I have a friend who had a Pyrex baking dish explode when she was using it to bake a batch of brownies. So I think it can happen, though it is quite rare.

When I went looking for some visions cookware on Craigslist somebody sent me an email telling me their father had a pot explode on him, and to be careful.. I then went online to google and typed in 'visions cookware', 'explode', 'shatter'. Although from what I read, it does seem like you are right that it IS a rare occurance. But, I am concerned that it seems to happen so unpredictably when it does happen.

As for pryex, this link was enough for me: www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/pyrex.html

I really was disappointed by seeing the possibility of it shattering that way, since the glass cookware seemed so ideal for me. And if I didn't have a little one who liked to cook with me, I might still be willing to take the risk. But since the stories make it out to be so unpredictable, I am too scared to take the chance with my little one.

Quite a few years ago, I was using a Visions casserole dish to make a small pork roast. I took it out of the oven and had set it on top of the stove (burner was NOT turned on). It was not cooked dry, there was still plenty of liquid in the pan. A minute later, it did explode into tiny shards of glass. It took us many hours to clean the entire kitchen and find all the pieces of glass and liquid that flew everywhere. I was fortunate I didn't get burned as I was standing right next to it. The very next day, we got rid of all my glass cookware.

are there any problems with using visions cookware on a smooth top range?

If you have a question as to whether exploding pyrex is an issue, my mother-in-law just had it occur, so I checked online. Below is just one sight where I was shocked at how many times it has occured. Something is definitely wrong!!

Yes, Visionware can shatter!

While making a stirfry, I added a drop of soy sauce into the saucepan where I was cooking vegetables and the whole thing exploded. I'm lucky I didn't lose an eye.

I was finding chunks of glass in my kitchen for weeks. My husband (who was then just my boyfriend) took me and the friends who were expecting to share dinner with us out for pizza.

I got rid of my entire collection the next day. I tried calling the 1-800 number for the company, but continuously got a busy signal and finally gave up, figuring other people were calling in about their exploding cookware. I just chalked it all up to experience and now I cook with stainless steel.

RE: Pyrex
I have had it explode twice. Both times it was during the winter when the Pyrex was very cold and then put on the heat. I think it was the extremes in temperatures!
Pam

For many years I've been cooking with Pyrex bowls and pans, some ovenware and some stovetop. None has exploded. Two things I am wondering about.

First, my Pyrex is old - can't remember how old. Could it be the difference between the older borosilicate glass and the newer soda-lime glass as mentioned by KAT? Does anyone know when the glass "ingredients" changed?

Second, most of the time I cook on gentle heat - 170 degrees in the oven ("slow-cooking") and low heat on the (glass) stovetop. Perhaps higher temperatures are more likely to cause explosions.

I won't be buying any more Pyrex and am certainly concerned. At present that's all I have for myself, being chemically sensitive, and I will need to research alternative, safe cookware noted in Debra's List to buy in the future! Thanks, Debra!

I just read all of your info on the dangers of Pyrex pots exploding. I am very VERY concerned. I will get rid of my pot that I use to boil water in.

What other kind of pot should I buy? Stainless steel? Can you recommend a specific brand name to buy? Would you email me ASAP with the info? as we need a new pot right away.

Thank you so much!

I have had Pyrex for years and never had a problem with anything shattering. There is always a potential for something going wrong with any product you buy but I would think that this sort of thing would occur so infrequently that it isn't worth throwing out your cookware because of it.

Just yesterday I was sauteeing chicken in pyrex and it exploded into pieces all over me and my kitchen. The shock value was great because my mouth almost hit the floor when it happened but it ruined my chicken, not to mention caused me to bleed in several places. I have heard that pyrex explodes when brought from one extreme temp to another. I do know many people who have used it and been totally. In fact, I have used it in the past and been totally fine. However, it only takes one time for pyrex to explode in your face until you decide to never use it again. I will admit that mine definitely exploded when exposed to very high heat. Other times I have sucessfully used pyrex it was not exposed to such high heat.


I am currently in culinary school and use steel pots/pans everyday and they never explode nor are they hard to clean if you simply use a brillo pad. They are versatile and most can be put in the oven, you just always need to grab the handle with a towel or oven mit because they get hot (in or on top of oven). I happen to think they are great pots and pans especially those made by calphalon or all-clad.

