Almost every cook in every home and almost every Southern kitchen owns at least one Pyrex pot. These hardy plates and other everyday glassware are an absolute must-have for any cook.
You may have wondered, what are the chances of using durable Pyrex dishes, mixing bowls, serving pieces, or storage containers (which includes Corning Ware and Corelle) in the oven, and also, can you put Pyrex in the freezer? The quick response is yes, but you must follow a few simple rules.
In our guide, you can learn is Pyrex freezer safe and if can you freeze Pyrex glass with baked dishes rather than plastic dishes. By the end, you’ll see how extremely durable Pyrex is, how, unlike plastic, you can use it for adding hot foods, and how to prepare it for food storage in your freezer. (Learn How Long Do Uncrustables Last In The Freezer)
What Is Pyrex?
A culinary and laboratory product brand with a century of history, Pyrex was first created from borosilicate glass. However, the company sold the license, which led to the formula changing to more common and cheaper soda-lime glass.
Pyrex boasts that following this alteration, they temper the glass to make it more durable and capable of handling more extreme temperatures. Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the material’s chemical makeup is not quite as capable, and you need to avoid extreme temperature changes.
Thus, here you can look at the different types of glass and what this means to keep your precious Pyrex intact.
1. Soda-Lime Glass
90% of the glass used in products worldwide is soda-lime glass. Sand, sodium carbonate, and limestone make up its three major components. Although it is susceptible to thermal shock, it can
survive temperatures up to 158 degrees Fahrenheit.
Sand
Regardless of the type of glass, this is the initial component. Unbeknownst to you, if you heat those lovely white beach sand grains to a temperature of about 3090 degrees, they will transform into a liquid.
Sodium Carbonate
The chemical soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate, is added to help lower the sand’s unusually high melting temperature. The short answer is this helps with the final product’s molding process.
Limestone
Calcium and magnesium make up the sedimentary rock known as limestone. These materials are incredibly robust. They also help enhance the glass’s structural stability.
2. Borosilicate Glass
Borosilicate glass is also made with sand and soda ash. It does, however, contain alumina and boric oxide in place of limestone.
By incorporating other substances, the glass can gain helpful properties, including the capacity to tolerate hot and cold temperatures during baking and seeing it go in the freezer.
Boric Oxide
This substance is derived from the mineral borax. So yes, the glass and ceramic plates you use to eat off of and prepare your meals are made with this all-multipurpose cleaner and insecticide!
Making the glass container harder makes it less scratch-resistant and longer-lasting!
Alumina
Glass containers are quite fragile, as we are all aware. In reality, “a hard, brittle substance” is part of the glass definition. However, adding the chemical Alumina, also known as Aluminum Oxide, makes it possible for this stiff substance to become a bit easier to shape. (Read Can You Freeze Deviled Eggs)
3. Tempered Glass
The glass undergoing heat or chemical treatments to strengthen the substance is known as “tempered glass.”
A steady temperature of 470 degrees Fahrenheit can be handled by it! It also functions nicely in low temperatures, such as when you wish to freeze your Pyrex dish.
How To Tell Borosilicate Glass From Soda-Lime Glass?
Look at the dish’s edge while holding your Pyrex to the light. Glass made of borosilicate glass will not cloud. Instead, the soda-lime glass will be blue-green.
Pyrex Dish Use Overview
Here is the short answer and basic overview of using Pyrex containers for food preparation and storage. Avoid extreme temperature changes when using Pyrex or other glass bakeware or cookware. For example, very cold dishes shouldn’t be placed in a hot oven, and vice versa.
The dishes may crack or break because of a sudden temperature change. You shouldn’t place a glass pie plate directly into a preheated oven, for instance, if you wish to bake a previously frozen pie crust.
Instead, take the pie plate out of the freezer and place it at room temperature for the oven preheat process. By the time the oven preheats and is fully preheated, you should place the pie plate inside and bake the crust according to the oven.
Transferring a still-hot dish to the freezer is not a good idea if you made a casserole in Pyrex and wanted to freeze the leftovers.
Instead, let the hot glassware and casserole cool to room temperature before covering and freezing it.
Pyrex Tips
- Allow hot glassware to sit on a cooling rack or dry towel to cool, not on a wet or cool surface.
- Allow hot glassware to cool completely before cleaning or freezing.
- Avoid setting cold glassware on a cooktop or other hot surfaces.
