There are good explosions and bad explosions in life. Watching fireworks explode in the sky on the 4th of July: good explosions. Watching fireworks tip over and shoot at you: bad explosions. Carrying in your baby and having explosions of oohs and ahhs at the cuteness thereof: good explosions. Carrying in your baby in one arm and Mexican food in the other, only to set them down to find guacamole had leaked down your arm so you lick it off only to realize that's the arm that carried in your baby: bad explosion. Taking a bite of dinner and having an explosion of awesome flavor hit your mouth: good explosion. Having your dinner blow up before it can reach your mouth: bad explosion.
Today's Pinstrosity goes right along with that last explosion.
The Original Pin:
Kristen found the delectable dish on Pinterest and knew that had to go on her dinner menu. "It looked amazing! I added extra veg, extra beans, and a little wheat spaghetti to make it last us longer. It was all done and smelled great, so I took it out of the stove and set it on my stove top (which is where I usually let my dishes cool)."
This point in dinner is always tantalizing. You're getting the last touches of dinner ready. Your horde is clamoring to be fed and can smell the goodness they are about to launch into. You're so proud of yourself for actually cooking that night and having dinner ready. And then...
"I heard this massive explosion (literally, it sounded like a small bomb) and went into the kitchen to find that the glass dish had shattered into a zillion pieces. I briefly hoped that I might salvage some of our dinner before realizing that the biggest piece of remaining glass in the whole thing was about the size of my palm. Other than that, mostly shards of quarter-size glass were everywhere."
"So much food waste. So much sadness. So much cleaning."
What can cause your dinner to explode, you ask? We'll tell you...but first one more story. Sadly, I've had this exact same experience. Well...I was making No-Flip-Oven Pancakes so not the exact experience...but close.
It was the night before mine and Cameron's road trip to Mississippi. We were up late packing and trying to get last minute stuff done. We hadn't had much dinner and there was some milk and eggs in the fridge that needed to be used up before we left, so I decided to put together No-Flip-Oven Pancakes (aka German Pancakes). I mixed it up, put it in the oven and went back to packing. Finally the timer yelled at us that dinner was done, but I was right in the middle of loading something, so I pulled the pan out of the oven and set it on the stove to cool while I finished that last errand I was working on. Not much longer after that smoke is pouring from the pan. I grab a hot pad, move the pan off the stove and we stand back in despair, looking at our smoldering dinner. Suddenly the pan exploded. It was loud! Shards of glass went everywhere. Luckily the side of the pan facing us stayed intact...we were just a few feet from the pan when it exploded and had the whole pan exploded we would have likely had shards of glass in our gut. There were glass shards and bits of dinner all over the place. And to boot, our house now smelled like burned eggs. Mmmmm.
Anyone guess what the problem is with both of these stories? A hot burner. For some reason one of the burners was on and Kristen and I both ended up setting our dinners (baked in glass pyrex pans) on the one hot burner. I still don't know why a burner was on with our stove...but it was. It shook us up pretty good, the experience could have been so bad. With Kristen's pan, I'm glad no one was in the kitchen as her whole pan exploded into flying shards of dinner death.
Lessons learned:
- Don't set the pans on the stove to cool. Just don't get in that habit. I know, it's easy. We're trying to break ourselves of the habit and it's hard. Take the extra second and counter space to pull out a hot pad and set the pan there. Then you know you'll never set anything on a burner that was left on by accident.
- Remember to turn off the burners when you're done using them. Everyone forgets every now and then...it does happen. Since the exploding dinner episode though I'm way more careful about checking to make sure everything is turned off when I'm done using it.
I hope everyone had a great Monday yesterday (I got to go visit my parents, brother, and grandparents...so I had a lovely day). Happy Tuesday everyone...you made it one day further. Give yourself a pat on the back.
It's not just that..google Pyrex glassware made in China. You'll find TONS of these stories. They changed the formula of the glass. Mine exploded right in my face about a month ago, now i'll only use my vintage thrift store pyrex in the oven..