If you do decide to stick with Pyrex, I would recommend only cooking with it when using mild temperatures. Do not sautee w/ it or stick it in a 500 degree oven. Boiling water and such should not cause problems, but again....who really knows when so many people have had it explode. I will admit that mine definitely exploded when exposed to very high heat. Other times I have sucessfully used pyrex it was not exposed to such high heat.

My Pyrex shattered while I was cooking with it about 30 minutes ago. It's a miracle no one was critically hurt. Large shards of glass flew 20 feet away and there are scorch marks on my wood floor. It freaked me out so bad that I'm throwing all the Pyrex away.

I really wish I had known of the Pyrex exploding problem. My 13 year old son pointed out that I shouldn't heat glass in the microwave because it could explode. I told him it's microwave safe, the package said so.... anyway, he's smarter than I am I guess! I just replaced all my plastic prep and storage with pyrex (22 pieces of Pyrex plus lids on many). Now I'm wondering if that was a dumb thing to do?

Dear Dancinchef...Stainless is supposed to be fairly non toxic if you don't use something to clean it with that will scratch it. A brillo pad is iron so maybe the steel would be a bit harder...remember in Science class we learned that something can only be scratched with something of the same hardness or harder.

I don't know if the Brillo pad is pushing your luck but I have found that 1) a plastic brush or scrubber or natural bristle brush will work very well if the pan soaks just a bit and 2) if something is pretty stuck to the bottom, simmering with a little baking soda in the water completely cleans it.

I also wonder if the glass pans explode because they are scratched in cleaning.

Last night my husband made baked pork chops in the oven. He had the Pyrex baking dish on the bottom rack. When the timer went off he removed the dish and set it on top of the stove. My husband turned to the sink to rinse off the meat thermometer and suddenly there was a loud crashing sound. He looked over at the stove and the baking dish had shattered. There was glass everywhere. Thank heavens he had already taken it out of the oven. Most of the glass shot to the floor or stayed on top of the stove. It was a good thing he had turned to the sink or he could have been horribly injured!

We're really happy the only major damage was the ruined pork chops.

I bought an Anchor glass casserole that said it could be used for cooking or storage the day before Thanksgiving. My daughter cooked a green bean casserole in it; when it was done, she removed it from the oven and put it on the countertop. Luckily, she moved away from it to hand something to a family member - at that moment, it exploded, shooting thousands of glass shards and hot food all over the kitchen and the turkey which was resting next to it. We were so thankful no one was hurt; however, I worry that someone else won't be so lucky. I informed the store and the manufacturer, but no one seems to be taking any action.

I had an almost identical experience a couple months ago. I was baking a chicken in a pyrex dish and removed it from the oven when it was done. Knowing the oven had heated up the top of the stove, I figured it was safe to set it on top of a (relatively) warm burner. It immediately shattered. I was wearing a large oven mitt so the hot glass & liquid landed on the glove. If I had used a pot holder instead, as I sometimes do, my hand and arm would have been burned. Thank God my children or pets weren't nearby. Now when I use glass bakeware, I make sure no one else is around when I put it in or out of the oven. I too am phasing to steel cook/bake ware. To everyone still using glass, please keep the risk in the back of your mind and be careful. I've been using pyrex for decades and never thought it would happen to me but it did.

My son is a cook in a hospital kitchen. He put some food in the big oven and walked to the other side of the kitchen. He heard a loud snap and crashing sound. The glass on the oven door had shattered and glass shards flew all over. Fortunately, no one was near the oven when it happened. I guess they don't make glass like they used to.

Just wanted to share something a friend told me recently about Vision ware pots. She puts a piece of wire on the burner under hers, and says it keeps the heat from making the glass brittle. She takes pieces of wire, whatever she has around the house and bends them into clover shapes, big enough to fit on the burner and set the pot on. I hope this helps someone. Thanks for a great blog, everybody! Dorothy in MA

I have had 2 Visions shatter, one in the dishwasher and another 350 degrees cooking a casserole. TK

I had a pyrex pan shatter when taken out of the oven last night. It exploded into thousands of dagger shaped pieces of glass with a force so strong it hit the wall ten feet away and burned itself to my linleum floor ruining it with 30 or so quarter sized scorch marks.we had to to pry the glass of my floor and my husband cut himself very badly in the process...beware..do not use this cookware. lots of other people have had similar reactions.

