I bought a couple of these in Germany because they were novel. My mom seems to have done ok with her rose-shaped cake mold (sorry if this word is spelled differently), but I haven't tried the cupcake tins yet. My german hosts (and now I) also have a flat silicon baking sheet, which seems to work just fine, though it loses the pretty blue color as it gets older. I hope the cupcake dishes don't hold on to my cupcakes like you're describing; I was so excited to get them.
I love cooking with silicone. I never grease the cups, and everything has always popped out with no problems. Before silicone, I used to overcook most everything. And the best part about silicone is that the center and the edges are cooked equally, since the silicone doesn't heat up and overcook the edges of the food like glass or metal pans do.
Anyway, You can regain the pretty color of your silicone bakeware by washing it in your dishwasher along with "Plastic Booster" cleaning product. You can find it in the dishwasher cleaning supply section at Wal-Mart,etc.
silicone sucks, i cooked blueberry muffins in a silicone muffin tray that cost $30 odd and they just fell to bits when they came out.
silicone is a waste of money!
I bought a silicone flan dish in Azerbajan at a third of the price in the UK have onlt used it once but thought it was great cokked to perfection and did not stick wash great in soapy water. Going to take some home to my daughter.
Tom...here's your quote:
its spelt cooked* you fucking loser
Before giving someone else an unnecessarily unkind lecture about their spelling and grammar, you may want to correct your own.
In your case:
"spelt" should be "spelled." Spelt is an ancient grain usually used in baking.
"its" should be "it's"...a contraction of the words "it is." You missed the apostrophe.
Speaking of "losers" Tom, how are you? Dweeb.
I tried cooking with my new silicone loaf pan. It sucks!! It did not cook the center of my bread and it left the sides and top overdone. So much for cooking evenly. I am taking the rest of the pans back to the store and exchanging them for something that actually works!
Wow there was some language. I want to let everyone know that the silicone that is bought in the store or over the TV does not work. They are all knock offs of a french company called Demarle. The product has been around since 1960. The make a product that works very well, nothing sticks to it unless its undercooked but they clean up very easily with soap and water. It is only sold through direct sales so the customer can understand how to use it. It cooks much better than conventional cookware. It is a silicone and woven glass mix, kosher certified and has a patent. Please do not be fooled by imitators. For more information you can go to www.demarleathome.com. I am a representative for the product but I prefer not to leave my information because of people like tom who scare me.
Hmm. I normally delete spam, but I think the above comment is a pretty reasonable defence against the slugfest this note has turned into. (Aided by the fact that this page is apparently now the #4 google hit for "silicone cookware". Really! Goes to show you just never know where your fifteen minutes will come from.)
That said, I really have no idea what the quality of Demarle's products are, although I will say that the products I used (and was complaining about) were not theirs.
I have had nothing but success with my silicon bakeware. I think it's the best thing since bubblegum! Cakes turn out perfectly every time and I have all the different shapes and sizes of tins. These are a baker's dream. Worth every penny, although there is a lot of ripping off on the market. The expensive silicon is no better than the cheaper good quality stuff. I don't have to keep greasing mine either (only for the first use!) and it washes like a dream too.
Thank you, blahedo, for not deleting the comments. I found your #4 site because I discovered last night, I no longer have a pan suitable for baking brownies. So before investing in yet another aluminum or steel baking pan, I thought I'd see what was in the ether about silicone, as I have been toying w/ the idea of buying some. I found all the comments most helpful. It appears I need to check the quality of the material first, so mail order is out. I like the idea of baked goods being evenly done.
Thank you one & all for contributing. Tom can wear a plastic ixing bowl as a hat for the rest of his days. That way we may all recognize & know ignorance when we see it coming.
We bought a muffin set which was a metal frame with removable silicone cups. I also bought mini-bundt cake cups for it. We use the regular for muffins and the bundt cake for fruit cake, I was amazed as the very sticky fruitcake slid out effortlessly from the cups.
I bought my mom a set for muffins and mini loafs from wallmart. I found the quality of baking to be pretty good, I wouldn't say it's better or worse than traditional metal. The only thing I noticed was that, since we don't use them often, every time we get them out they are covered in some kind of sticky oil or something. Does anyone know anything about that.