ReplyDeleteThis has happened to me as well! A whole 9x13 dish of shepherd's pie wasted. Not to mention the glass shards EVERYWHERE! It even shot melted glass on my rug (which I then proceeded to step on which burnt & cut my foot). Lesson learned. I did find this article about how new pyrex dishes shatter much easier that the old school kind. http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2012/12/21/16049242-kitchen-calamity-reports-of-shattering-cookware-on-the-rise?lite
ReplyDeleteActually, glass baking dishes can explode like that for many reasons.
ReplyDeleteObviously, you don't want direct heat on it, like in the instance of setting it on a hot burner by accident.
Also, you CANNOT broil in a glass baking dish. You must use ceramic or another oven-safe dish for broiling. My brother broke (exploded) a nice pyrex baking dish just last week this way.
And, of course, just like any other glass, you can't put them in the oven and get them all hot, and then quickly cool them down. Like, don't run cold water on it, or put it immediately into the freezer or set it directly on ice or anything.
I think people often forget that glass really isnt a solid, it's a liquid. And every time you heat it up, you mess with the structural integrity
Oh I think almost everyone has done this.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago at Christmas dinner my SIL did this,luckily most of dinner had been taken out to the dining room because glass went everywhere and the remaining dishes in the kitchen had glass in them also.
Another possible cause: The dish had a crack in it that she didn't see.
ReplyDeleteAlso, never, ever, put a dish that is still chilled from the refrigerator into the oven. Always let it warm up to room temperature first.
http://todayhealth.today.com/_news/2012/12/21/16049242-kitchen-calamity-reports-of-shattering-cookware-on-the-rise?lite
ReplyDeletevery informative article about shattering glass bakeware, I personally won't use the stuff anymore, not worth the risk.
We had gas stoves growing up so that was never an issue... I love gas stoves. Once the flame is off, so is the heat. But remember those Formica(TM) or laminate counter tops that used to be everywhere before granite hit the scene? Yeah, my brothers and I ruined a few of those while learning how to cook. Loud POPs everywhere and lovely black holes in my mom's counter tops before we got in the habit of using the trivets or a heating pad. ^_^
ReplyDeleteOr we could remember not to use burners as trivets.
DeleteI've had electric all my life but I've never had this happen, either, because I use trivets. I mean, yes, I have used burners, but only if I know they're completely cool, and I always check before I put something on them. If they're hot enough to explode a glass dish, they're hot enough to burn a hand, burn a pot-holder, melt plastic utensils, etc. It's basic kitchen safety.
Pyrex has become known for issues like this. The newer method that they are using to make the glass is causing these explosions. So keep your eye out at thrift stores & garage sales for the older Pyrex (which is still good, and won't explode).
ReplyDeleteI had this happen to me as well ... I agree it doesn't happen now that I have a gas stove
ReplyDeleteAlso be aware that some ovens VENT their heat through one of the stove burners. That could also be a cause.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Our stove gets hot hot HOT when I use the oven. Trivets and hot pads are always the best option.
DeleteThat's how I melted a plastic bowl, which really shouldn't have been on the stove to begin with, but it was because the vent.
DeleteYep, mine's the back left. A very good thing to know
DeleteYes! I always keep my tea kettle, filled with water on the element with the vent so that I don't accidentally put something on it while it's hot from the oven being on (the water in the kettle is to protect the kettle...)
DeleteI had a glass pyrex dish explode in my hands over the sink. After getting stitches, I wrote the company a nasty note, billed them.....and they sent me an entire set, refunded me, and paid my doctor bills! They are a good company....but sometimes extreme heat or cold can make them blow up.
ReplyDeleteGood lord, that's actually more terrifying than funny sad. I'm so glad no one was hurt in either story, but I'm sure there are worse stories about exploding glass. I usually have my non-stick metal teflon pans (which I know are bad because of the teflon coming off of the pan and you ingesting it - but at least they don't explode) and for whatever reason am never really one who has left my stuff to cool on the stove. I guess I've always assumed since the oven is hot the stove is hot and it won't cool fast enough. lol
ReplyDeleteThis happened to my aunt with lasagna a few years ago! Ever since then I've been overly cautious about this sort of thing! Always having a hot pad underneath glass and only putting things on the counter!