Just a note to let everyone know that vision cookware does explode even without have any scratches or cracks. I was using my vision pot for the first time and was boiling some pasta. I reached up to turn my heat down because it was about to boil over and without warning the pot exploded and all the hot water fell on my foot and now I have a 3rd degree burn on my foot and am laid up for the next 2 weeks. Please take extreme caution if you continue to use vision cookware and keep all children out of kitchen while using it. If my daughter had been in the kitchen with me like she usually is, the water would have landed all over her and her face due to her height.

Hi,

I just wanted to let you and everyone who reads your website that CBS in Chicago is currently doing a story on glass cookware that is exploding and often causing injury. I was happy to see that story presented, as an anchor-hocking glass casserole had exploded in my house this past Thanksgiving (it's included in the e-mails about the subject on your website). They focused on it for about 10 minutes last night (a long time for the nightly news) and are continuing today. You can also check their website, cbs2chicago.com Pam Zekman, who is an award-winning investigative reporter is handling the story.

Hi Debra,

Have you heard of the range top safe Corning Ware made of pyroceram glass? I don't think they are been manufactured any more but I found a lot on eBay and also on www.classickitchenandmore.com where they sell used ones. I am interested in buying one but really not sure what that material is. Do you have any idea? Thank you again for all the wonderful work you have done!

After I had such an "accident", with a Vision pot, breaking while I was making a soup, I said no to any glass cookware. What a mess! And my grandson was around when that happened. This can be very dangerous with kids around. I am using now LifeTIme cookware. The best and the safest.

i am alergic to metal and can only cook in glass. I have succeeded in breaking all of mine. Not due to heat. Does anyone know where i can purchase some. Particularly a dutch oven.

I switched to glass two years ago due to heavy metal toxicity warnings which I realize as of now aren't all backed up with long term studies about the effects of heavy metals leaching into our foods from cookware...anyways I haven't broken a piece yet, and not only am I a clutz and have dropped them several times, but I forget things on the stove, so I have burned them dry several times. I must say, though, that one little pot i burnt rice in a year ago seeeeeems to burn more easily now, but it could just be my luck in forgetting I'm cooking everytime i use it.

I find my pieces online on ebay or craigslist.

I'm also going to try to write to pyrex and ask them to bring it back.

good luck

I was reading a few more of the responses here.

I agree that one big difference would be the age. What I use to cook on the stove are pyrex vision pots, it's a really thick dark old glass, which is much different than the thin clear glass that is used today for pans for the oven and an even thinner glass containers (which I also use but in different manners).

I can imagine anything exploding in the microwave because by nature food in the microwave is heated in weird pockets, not uniformly, so I could see one spot getting most of the heat, much more than it was designed to handl. Likewise with using those thin pans on a burner, or even using a pan in the oven in a way that the substance in the pan would cause the heat to be distributed unevenly. I was also always taught that when you are pouring something very hot into a cold glass or china bowl you need to put a metal spoon in first to help transfer the heat (i think) or else the shock will cause it to break. In fact I do a lot of glass cutting with mosaics and one method to cut the glass, after scoring it with either something sharp/knife like, or "dropping it" in which a tiny fracture occurs, but doesn't go through the whole thickness, is to heat it over a candle and then cool it with an ice cube right away and then it breaks completely right along the fractures. As someone else mentioned that could also be what is happening.

Those stories are certainly scary, but probably just flukes.

Wow! I just had THE scariest experience. I am still shaking. I was using a Visions cookware lid on a stainless steel pot and it literally exploded in front of me!!!! I have owned the Visions set for many many years and have no problems. I was using it on the stovetop, which should be problem. I have never used it in the oven or microwave. I don't understand why this happened. The top of the lid just separated from the surrounding ring, and some small pieces are sitting on the stovetop. Fortunately, I was not hit by the pieces. I am furious and will now get rid of the rest of my set. I am saddened to learn this has happened to others and that I was unaware of the problems with Visionware. Let this be a warning to others!! Stop using your old Visions pieces.

Just last week I was using an Anchor-Hocking 8oz measuring cup. Room temperature..... I tapped my tablespoon of Mayo into it a couple times and AFTER the table spoon made it back to the jar (1.5-2.0 seconds) the measuring cup EXPLODED all over the kitchen..... The company apologized and is sending a free replacement..... but I'm thinking of stainless measuring cups now.

As far as hot pyrex goes, a friend of mine had a hot 9x13 explode when a single drop of cold water hit it and another dietician said hers just spontaneously broke when she took it out of the oven....
I'm really re-thinking my love affair with glass.... and I just recently replaced all plastic with those Anchor-Hocking containers (I feel the plastic lids are ok as long as the food doesn't touch the lid)

I have been using my amber Visions cookware for 15 years now and haven't had any problems. I broke my large pot tonight when I dropped it. I was looking for a replacement and stumbled onto this site. I had no idea that so many people were having problems. My set is really thick glass. I guess they just don't make it the way they used to. Thanks for all of the helpful information.