I agree that you need to check the quality before you buy it, or anything for that matter.
Be nice to Tom, I'm sure he's just a self-centered insecure person. Then again he did make fun of a mother for misspelling one word.
Just looking for help with silicone egg forms (round preferably)and ran across this chat. Quite a hoot. And yes, you should watch your grammer if you are going to bash on others. Anyone have any experience with the little egg/pancake forms?
I find it interesting that so many people have problems with silicone bake ware! I have a ton of different silicone baking objects, such as a 13" x 9", a 9"x9", muffin, and I use a number of silicone spatulas for when I cook. I have yet to have a problem with any of my items, and I use them frequently! I do spray my silicone items tho it says you don't have to. Perhaps its the brand your using? I don't know a lot of different brands but I use a lot of Silicone Zone items. The fact that its silicone shouldn't affect your baking to much, perhaps just alter the time a tad....
Just thought I'd help out a little bit, informationwise. I've only recently considered using silicone-based products for cookware, although my knowledge of silicone-based products goes back perhaps 40 years, when I first started receiving literature from Dow Chemical and General Electric. Silicone products were perhaps first used in the Space industry in the form of silicone sealants, which, believe it or not were guaranteed to last 50 years! Over the years I've become acquainted with many other silicone products (by the way 'silicone' is not the same as 'silicon'--although silicone is silicon-based, their chemical properties are quite different). Silicone is a plastic which can be formulated with a variety of additives which will give it properties ranging from liquids to super-flexible rubber-like plastics to very firm rigid plastics. It is normally a non-stick type of compound unless formulated with adhesive qualities, and one of its most noteworthy qualities has always been its ability to withstand both high and low temperatures without degrading in any way. The variety of products it is added to and its variety of applications is far too extensive to list here. It has always been extensively used in medical applications where a flexible, long-lasting and essentially inert compound was need, as in tubing and implants (for many years it was considered among the safest of products to be used within the human body--until all the fuss about breast implants arose). It is impervious to just about all other kinds of chemicals and will probably not deteriorate in a hundred years! It is slowly finding its way into a new generation of innovative applications, replacing many previous products which would deteriorate with time, with a genuinely long lasting and more fault-resistant version.
I was personally led to this discussion by watching an infomercial on TV (for Smart Ware--see buysmartware.com), but I have also seen some products on store shelves as well. I have also looked at Silicone Zone products which are listed on amazon.com. I noted that Silicone Zone says their product is 'pure' silicone, while implying that cheaper products contain certain 'fillers' which render them inferior. I don't know about that--additives are often used to change the physical properties of silicone to make it more suitable for a particular use. But they can also be added to make it cheaper (and perhaps less suitable), since silicone is a fairly expensive plastic to begin with. The current wave of silicone-based cooking products take advantage of some of silicone's most noteworthy properties--the ability to withstand extremes of high (and low) temperature without degradation, and not sticking to just about anything (as in burnt cooking residues). I am a little bit skeptical of the claims made that anything 'leaches' from silicone 'rubber' products (regardless of what is said about breast implants), although some of the additives which might be compounded with the silicone might possibly leach. Also I'm fairly certain that most ordinary things that come into contact with silicone-based products will not be absorbed to any significant extent by the silicone. Finally, I am not a shill for the silicone industry--I've just found from experience that silicone-based products do a superior job in a lot of different applications. I haven't actually tried the cookware (yet) but I have a hard time believing (as some claim here) that anything sticks to it. Personally, I'm thinking of trying the so-called 'mats' which can be used to work and roll out pastry dough on.
We wanted to thank all of you for your great information and comments(except tom of course) We have several of the spatulas and we love those, so we thought about going to silicone bakeware but wanted to check it out first. Have any of you heard about the twist test to see if you have a pure silicone bakeware item? "twisting a flat surface to see if white shows through - if so, filler has been used and the product may not be uniformly heat resistant and may impart an odor to food." We would appreciate any help on this.
Thank you all very much.
