hand and wrist issues and big, heavy bowls - no matter how lovely - just don't work for me.  My English grandmother brought my mother something similar to this years ago.  It even had a little slanted part on one side so you could easily tilt the bowl.  Neither one of us has been able to use it for a long time.  

 

I actually like Melamine and have something similar to this set.  It is light, seemingly impossible to damage and dishwasher safe.  Melamine isn't microwave-safe, though, so that limits their usefulness.

[boilsover]

I don't like glass around my cooking, and I don't trust it, especially Pyrex.

 

However, I have carved out a small exception for borosilicate measuring beakers, fat separators, and French presses.

 

Glass storage containers are fine.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Interesting, our preferences!  I seldom cook in glass.  I've a couple Pyrex baking pans that see occasional employment.  Pyroceram more often.

 

My measuring vessels are mostly Pyrex, the borosilicate variety.  (I confess to a plastic graduated cylinder.)  But my go to mixing bowls are Pyrex.  These came from a garage sale about forty years ago.  The color is Chartreuse.  I don't like metal mixing bowls -- except of course on my KitchenAids -- and those are NSF.  My stoneware bread bowls are so lovely but they are almost never used.

 

And then copper, of course, should I wish to beat an egg white.

 

Glass or stoneware for my mise.

 

I have two Melamine-like spoons from King Arthur years ago.  They are plastic impregnated wood fiber from the Midwest as I recall.  Can't find the company name.  Don't doubt for a second they are incredibly toxic for some reason or another.  My most used cooking spoons.  Tonight's dinner is being stirred with one.

 

 

[andiesenji]

I have some Pyrex pie plates that were 25 years old when I was born.  Other Pyrex, Fire King and others that were made about the time I was born and a lot of bowls from the 40s, '50s, '60s and '70s. 

If anyone looked at my blog (while all the photos were up) you could see my large collection of bowls.  

 

 

My little bowls for mise

 

The best sauce pots ever made - I have the detachable handles.

 

I have "favorites" - loaf pans I use for baking quick breads, meatloaf,  patés, etc.  

I have a bunch of Pyrex, Anchor Hocking measurers from 1 cup to 2 1/2 quart.

I have my old Bauer pottery bowls from the 1920s.  

 

I do have stainless steel bowls in all sizes, including one that is big enough to hold 40 pounds of cooked wild boar.  They are shaped perfectly for using balloon whisks.  

 

I store stuff in the fridge in glass with silicone tops.  

 

I think it is is personal preference.  If you want to see some people that are FANATIC about Pyrex, take a look at the FB group (closed) Pyrex Passion.  There are other Pyrex collecting groups but that is the most active.  There are members who moved to a different home to have more room for their collection.  

 

I like certain bowls for certain contents.  Potato salad always goes in my big Yellow Primary Pyrex bowl and has done since I got it in 1961.

 

  Gurkensalat always goes into the dark green Bauer bowl.  It tastes better in that bowl.

 

 

I mix my cream biscuits in my 2 1/2 quart Anchor Hocking Measuring batter bowl.  The curved sides and bottom just fit the curve of my Danish Dough Whist so mixing biscuit/scone dough is much easier and quicker.  

 

[liuzhou]

I have a couple of glass things which I do use for oven stuff like cottage pie or fruit crumbles. Pretty much everything else is stainless steel, except for my woks which are cast iron, but what I really like to use is wood.

 

Obviously in limited applications, but for serving or mixing bowls, there is just something that comforts my inner primeval.  Ditto bamboo, cos that is what I can find most easily here beyond the bamboo curtain.

[TicTac]

As long as there is no plastic!

 

Glass we use for storage (I have a full 20x30 drawer filled with various glass jars I keep - many Bon Maman and Canning ones to be found.)

 

Steel we use for mixing.

 

I enjoy Le Creuset for bake ware but I do often use 2 small square pyrex's as well.

Edited December 9, 2017 by TicTac (log)

[lindag]

I have a nesting set of glass mixing bowls that I bought about 20 years ago, here.

While they are heavy as a set, mine rest in a pull-out under the counter and I can easily access them there.

I think what I like best is because they nest, they take up so much less space than most

other sets. Of course, since there are ten of them, I have a size for everything.

I also recently purchased this set for mise en place.  I gave away my set of three stainless mixing bowls because I never used them.