I have been using a corning visionware pot for several years without any problems. I am using it on an electric glass top stove. I wonder if that makes a difference. I would like to know what type of stove tops where being used with the people who have had the problems..

I have been using Visions cookware since I became diagnosed with MCS in 1985 and have had absolutely no trouble with them (and still have all of the original pots and pans, except for one top that I dropped and of course it shatters - I have tile floors). I wouldn't be afraid of them.

Our 9x13 pyrex baking dish exploded this evening, while my wife was tending to the pot roast that was cooking. Yes, it really did explode. And no, she had neither moved it to a cold surface or added anything cold to it.

We both have grown up watching our parents use pyrex dishes for years without incident. Still, it doesn't make me feel any better to discover that in the last 5 years, many others have had similar experiences. For us, the benefits will no longer outweigh the risks.

Hi Deb, this is in ref. to Visions Pots, I agree with you, I have been a user of Corning Ware since 1973 and never had an explosion, and then in 1991 my new mother-in-law presented us with the whole set of Visions Pots and the Roaster, let me tell you I was so happy, and now is 2008 and still no explosion, I hope I am not jinxed, I am really scared now after reading those terrible post, Ciao Happy Cooking Teshie in Dover Delaware

I used to have an entire set of purple Pyrex bakeware. One day, about 10yrs ago, I was cooking chicken with mushroom soup in the 9X13. I put it in the ove, turned it on (I, as usual, forgot to preheat the oven) and went to the living room to talk with my roommate. About 15-20min later we heard this loud boom then crackle noise. I ran into the kitchen and flung open the oven to see glass and mushroom soup exploded all over inside! At first I was just angry b/c it was the last food we had until next paycheck (ahh young and broke!) but then realized how truly dangerous that could've been! I stopped using glass until the last year or so and haven't had any problems but I'm still always very leary everytime I put on in the oven!

I've been using Visions Cookware for as long as it's been out, and I have never had it shatter or break.

You have to understand that it is glass, and so you cannot put a hot pot under cold water and expect it not to break.

I have used my Visions on Electrical Stoves, and I now have a gas stove. It works well on both types of stoves.

Every type of cookware has it's own positives and negatives. Aluminum Pots leach aluminum, which is thought to be implicated in alzheimers or dementia. Pots coated with teflon are thought to be dangeroua because they lose teflon. Iron pots leech a lot of iron, and are much more difficult to clean. Ceramic pots can be ruined by one incident of dry overheating. All this to say that because your Visions pot may shatter on a very rare occasion, most of those shatter incidents are user caused by misuse.

Oh, and one really great benefit of Visions is that it is the only style of cookware that can safely be used in your microwave. I save a ton of energy and gas by preheating much of my food in a Visions pot in my microwave, and then transfer it to the stove to finish it.

A few years ago I bought 3 clear glass cups by mail from the Vermont Country Store. Not long after I bought them, the first one shattered while sitting on a window ledge near a cold window. I thought it was a fluke, didn't worry about the other two.

Then today, this: one of the remaining cups had been sitting on the kitchen counter overnight. It wasn't very cold, and I had no heating or cooling going in the house. In the morning, I rinsed the cup with cool tap water, filled it with cranberry juice from the refrigerator, drank it, rinsed the cup with cool tap water again and put it in the plastic-covered-wire dish drainer, where it has been dozens of times before, with nothing around it, and went into another room. About 5 minutes later (yes, that long -- I had time to find a book I was reading and read two pages in it), I heard an explosion that made me think the TV, or some other electrical appliance, had shorted out and exploded -- it was that kind of very loud POP.

I went through the house trying to determine where the noise had come from. When I got to the kitchen, I found small, dagger-like glass shards on the floor starting about 6 feet away from the kitchen sink area. At first I thought maybe a light bulb had exploded -- I was totally flummoxed!

Then I saw the shattered cup in the dish drainer in the sink. Nothing electrical was on, nothing could have fallen on it -- I was completely flabbergasted that the only explanation seemed to be that the cup had just exploded, all on its own.