Scherry
I love my silcon baking set. I got some as a wedding gift. I use the cake pans for cake, brownies and such. never sticks. The bunet pan is perfect for easy molding of jello salad. I use the cupcake pans for soap molding. VERY AWESOME!
I bought a couple of crescent shaped roll cooker at the dollar store for a dollar each. They are small. I use them to microwave cook eggs mixed with spices and cheese. They don't stick. They wash up easy. The eggs end up having a cool looking crescent shape. Very cool cookware. Probably made in China.
There is some great info here. Maybe the cupcake one is hard to use, my cupcakes just break in half when I try and pop them out.
This would be grand for making muffin tops, since it is the top that we all love anyhow.
While the sentiment was regrettably expressed, "spelt" is in fact a proper spelling of "spelled" sometimes used in the UK and some other English-speaking countries other than the USA. He did miss the apostrophe in "it's," however, so he doesn't win any special prize.
I'm not a big fan of silicone bakeware. I find it flimsy and hard to quickly fill with denser cake mixes like a choc browny mix I made a few weeks ago. With the more runny cake mixes it is easier.
I am however a fan of chocolate silicone moulds. I used silicone mould rubber to create my own chocolate moulds and these work really well.
Joseph
I just bought a silicone knockoff cake pan. The pan cost less than the ingredients in the first cake it ruined. Burned on the bottom, overdone all around and still raw in the center. Heavyweight metal pans are better and cheaper in the long run, just use shortening liberally.
I used silcone bakeware and everything turned blue...the colour of the cups. I use slicone gloves without a problem and a sheet too, but its certainly put me off.
Before listing a review, can everyone please be mindful to include the brand of the bakeware about which they comment? It's clear that not all silicone is created equal - there are many types of silicone products with different additives influencing their properties. Some brands may succeed at being non-stick, while others do not. If you don't tell us what brand you are reviewing, your rants are not very helpful. Thanks.
I bought some DEMARLE cookware at a friends house party...was not prepared for how GOOD this product is! It cooks like a dream, have used the baking pad (called a Silpat) fro superior cookies, baked fish, vegetables, everything...It truly is the quality you buy and you pay for it too, but boy...the outcome is great...I also purchased the muffin tray and the pastry roll out (roulpat) and they are great...getting ready to spend some more money on them! The stuff is made w/silicone (a naturally occurring element around these parts...is is rock formations and does NOT react with the body) and spun glass filaments. I could go on and on...maybe I should sell the stuff! It is also very light weight and so easy to store, not taking up much cupboard space...
Answer to ALLAROUNDAGEEK FROM DEC 15. I found that my silicone sheet pan had that slightly greasy feel that defied washing in even Dawn liquid. My son has a Chemistry degree and he made up some completely odorless, completely natural and safe washing liquid.It gets rid of all that sticky goop and the silicone looks much cleaner. Im thinking of marketing the cleaner...do ou think there is a market?? SandyR
I just made zuchinni bread in the mini loaf pan that has 6 sections. They ALL STUCK! I was to sell these at a Craft Fair! I am making Pumpkin Bread next in the REGULAR pans. I am NOT HAPPY!! I was so excited to use these.
I see there is not much info on silicone kitchen utensils to be found on the internet and in especial Silicone Rubber as used to produce cooking ware, so i will share my findings here with you:
1) What is silicones? Silicones, known chemically as polyorganosiloxanes, have a structure similar to that of organically modified quartz, with a backbone consisting of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms.Their properties can be modified by
attaching different organic groups to the backbone. Nearly all silicone products are derived from the following three types of raw materials: Silicone Fluids, Silicone Rubbers, Silicone Resins.
source: http://www.powerchemical.net/silicone.htm
2) Basically there are two main categories of Silicone rubber: Tin-Cure Silicone Rubber and Platinum-Cure Silicone Rubber:
2a) Tin-based silicones, also called condensation-cure silicones, are two-component materials which cure at room temperature (RTV) to flexible, high tear-strength rubbers. Tin cured silicones can be poured onto models or they can be made brushable by adding a thixotropic additive. They are ideal for molds where easy release or high temperature resistance is required. Tin cured silicones can be used for casting polyurethane, epoxy and polyester resins, waxes, all gypsum products and low-temperature metals.