- Avoid sudden temperature changes.
How To Defrost Food in Pyrex
Taking food out of the freezer a day before usage is the preferred method to help it defrost in Pyrex storage containers.
To safely allow the meal to refrigerator temperature, place the Pyrex dish in your refrigerator about 24 hours beforehand. Toughened glass is used in Pyrex’s construction to withstand thermal shock. (Read Can You Freeze Homemade Chicken Salad)
How do you go about freezing food in Pyrex?
Making sure your food is not too hot when you put it in the freezer is one of the greatest suggestions.
For the greatest results when freezing food in Pyrex, adhere to these 3 steps.
- Allow your food in the Pyrex dish so it can cool.
- Before putting the dish in the freezer, please place it at the temperature to let the food cool down.
- When the dish has cooled to a cool temperature, you can mark it with the date and food type and set it in the freezer with a tight-fitting cover.
It’s essential to allow in mind to leave space at the top of your container for food expansion, mainly if it contains liquids like soups or casseroles. This will prevent your food from overflowing over the Pyrex container’s edge and strewn across your freezer.
Individual meals should be prepared in compact containers because they are easily transported to work and reheat fast.
A hint for making the most of your freezer’s capacity. You might find it simpler to take the freezer shelves out and stack the Pyrex containers on top of one another because of how nicely they stack.
You will see what you have and the date the food was frozen if you remember to label things on the side.
How to stop Pyrex shattering?
It would be best if you avoided extreme temperature swings to avoid the chance that your Pyrex dish will break. This means you shouldn’t straight reheat frozen food in the oven or microwave oven. This sudden temperature change may put the glass under additional stress, causing the Pyrex container to crack or shatter.
Defrosting your food in the fridge a day before you need it is the most straightforward approach to avoid this. To microwave food, transfer it to a ceramic bowl or dish. Pyrex plates are safe in the microwave to eat straight from the bowl. Just ensure you avoid extreme temperature changes.
In addition, never place cold glassware on a hot surface. As your oven preheats, you should always place cold glassware on a cooling rack or cool surface. Also, do the same reverse if the food goes in the freezer. Pyrex is a durable dish, yet it can withstand so much when there is a sudden temperature change.
Can You Move Pyrex From The Freezer To The Oven?
Moving Pyrex directly from the freezer to the oven is not recommended. The best way to move Pyrex from the freezer to the oven is to defrost the food in the fridge the day before.
When the food has reached fridge temperature, put the dish and the contents on your work surface on a dry cloth for a short period to bring the dishes closer to room temperature before placing them in the oven. (Read Can You Freeze Chicken Livers)
How to freeze food in Pyrex
Cooked food can be frozen in Pyrex by letting it cool on the counter and then tightly fitting the cover.
- Making lasagna in two batches is a terrific idea for meals. It can be prepared in the Pyrex dish and then in the freezer.
- Before putting the lasagna in the freezer, don’t forget to make sure it is cool.
- Take the frozen lasagna out of the freezer the night before cooking, and put it in your fridge.
- Ensure it is defrosted before putting it on your bench to warm up to room temperature before putting it in your oven.
- Cook for the way of time required to finish cooking.
Freezing Cooked food in Pyrex
- Allow prepared lasagna to cool and stop steaming before freezing it in Pyrex dishes.
- It can be put in the freezer in whole or small serving portions after the temperature is no longer hot.
- The most important advice is to ensure the glass dish has cooled completely before you freeze food and seal the Pyrex cover.
- The name and the date you put your lasagna in the freezer should always be on the label.
Top Tips To Freeze Pyrex
With soap and water, thoroughly wash and dry the containers and lids you intend to use.
- The food going into the containers needs to be chilled. This is because water condensation will cause the contents of the container to become watery if the food is warm when the lid is placed on top and shut.
- Lift the edge of the lid after the food has been put inside to let the air out.
- Till the lid is completely sealed, press it down. The food will remain fresh for an extended period, and freezer burn can be avoided by eliminating all the air from the container.
- Ensure adequate space between the food and the lid when freezing soups and sauces so the food can expand while freezing. When a liquid is frozen into a solid, it expands.
- Use a container that is the size of the food you are storing. Liquids should have some additional room.
- Put containers on the container lids using a dry-erase marker. To make food identification easier, list the food item and the date it was packaged.
- When not in use, stack the containers in your spare freezer space.