I got the remaining cup out of the cupboard and looked on the bottom and found the raised letters "Bormioli Rocco" and "TEMPERED" and "23". I was looking online for some explanation when I found this site. Searching for "Bormioli Rocco" I found someone who had had a baking dish explode, but so far no other room-temperature cups exploding -- except the two I had -- until the measuring cup mentioned here. What a harrowing experience! I hate to think what might've happened if I'd been near the cups when they exploded.

NO ONE should question whether Pyrex can explode without any fault of the user!!!! No one should say it is rare. I am a little upset right now because my daughter just called and said that last night there was an explosion in their oven--the 9x13 Pyrex baking between 350 and 400 degrees exploded. The peices were smitherines, requiring her to take apart her oven and vacuum up peices so small they were like little pieces of glitter. As she said, 30 seconds later, she would have been checking to see if the dish was done--putting her face towards the dish, and with a baby within range of injury. My other daughter has had 3 Pyrex dishes explode. One of mine has, too, although I figured that one was my fault because the hot dish MAY have touched a few drops of water-----however, who knew that would happen? I have 5 or 6 peices of fairly new Pyrex, some not even used and with original packaging still on it. If I had the receipts, I'd take it all back.
No more Pyrex for me.
Lois

I bought a 2nd-hand glass pot, and it was very thick. I only used for 4 months; it was my favorite. I bought it for like $7. I went to ebay and thought that the new Corning Vision pots that they are selling look very thin compared to the one I used to have. Maybe this is why the newer Corning Vision cookware shatter more. Are Pyrex and Corning Vision exactly the same thing? I read a forum where people complained after their glass cookware exploded, and I decided never to buy Pyrex cookware and dishes. If Pyrex and Corning Vision are the same, I won't buy Corning Vision, either.

I moved to a co-op, and somebody either stole or misplaced my old glass pot in the basement...

I've been using Amber Visions for a long time. I believe they were a wedding gift in 1987. I been collecting more of it lately and even sold a few on Ebay.

Now I am concerned about the warnings that are being posted about shattering. I went to the Pyrex web site that has been recommended here. And after reading it several people are saying the are not going to use Pyrex.

Well the problem that I see is this site is for their current product which is all bakeware and microwave ware. I looked at the products on their site and they did not show anything like the Visions. In fact the third caution on the list says "Do not use on or under flame or other direct heat source, INCLUDING STOVE TOP."

Well my original Visions has skillets and sauce pans so according to their current site these are not to be use on the stove top?

So here's my questions or concerns.

Does this mean the old style of Visions were designed deceptively (Frying pan for example) if they were never intended for stove top useage. Or does this site entirely exclude the older style Visions in favor of the new products only listed. Could this be because they don't want to address the problems of their older styles and the fact that some appear to be for the stove top? Now they can say well we let people know not to use them on the stove. Or again is this recommendation only for their new "bakeware Pyrex". If this is the case then people are using this site incorrectly for the old Visions and we need the correct info for it. What do we do? Thanks, Cristal

I have used Pyrex for more than 30 years. My mother-in-law used it for at least 50 years. We never had an explosion or heard of one until today. After my divorce, I hit the thrift shop and bought what I needed and have used the old Pyrex without a single incidence: rounds for pies, 9x13, 7x7 and 7x5. All these pieces are labeled "Made in USA". According to Joseph S. Enoch, consumeraffairs.com that these past three years have been an explosion nightmare:

"It has been nearly three years since ConsumerAffairs.com first reported that consumers were being cut and burned by exploding Pyrex bakeware. The company was quick to deny the problem and government safety regulators seemed untroubled by the reports."

snip

"Consumers we spoke to said there was no doubt their product was a Pyrex dish. They had all bought the dish within the past few years — since Corning, the original manufacturer of Pyrex, licensed the name to World Kitchen in 1998."

A Google search yielded this blog.

Today, our thick 4.5 liter pot Vision by Corning decided to end it all. Fortunately, it died both considerately and quietly. After being removed from the cupboard and placed on the floor, it suddenly broke into several large fragments. Still, my wife decided to use its twin to sauté mixed veggies.

Alas, we lost a Pyrex Flameware teapot to the same malady last year. One moment it was boiling merrily on our electric range; the next it lay in pieces on that range – the same thing occurred when my wife was visiting one of her friends. My wife replaced it with another Pyrex Flameware teapot.

I am dubious about the safety of these items; my wife suggests that if I do not touch them all will be well.

Naively, one would have thought that the coefficient of expansion of Vision, Corningware, and Flameware should be sufficiently low that even large items composed of them should not shatter due to thermal stress.

