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.