Edited December 9, 2017 by lindag (log)

[andiesenji]

58 minutes ago, lindag said:

I own a nesting set of glass mixing bowls that I bought about 20 years ago, here.

While they are heavy as a set, mine rest in a pull-out under the counter and I can easily access them there.

I think what I like best is because they nest, they take up so much less than most other sets. Of course, since there are ten of them, I have a size for everything.

I also recently purchased this set for mise en place.

 

I have that set of glass, Anchor Hocking bowls.  I bought them soon after I moved up here because some of the clear glass bowls I had were damaged in the move.  I bought a dozen each of the three smallest ones for mise en place at Star Restaurant Supply in Van Nuys.  I use them constantly and I prefer the clear glass because for my baking I use the tray with labels and need to see the label through the glass.  

I have found they are very tough, don't break easily and fit nicely in the dishwasher, unlike some of my other bowls. 

[kayb]

I have a mixture of different things, and no set preference, although I do like steel mixing bowls. I have two big glass bowls which are generally only used for making/proofing bread. I have a collection of metal, ceramic and glass baking dishes, along with a ferw cast iron baking pans; the pie dishes are glass, several ceramic casseroles, a couple of metal roasting pans, loaf pans, specialty shaped baking pans, etc.

 

I recently retired a set of plastic mixing bowls because one of them sprang a leak, so I just chunked the set. I like my steel bowls.  

 

[Cronker]

Vintage Pyrex is going for insane $$$ nowadays.  I work in an op-shop and am in charge of all the "bric-a-brac" and anything Pyrex, Tupperware, Corning Ware or uranium glass fetches top dollar.  Vintage cast iron ware is where the real bargains are at the moment.

Many folk still view it as "camping" equipment, but truth is cast iron is excellent cookware in just about any kitchen setting.

 

i only use metal and ceramic at home.  Melamine is a retro throwback to me, glass is too vulnerable.  Melamine by Bessemer from the 70's can demand good money.

i have a beautiful Standgrip ceramic mixing bowl (my dearly departed mothers) from the fifties - they are now making reproduction versions!  Due to my work, I have been lucky enough to populate my kitchen with quality pieces of every kind at bargain price.

[Cronker]

Anchor Hocking is of interest to me, because I think it's very undervalued.  I predict it will become highly collectible in the next few years, if in good shape.

its like Fire King peach lustre - a few years back, everyone was throwing it away like no tomorrow. Now, it's highly sought after and you'd be lucky to get a creamer for less than $15 in only reasonable shape.

cant see the same for Corelle though.

[Cronker]

16 hours ago, andiesenji said:

I have some Pyrex pie plates that were 25 years old when I was born.  Other Pyrex, Fire King and others that were made about the time I was born and a lot of bowls from the 40s, '50s, '60s and '70s. 

If anyone looked at my blog (while all the photos were up) you could see my large collection of bowls.  

 

 

My little bowls for mise

 

The best sauce pots ever made - I have the detachable handles.

 

I have "favorites" - loaf pans I use for baking quick breads, meatloaf,  patés, etc.  

I have a bunch of Pyrex, Anchor Hocking measurers from 1 cup to 2 1/2 quart.

I have my old Bauer pottery bowls from the 1920s.  

 

I do have stainless steel bowls in all sizes, including one that is big enough to hold 40 pounds of cooked wild boar.  They are shaped perfectly for using balloon whisks.  

 

I store stuff in the fridge in glass with silicone tops.  

 

I think it is is personal preference.  If you want to see some people that are FANATIC about Pyrex, take a look at the FB group (closed) Pyrex Passion.  There are other Pyrex collecting groups but that is the most active.  There are members who moved to a different home to have more room for their collection.  

 

I like certain bowls for certain contents.  Potato salad always goes in my big Yellow Primary Pyrex bowl and has done since I got it in 1961.

 

  Gurkensalat always goes into the dark green Bauer bowl.  It tastes better in that bowl.

 

 

I mix my cream biscuits in my 2 1/2 quart Anchor Hocking Measuring batter bowl.  The curved sides and bottom just fit the curve of my Danish Dough Whist so mixing biscuit/scone dough is much easier and quicker.  

 

Is there something wrong with me that these photos are like porn to me?