Perhaps, what is happening is that there was faulty quality control resulting in high mechanical stress due to rapid and uneven cooling from their molten state during the fabrication process. This seems to be the only rational explanation for the shattering of our thick Vision pot at room temperature.

I think David's Corning vision cookware shattered because the floor is made of tile and is too cold for a burning pot. Unable to cope with the temperature change, the pot broke.

I think Pyrex is just plain unreliable and is very dangerous.

I think David's Wife was right. Stay out of the kitchen, and all will be ok :<)) She never broke the same pot in many uses. So what's the common element....David??? lol

Has anyone had a problem with corning French white or the corning white ceramic bakeware with the blue cornflowers on the front? I also microwave leftovers or soup in the corning grab-it's quite a bit.

I have been cooking in glass pans for years (pyrex and others). Last night for the first time ever I had one explode in my face and all over my house. I was cooking chicken in the oven, I took the pan out and was holding it to shut the oven door and it exploded! I had shards of glass in my hands, my face, all over my clothes and all over my house. The noise of the explosion frightened my dog who then went running through the glass.

I have never heard of this before or had this happen. It was scary. I have many glass pans that I have always used and now I want to throw them all away. What is the best to cook in? metal pans? corningware? help...

Beware of exploding Visionware:

Here is the url for the index for the online copies of the reports of grave injury from Visions filed at the Consumer Rroduct Safety Commission (US gov).
www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia97/idi/idi.html

I keep seeing things suggesting that Visionware is not being produced anymore. There is a link on the Corningware website to the following website: www.visions-cookware.com. It is an official website.

About a month ago, I took a round pyrex baking pan covered with a matching cover. It had been in the oven for about an hour and contained pasta and sauce. I put the dish with its contents on the counter right near the sink. I removed the glass cover and placed it in the sink. I turned on the water. The water is always cold when it's first turned on if it hasn't been running for awhile. To my amazement the cover exploded all over the sink and thee were pieces of glass in the garbage disposer as well as some on the floor. My first thought was that I should never put anything super hot under cold water. Could that have been the reason the class cover exploded? Should I have let it cool before I put it in water? Was it the water or the fact that the water was cold the reason for the explosion?

Then tonight, I did a load of dishes and glassware in the dishwasher. A short hime after the dishwasher had stopped I opened the door and, like usual, it was hot in there. If I were to pick somehing up from the dishwasher the worst that could happen was I could burn my hand. This time, I was removing the contents after it had finished cycling. It was pretty hot in there but I removed the dishes quickly and put them down on another counter. The last thing I gingerly took out of the dishwasher was a 14-oz. clear drinking glass. This glass was old. It had been through I don't know how many washes and was always fine. This time as soon as my hand grasped the glass it exploded just as the baking dish did. Why? Can heat alone break glass? Did it have exploded just because it was old?

I totally agree with Debra here. The water hitting the hot glass in the sink is a no-brainer with regard to its result. With regard to the glass from the dishwasher, it could have been its time and it could have been the room temperature. When I used to work in a restaraunt, I heated up a glass bowl in a microwave which was fine.... until I opened the microwave door and when the cooler air hit it, it exploded everywhere.
I still use my glass ware, I'm just really, really careful. Moreso than I ever used to be.

and the testimonies keep coming in......

www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/anchor_hocking

In reading all the informative and interesting posts, I wonder if there might be even something more to it. Possibly something like the increase of electromagnetic stress affecting the newer Pyrex/Visions glass. Maybe it's a combination of this with a change of manufacturing components (as people who have old glass vs the new). It seems like the exploding objects whether heated, out of the dishwasher, room temperature or even handled from the cupboard are more fragile, indicated by the occurrence of even slight temperature changes or touch. Perhaps the significant increase of radio waves in the past 5-10 years from all sorts of sources might be weakening the molecular structure. Similar to the concept of the opera singer whose voice breaks the glass by matching the vibratory frequency wavelengths of her voice to that of the glass.

It's just a thought. But, from my 40 years of experience, I have noticed that in my first 30 years with a family of 5, there was never a case of Pyrex, glasses or cups exploding or breaking on touch. What I have noticed that in the past 7 years or so, in an adult household, I have went through a set of 12 ordinary glasses, 3 good china plates and bowls breaking and chipping in normal use. In the past year, I have had 2 explosions with 9*13" pans, one purple and one clear, scorching the floor. Renovating the kitchen in between, when the second pan was placed on the glass top stove warm from use, (previous one was a metal burner electric stove) it burst also when we just left the room. Both had brownies in them, which we could only savor the smell as we cleaned the kitchen for several hours :) The dog can relax, now that we use Le Creuset ceramic ones. Sorry for the long post. I hope it helps.

