KitchenWare :: Bakeware
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Bakeware Options
Bakeware is an important kitchen tool even if you don't consider yourself a chef or a baker. Even though you might not be pounding out loaves of dough each week for homemade bread, you still need a good selection of bakeware in order to cook most meals and perform most oven-related types of cooking. You have a wide variety of choices when it comes to selecting the bakeware that's right for you.
Stoneware is an even-cooking material that has been popular for years. It's heavy, and can go from oven to table quite nicely as it looks appealing, unlike some metal items. It's available in almost any color and style to match every kitchen. It's non-porous, so it won't stain or absorb water, which could later cause it to crack or crumble. Its biggest downfall is that it can chip and break if dropped or on impact with another hard item.
Pyrex bakeware is glass, and actually the original glass bakeware available came from Pyrex. The dishes are see through, so you can look at the food to check for even cooking. To further coordinate with kitchens and other items, it's no longer just available in clear glass. Now you can purchase shades of Pyrex bakeware. Unfortunately, glass can chip, crack and break, so if you drop Pyrex or other glass dish, chances are it'll have to be replaced.
Teflon bakeware is still a popular choice for its non-stick surface. The slick coating is easy to clean with soap and water, and food releases well. Cookies and breads slide right off, making it the perfect choice when presentation is especially important. But cleaning Teflon bakeware must be done carefully, and cooking with it requires extra caution, too. Metal utensils can't be used without danger of scratching, so plastic tools must be used instead. Any scratches or flaking of the surface ruins the non-stick properties and makes the piece unusable.
Some people still use cast iron cookware and bakeware. This heavy duty material is perfect for frying pans and woks because of its ability to handle hot temperatures. Its ability to withhold heat makes it great for Dutch ovens, too. Cast iron requires seasoning before its first use. You must coat it in a layer of grease and heat it. Then soap cannot be used to wash the cast iron. It must be scrubbed with plain hot water, or hot water and corn starch or salt only. Soap will ruin the non-stick surface that seasoning created.
And one of its chief advantages, its long-lasting heavy duty properties, is one of its biggest downfalls. Cast iron cookware is heavy and cumbersome to pull in and out of an oven, which can be challenging for some, especially when full of hot food. Storing the large pieces can also pose a challenge in a small kitchen.
Metal bakeware is still available, but since it can't be used in microwaves it's lost some of its former popularity. The uses for even a heavy-duty metal piece are limited when compared what can be done in Pyrex or stoneware, both of which look nice on table or countertop. Metal also can scratch, dent, bend and rust, unlike the other materials.
A new type of bakeware growing in popularity is Silicone. This bakeware is extremely lightweight, unlike heavy stoneware and glass. And you can bend Silicone pieces for storage. It won't chip; rust or dent, and it won't break. This makes it safer than stoneware or glass. All these serve to make Silicone bakeware extremely long-lasting, too.
It's easy to clean with simple soap and water, and you don't need special tools to use it. Silicone bakes evenly, and releases food without oil or grease. But it's a new type of material used for cooking, so many are still skeptical, especially considering that it seems less substantial than a bulky stoneware dish, but it's higher priced.
