Customer Reviews

Pyrex 3-Quart Oblong Glass Baking/Serving Dish

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

This dish, and other glass ones like it, are for baking (casseroles, brownies, lasagna, etc.) and Pyrex serves this purpose just fine. But it is not intended for roasting, 400+ degrees, or direct conduction of heat!

Unlike steel, cast iron or (especially!) aluminum, glass is a thermal insulator. Therefore directly applying heat/cold (like burner flame) results in disparate temperatures across the material. Since heat is just molecular vibration, the temp. difference means the dish is vibrating "against" itself at different speeds.

Many of the reviewers complaining about dish "explosions" have discovered this the hard way. Of the current 21 reviews, there are two cases of attempting to make gravy on a burner, one roasting beef at 475 degrees, one roasting Thanksgiving turkey, and one transferring pork roased at 425 to a "warm" burner. It should be very easy for anyone to destroy whatever glass dish with similar techniques... as I did, many years ago in my mother's kitchen! Surely legitimate flaws attributable to Pyrex do exist, but flaws revealed during unintended use are a different matter.

I heard a 'bang' in my kitchen storage cupboard and when I opened the door I found that my Pyrex dish had exploded and sent shards of glass everywhere. The dish was perfectly cold, and had been in there since it was last used a few days ago.
I have spent the last 2 hours cleaning out the cupboard and washing everything - I have around 40 cooking pots of various shapes and sizes in there.
I have used Pyrex for about 25 years, and this is the first problem I have ever encountered. An explanation would be useful!
I still think Pyrex is good stuff, but would think twice about buying any more from now on I have to confess.

I've read several of the reviews here and just wanted to note that the manufacturer's guidelines for Pyrex baking dishes specifically warn that they are not safe for stove top use, oven temperatures above 400° F, and extreme temperature changes. When used within these guidelines, the chance of the dishes exploding is much lower. Pyrex baking dishes aren't perfect for everything, but they certainly have their place in the kitchen. I will agree, however, that they can be hard to clean.

Put a meatloaf in the oven @350 degrees. {I'm an experienced cook for over 40 years and have used pyrex baking dishes more times than I could possibly remember.} Dish...room temp...ingredients from refrig., but not frozen...in the oven about 6 minutes when I heard an explosion, and the dish had exploded into hundreds of pieces. Thankfully the oven was closed. Should add that this is my most recent pyrex dish that I purchased within the last year.....well I guess we're doing take-out!

Well Im the newest victim of exploding pyrex. Last night I was cooking some salmon in my 3-quart pyrex that I've had for 3 years and used many times before. It was in my oven at 400 for only 25 minutes. I pulled it out and set it on the counter. Well I leaned in to check the salmon and as I pulled away the glass exploded! Not just broke but a full on explosion of glass flying everywhere. Thankfully I pulled away when I did because if I had pulled away 2 seconds later I would have had a face full of Pyrex shrapnel. I came away with only a few small cuts on my stomach...and from what I've heard I was lucky. Even though my boyfriend and I swept and vacumed our kitchen last night there was so much glass that in the morning light I could still see little pieces of glass all over the kitchen. Im not taking any chances, Im throwing out my other Pyrex dishes and switching to all aluminum trays. Please DO NOT USE PYREX! It is not worth the risk! You may have a few years of good use, but is it worth risking your safety or that of your children?
Edit- I would just like to comment that I was using the dish within the guidelines. The oven was 400 and the dish was only in there for 25 minutes. The kitchen was rather warm and the surface I set it on was not hot but definately not cool...so there was no drastic temperature change. There were no scratches or cuts any where on the tray so I do not feel that the explosion was in anyway my fault. This explosion was purely the result of a poorly manufactured item.

We used an oblong Pyrex baking dish for a tri-tip beef roast with potatoes, and had taken it out of the oven and placed it on the stove top. It immediately exploded and sent glass and shards flying everywhere in the room and also down through the gas burners into the oven. Very frightening, fortunately no one hurt. Very difficult to clean up with any confidence that we got all the shards. We have used this pan for years and don't know what went wrong. The oven temperature had been prewarmed to 475, the pan inserted and then lowered to 450 for ten minutes. Maybe Pyrex works well with lower temperatures, I don't know. However, I will never bake with Pyrex again.

I have used Pyrex bakeware for over 20 years, and I was shocked when my fairly new 9x13 pan shattered. I figured I just got unlucky and got a bad one. I was going to buy a new one - thank goodness I read the reviews first! And yes, I did follow instructions - I baked my lasagne at 350 degrees, did not use an open flame or broiler, etc etc. I can't believe this safety hazard is still allowed to be sold! I am so mad! I am switching to Corningware now.

These Pyrex dishes are hard to beat for the price. You have to be careful with them, however, because they can explode I highly recommend that whenever removing them from an oven to immediately place it on top of the oven to rest for a few minutes. That way you're more assured of it not breaking. I would recommend a pottery dish over this one though but if you're looking for cheap, this is it. But please be careful. You absolutely cannot take these from the fridge and put it in the oven. I guarantee it will explode.

When trying to battle through a difficult day a man such as myself will try to remain positive by employing any number of tricks. Often, I'll dream of a pleasant evening spent playing with my children and watching a ballgame. One surefire pick-me-up is looking forward to the wonderful meal my wonderful wife is sure to prepare. Today promised to be even more spectacular for broiled salmon was the intended culinary delight. Just as my wife leaned toward the oven with the buttery aroma of satisfaction swirling around her my evening, my day, possibly my week took a sharp nose dive towards the depths of hell. The PYREX vessel supposedly escorting my meal to palatal bliss exploded within the confines of the oven and very near to my beloved's face. The miraculous avoidance of severe and possibly permanent injury was the only outcome that served to assuage my despair. Please, do not let a piece of cheap glass destroy your oven, maim your wife, and spoil your delicious meal. Life is difficult enough.

I roasted a chicken in a Pyrex pan and then put it on the stovetop to make gravy. I turned the burners on underneath it and brought the drippings and some room-temperature stock to a boil. Suddenly, kaboom!

Okay, in retrospect, that was a really dumb idea. But I had always heard that Pyrex was specifically safe for this, and that made it better than other glass pans. Additionally, I had done this several times before.

Bottom line: Pyrex is not safe for stovetop use. I will always use metal roasting pans in the future.