Yesteray, I was cooking eggplant in a Pyrex glass dish and when it was finished, I took it out and put it on the top of the stove. Five minutes later the pan exploded and my baby and I were right in front of it. I got a few cuts, but by the grace of god, she had just gotten out of the shower and had a towel on, that also happened to fall in front of her face before the explosion. Thankfully, no glass got into her eyes. This was very scary - I couldn't stop shaking for two hours! That is a mistake you just don't make twice.

I would like to know if Sarah and other people wih similar experiences had preheated the oven or not.

I had a blue pyrex dish, had pre-heated the oven to 350 degrees for 15 minutes. I put the dish on for 30 minutes, took it out of the oven and set it on top of the range, (this was about my 5th use of the blue pyrex). I walked away to work on something else in the kitchen, and the glass exploded! Had I been any closer, I would have been seriously hurt. Therefore, I have ceased to use any colored pyrex. I have not had any problem with clear glass, been using it for years.

Arkansas- USA

In my experience glass always shatters (or worse explodes) when subjected to temperature extremes (and they don't have to be too extreme either). In the past I've had a Pyrex oven dish shatter because I put frozen food to cook in the oven, and I've also had plenty of glasses shatter when I put hot liquids in them... in brief, glass is very sensitive to heat so it can't be used to heat or cook very cold or frozen food and should be handled with care while it is hot --placing it on a cork mat that insulates it from cold countertops (particularly granite ones) should work.

Just for general interest, in school we used to cut glass bottles with cold water and a thread. You put the thread where you want the bottle to cut, and then just light up the thread. The difference in temperature creates a clean and instant cut!

I would like to know if Sarah's dish was truly "Pyrex" or Anchor-Hocking. I think that sometimes Pyrex is considered a generic term.

I've had my Visions cranberry 1-quart saucepan for 16 years, and it's been a great little pot – the perfect size for cooking oatmeal and pasta. I've grown up with Pyrex and Corning Ware in the house, and have found our bowls and baking dishes to be dependable and long lasting. My mom uses the same pieces from her wedding, and I've inherited a set of Pyrex mixing bowls from my MIL that I love and use all the time.

On a recent trip to the Corning Ware store, I was happy to see that the new Visions pots were available without the nonstick coating, and since the coating in my pot is finally starting to wear off, I thought I'd replace it with a newer one, but it wasn't in stock. After reading the previous comments, I'll look for a slightly used pot (with thicker glass) instead, to be on the safe side. :)

About the thickness, is it safer to have thicker glass or thinner glass to prevent shattering? I heard thinner is better, but I am not sure. Starbucks was selling thin 2-layered glasses that can hold hot liquid a few months ago (I don't know if they still sell them). I am not sure if it can really withstand very hot liquid... In general, I trust Corningware a lot more than Pyrex. Thanks

I'll add myself to the list of people who have had Pyrex explode on them. I was microwaving bacon in a pyrex pan. After taking it out of the microwave I set it on the counter. It exploded a few seconds after I set it down sending glass, bacon and hot greese all over the kitchen. I had several small cuts and burns on my leg and foot.

Thanks Debra. Now I am waiting for the car accident.

Bob P, Hawii

march,2009 wrote to corningware re using pyrex in toaster oven/



(am single senior so using general oven to cook small quantities is a waste of electricity) company was most king & understanding & informative - pyrex not for toaster oven as heat too concentrated & can weaken cookware to point it will explode later/ feel that constant use of a pyrex cookware in a high temp oven would weaken & therefore the explosions/ corning suggested their stovetop vessels for the toaster oven & i feel it is the answer for general ovens/ seems the stovetop vessels are only periodically manufactured// ready about the case of cooking bacon in microwave with pyrex - cooking any food with high fat level in a microwave is just asking for trouble/ don't know why but seems like grease reacts quite negatively on any type of cookware in the microwave/ if you must microwave bacon do so in short cooking times/
go to www.corningware.com for more infomation regarding corningware/corelle/pyrex

I have used the blue pyrex baking 9x9 to make brownies for at least 5 years. It never exploded before. After reading all of these incidents, I will not use it to bake again. Espcially because I have little ones around. Thanks.