ReplyDeleteWe had this happen on a BBQ once. We have one of those stove top side attachment things and set a pyrex there full of skewered meat to keep warm while the rest cooked. Thankfully it was outside. We did some research and if I remember correctly it was a specific production plant that didn't have to meet the same standards. And this was a common happening! So scary. I would pee my pants if this happened to me! haha. Glad everyone is safe!
ReplyDeleteThat was my first thought as well. I learned this lesson the hard way (long time ago) when I baked cookies and left the plastic bowl on the burner that has the vent. :S
ReplyDeleteWe have a glass stove top, so I always - always put down a pot-holder before putting a warm form on it, or yell at my boyfriend to do it.
ReplyDeleteThe glass-top electric oven's stove tops show you quite clearly that a burner is on (it glows red), so I'm not really afraid of that, more that I'm afraid of chipping the stove top.
Have not exploded any forms yet, but have broken some plates.
Actually, if the glass pan cools too rapidly, it will cause it to explode also. My daughter did the dishes as usual one night and put my favorite glass cake pan in the cabinet where it belongs. All was well until about 1am when I heard an explosion. It sounded like someone had shot a bullet through the window in our front room. When I went out to check what had happened (crawling through the house all army style), I couldn't figure out what had happened. Until I heard another explosion from inside of my cabinet. I opened it up to find the glass shards all over the inside of the cabinet. So I cleaned it out and put it all on the table in the kitchen. A few hours later, I heard it explode again and found even more shards covering my kitchen floor. I looked it up and found that Pyrex dishes can explode like this from cooling too quickly. Very very weird though!!
ReplyDeletePamela, you must have had hidden cracks in the glass itself because the act of washing and drying the pans should have cooled them. They were your favorites, so you've used, washed, dried and stored them multiple times with no issues. Then one night, blammo!, even when you took them out and set them on your island with circulating air, and then again, Blammo!.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Liz Wilckum. Most stove top ovens vent the oven through one of the burners. Most of the stoves I've cooked on vented out the right back burner, but in the apartment I lived in before we moved to where we are now, the stove vented through the right FRONT burner. I had to learn quickly not to put ANYTHING on the front of the stove ever.
I've heard about pyrex explosions but I've never had it happen. Then I realized that all my pyrex is old. When I got married, my mom and dad were selling their large beach house and were looking for a smaller place. So Mom gave me tons of her vintage pyrex and other items she knew I'd need. She wouldn't part with her All Clad chicken pan, though. I hate the way non-stick spray turns brown on pyrex, so all the casserole dishes I've bought have been pottery, mostly Le Cruset that I find on sale at TJ Maxx and Homegoods. I love to cook and bake barefooted, and I would be in a world of hurt if I had pyrex explode in the kitchen. I'd be very worried about my two cats that come in to supervise and volunteer to taste the ingredients and finished dishes. An exploded pan could hurt them and would definitely scare them to the point they would NEVER get out from underneath our bed. EVER.
Scary! You can actually see that the burner is on in the picture!
ReplyDeleteWe learned the hard way that NEW Corningware isn't able to be put on the stovetop. Unless you spend way more to get the stovetop Corningware. Which we do now. We have some really old AWESOME Corningware that we have always been able to put on the stovetop to cook things (I know the things that broke in the stories weren't intentionally put on a hot burner, but still....) and it seems impervious to harm. haha My husband even dropped one from counter height onto a tile floor and it just bounced.
They just don't make stuff like they used to....
Aside from the new Pyrex that has been known to explode (and did in my friend's oven) - you should never set something from the oven on a glass top stop because the glass on the stove can shatter too.
ReplyDeleteOn Xmas eve 2012, my sister exploded 1 of my glass baking dishes. How, you ask? by using it to try & sear the beef roast before popping it in the oven.. *facepalm*
ReplyDeleteI never used burners as trivets until I got a gas stove. Fire is a nice visual reminder that a burner is ON. =D
ReplyDelete