Edited December 9, 2017 by Cronker
Adding (log)

[Cronker]

By the way, those Corning Ware nesting pots are worth a fortune.

[andiesenji]

19 minutes ago, Cronker said:

By the way, those Corning Ware nesting pots are worth a fortune.

I won't part with them.  I use them a lot.  The one thing I am going to put on ebay - I've had it for 50 years, time for someone else to enjoy it, is the Pyrex double boiler with the wooden handles, made during WWII when steel was reserved for the war effort.

The others belonged to my grandmother and I am keeping them.

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2017 by andiesenji (log)

[Cronker]

Andiesenji - in your second photo, the little brown/yellow glass bowl?  Who is that by?  

The third photo- the sauce pots with detachable handles, that's Corning Ware right? (Highly desirable if so)

and in the fourth photo, the green bowls - who are they?  Interesting.

 

look, I make a wage, I despise people who take advantage of trendy cookware for profit.  I'm just generally interested in how things sell.  It's like my earlier post about Fire King peach lustre - I remember drinking cordial out of the cup as a very young kid. Now it has collectors going nuts.

 

for complete transparency- I have no room in my kitchen for any more "wants".

[Cronker]

14 minutes ago, andiesenji said:

I won't part with them.  I use them a lot.  The one thing I am going to put on ebay - I've had it for 50 years, time for someone else to enjoy it, is the Pyrex double boiler with the wooden handles, made during WWII when steel was reserved for the war effort.

The others belonged to my grandmother and I am keeping them.

 

 

 

 

Be sure to put a high reserve on that.

it would pull at least $100 where I live.

[Cronker]

In fact, the one in the background with the glass handles is also interesting. Rarely see those.

[IowaDee]

I have glass mixing bowls because I like being able to look at the bottom and make sure I have mixed everything in.  Used to leave unmixed stuff.

I have lots of cornflower Corningware and love it.  Everything from pie plates and loaf pans to casseroles and baking dishes.  But what I use the most, get ready for it, are my Visionware pieces  My collection started probably more than 20 years ago when my local market offered a different piece each week for a low price if you spent so much on groceries.. I have added to those pieces until I have a large set which I use every day.  They are workhorses, easy to clean and almost impossible to break.  Did drop one pan when I slipped on the ice walking to the car.  .The only drawback I can find is that, as I get older, they get heavier.  I own several of  the non-stick pieces and the coating is still like new. 

[Cronker]

19 minutes ago, IowaDee said:

I have glass mixing bowls because I like being able to look at the bottom and make sure I have mixed everything in.  Used to leave unmixed stuff.

I have lots of cornflower Corningware and love it.  Everything from pie plates and loaf pans to casseroles and baking dishes.  But what I use the most, get ready for it, are my Visionware pieces  My collection started probably more than 20 years ago when my local market offered a different piece each week for a low price if you spent so much on groceries.. I have added to those pieces until I have a large set which I use every day.  They are workhorses, easy to clean and almost impossible to break.  Did drop one pan when I slipped on the ice walking to the car.  .The only drawback I can find is that, as I get older, they get heavier.  I own several of  the non-stick pieces and the coating is still like new. 

That's how Corelle started.  My mother would get little stickers every time she shopped and eventually ended up with a dinner set.

Edited December 9, 2017 by Cronker
Adding (log)

[Cronker]

Oh, and cornflower Corning Ware is very collectible nowadays.

[thock]

I have stainless mixing bowls of many sizes and shapes. I also have some glass. I like one particular Pyrex bowl for making bread dough.

 

I have and use glass baking dishes, even the newer ones, that I bought before I knew there were issues with them breaking, but I am not going to buy any new ones. I will buy older ones, if they're in decent shape and I need them. I have some glass pie plates that I like, but mostly my bakeware is aluminum.

 

I use glass (Anchor Hocking or Pyrex) with the plastic lids for storage, as well as GlassLock, but I would much prefer glass lids. I have Pyrex and Anchor Hocking liquid measures, too.

 

I never got comfortable with using glass on a cooktop. It just seemed too dangerous to me, even though I know people have used glass on cooktops for ages.

 

I relegated my plastic mixing bowl to non-food duty and while I do reuse some store-bought food containers for storage once I've eaten the contents, I don't use them for FOOD storage.