2b) Platinum-Cure silicones, also called addition cure silicones, are two-component high tear strength, flexible mold compounds. They are recommended as a mold material for casting polyurethane, epoxy, and polyester resins, wax and a wide range of other casting materials. They exhibit extremely low shrinkage and high physical properties. These rubbers are chemically sensitive to latex, sulfur, and certain other materials. Platinum cure silicones can also be used to cast prosthetics for special effects makeup and medical purposes.
source: http://www.smooth-on.com/Silicone-Rubber-an/c2/index.html
I could not find out which of the two are actualy used in the production of silicone kitchen ware, but that is not as important as the following findings i think:
3) Interesting facts on heat, fat, oil and water resistance of Silicone can be read on a documents called "Characteristic properties of Silicone Rubber Compounds" by Shin-Etsu. There it states that silicone rubber can be used indefinitly at
150°C with almost no changes in its properties. It hardens when heated in air containing oxygen. It withstands use even at 200°C for 10.000 hours or more, and some products can withstand heat of 350°C for short periods.
Source: pages 4 and 5 of http://www.silicone.jp/e/catalog/pdf/rubber_e.pdf
So far so good, but considered that baking oven temperatures, in aspecial gas ovens, is often over 200°C that is not an ideal material to be used at this high heat. Consider using stoneware, and non coated ceramics instead even if these are
non sticky.
Test results on oil and chemical resistance can be found on page 6 and changes in volume from fluids on page 7 of same document http://www.silicone.jp/e/catalog/pdf/rubber_e.pdf
4) Most of us know about the dangers of Formaldehyde, but i was unaware that silicone rubber as used in cooking ware had that too. Here an excerpt and usual source link:
...Formaldehyde is thermally generated from many materials -including high consistency silicone rubber.
However, the rate at which silicone rubber generates formaldehyde is substantially lower than many common materials. Silicone rubber begins to generate formaldehyde at temperatures as low as 149oC, but does not appreciably generate formaldehyde until ~200oC and above. At these temperatures, other materials have already achieved significantly greater formaldehyde generation rates. ...
source: http://www.arlonstd.com/Library/Guides/Formaldehyde%20Generation%20from%20Silicone%20Rubber.pdf
5) And yes i could not, not include this one link here below too, even though its more related to breast implants it is still a good source of general knowledge on silicones and us: "... Silicone produces a classifiable new disease marked by autoimmune symptoms..."
source: http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/breast-implants.htm#immune
I wished there where more researches on this Silicone Rubber, as there was for PFC materials like Teflon, etc. So basically i think even though nearly every one says it must be safe as there is no evidence of the contrary and there is enough doubt coming up reading the above, i will rather let my food stick to earthenware clay pots (unglazed or glazed with lead free glazing only if certified as such) as even our beloved everyday metal pots (pure, emailed or coated) and even the stainless steel ones (unbelievable but true) do give out metals to our food.
source: http://bit.ly/vvkRBI and http://healthychild.org/live-healthy/faq/C346/
... and metal kitchen ware is absolutely not green in its production neither.
source: http://www.ceramcor.com/making-steel.aspx
... and green washed products like the "Green Pan" with Thermolone are absolutely no alternative neither.
soource: http://bit.ly/sX8teF
Entertaining page... I'm tearing my hair out yet again because I decided to try my silicone mini-muffin pans again. With the usual results, FOOD STICKS something awful, no matter how well greased or sprayed the pans are. Why did I buy these? Worse, why did I believe -- no, why DO I believe that the results will be different this time? I'll try www.demarleathome.com as mentioned above. But the pans I bought from King Arthur Flour just do not function as advertised, no matter what permutations I tweak. Grrr.
I just bought Arts Professional Bakeware - 6 cup Rosebud Muffin Pans. Made my first batch of muffins. They stick in the pan, completely fall apart trying to get them out and the bottoms that fit into the molded design burned while the top is on the soft side. Followed instructions, washed the pans in hot soapy water before starting. Cooked at 400F for 20 minutes. Not impressed!! Feel like I just through $22.00 out the door.