I have been reading all the posts in this thread.. I have a number of points I'd like to share on this.

1.) I have been cooking for some 45 years, and neither my grandmother, mother, or myself have had a pyrex dish self-explode. (Yes, I have had some pyrex break, but it was always due to my own error/stupidity.)

2.) Some of the posts in this thread talk about their pyrex bakeware shattering.

Some of these posts also include the fact that the bakeware was being used at a very high oven temperature;

OR that it was taken directly from a refrigerator and put in the oven;

OR that it was put in the oven during "preheating".

I was always taught to use pyrex bakeware at 350 degrees or lower (325 is preferred), as higher temperatures were not suitable to safely using glass bakeware (and should you need to use higher temperatures, use metal bakeware).

I was also taught that you never, ever take a very cold glass dish from a refrigerator (or freezer) and put it into a hot oven.. The thermal shock from the temperature extremes can cause it to break. You need to let such a dish come to room temperature first, and then put it in the hot oven.

Putting a glass bakeware dish in an oven, and then preheating the oven is essentially the same as trying to use the bakeware directly on your stovetop. When you are preheating, your oven is burning on full heat, and if you have glass bakeware in the oven, it is going to become thermally stressed by the high temperatures used to preheat the oven.

Having said all of the above, I do have to say that after removing the obvious "user error" incidents, there are a lot of more troubling experiences being posted here. However, they do seem to mainly have one thing in common... They are being experienced by people using newer pyrex "branded" cookware (with the different glass formulation).

Regarding stovetop pyrex cookware.. Yes, you should always use a metal trivet between your burner and pyrex stovetop cookware if your stove is any electric but a smooth ceramic top. Ceramic top stoves are already indirect heat, as the electric coils are spaced below the ceramic, and you do not need the additional spacing of a metal trivet.

Forget about the temperature. I washed a room temp measuring cup in tepid water. It exploded in my hand. A 4" shard of glass pierced my wrist requiring 5 stitches in the ER. Both hands were covered with shrapnel like cuts. It took a week to clean up the small and large glass fragments in the kitchen. It was a horrifying accident both for myself and my husband.

Dear LJR :: NEW HAMPSHIRE USA

You will have to forgive me, but I just don't believe what you are saying. Glass doesn't just shatter on it's own.

I don't know if you have noticed, but all these glass shattering incidents have people involved in them. Yup, not one of these glass shattering incidents describes a glass cookware item sitting overnight anywhere, and suddenly on it's own it shatters. That is the biggest clue that us humans are doing something to cause this breakage.

Now that I am saying this, I expect we'll hear from those who will claim their cookware was just sitting there for days, and it suddenly shattered, spraying the entire house with knifelike shards of high velocity glass.

Bubba,
I honestly believe it has something to do with resonance at the molecular level. Much like a high-pitch noise will shatter crystal after it resonates/vibrates for awhile. I don't believe Anchor-Hocking knew this would happen when they changed the formula but I do believe they won't be changing back to the more expensive original formula.
Yes. The measuring cup DID shatter in my hand 1.5-2 seconds AFTER the spoon left the cup. I just stood there in shock for a few minutes with only the handle intact.... in hand.

I have been using my Corning Visions glass cookware for 6 years with no problem. My mother has the same identical set for the past 20 years with no problems either. They are both older sets and used only on the stove top, to heat food or boil water. No frying or sauteing. My range is gas, my mothers electric. I love my glass cookware and am careful how I use it also.

I have never had any of my glass cookware shatter, or break. I recently found myself making meals for Cancer patients who were in chemo, and wanted to make one person a Macaroni Casserole that she could put in the oven for the final baking. Obviously, the dish had to be either glass, or metal. I decided to give away my small pyrex casserole dish, to allow her to just toss it in the oven. That meant I had to buy myself another dish, so I went shopping for the replacement. That is when I discovered something that many of those who complain about glassware may not have noticed.

There are two types of glassware - Prepware, and Bakeware. Prepware is not intended to take heat at all. It is intended as a mixing bowl only. Give it heat, and it will shatter. Give it a little heat and a little cool, and it will shatter. Look at it wrong, and it will shatter.

Bakeware is the real deal. It's what I use, and used properly, it will never shatter, unless you drop it on a hard surface, or add cool liquids to a hot dish. They even say on the instructions, don't place it on a cool surface when hot.

Prepware, and Bakeware look surprisingly similar. I wonder how many of these incidents have been caused by people using Prepware as Bakeware?