Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
Maybe one of you can tell me what I'm doing wrong. I just lost two oven-safe glass baking dishes in two separate, spontaneous glass baking dish explosions. I had just hand-washed the first one and was in the middle of hand-drying it when it spontaneously exploded, cutting up one of my hands and very nearly cutting off my toes. I cleaned, picked glass out of, disinfected, and bandaged myself, then swept and wiped down the kitchen, and, not taking the hint, started cooking. Being careful not to bleed on anything, I made some chicken breasts stuffed with feta, basil, tomato, and spinach in another glass baking dish, baked it for 15 minutes, took it out, and set it on the dry, room-temperature counter, where it spontaneously exploded. I'd just pulled my hand back and turned around, so it didn't get me, but it got our chicken. Argh. I don't think they exploded from thermal shock, since there weren't any extreme temperature differences, so what gives?
Colin
10:59 PM | Colin
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# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
Are these Pyrex dishes? They can be temperamental, especially if they have any small scratches or cracks (points of weakness).
Glad to hear that you're ok.
12:10 AM | Haacked
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
Yeah, they were both Pyrex. I should remember that in case there's a class action lawsuit. I don't remember either dish having any cracks, but they might have been scratched.
06:29 AM | Colin
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
Hmmm.. what brand was the feta? :-)
11:08 PM | Daniel Moth
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
It was Athenos crumbled feta cheese with basil and tomato:
http://www.athenos.com/ProductInfo/bt6crumb_feta.aspx
It *could* be the feta!
11:19 PM | Colin
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
christmas 2004 I purchased a colbalt blue pyrex baking dish.. last night, March 22, 2005, while making dinner I removed the dish from my oven and set it on the counter to cool. As soon as I set it down, it exploded, showering me and my 13 year old son with blue glass. My son was in shock, as I was too. The glass hit me in the face, and chest area and one piece stuck into the top of my foot. My kitchen, my counter tops, sink, floor and even into the family room was loaded with blue glass. The dish did not have any scratches or cracks! thank God, my 3 year old was standing right behind me and was not injured. Now.... something has to be done about this... I took pictures. please advise.
01:16 AM | tracey
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
Here's some info about Pyrex explosions: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99265.htm
Here's what happened to some other people:
http://boards.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/WebX.fcgi?14@233.PFlubrRpSQM%5E0@.ef114da/118
To be safe it would be better to not use Pyrex or similar ovenware anymore.
Hope this helps.
Riona
08:40 PM | Riona
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
My wife and daughter just had simiar experiences this past week. Both dishes were glass Pyrex baking dishes. My wife had accidentally placed the baking dish on a warm burner. Realizing her mistake, she took it off and placed it on another part of the stove. She left the kitchen, and within a minute, the dish exploded. It broke into large sharp pieces, actually embedding some of the glass pieces into the tile floor. She would have, at the least, been seriously injured if she had been standing by the stove. I'm not sure of my daughter's situation, but was told it was similar.
09:23 AM | David M. Habben
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
I have had a horrible experience this evening with my Pyrex baking dish, I was making shake n bake pork chops I had them in the oven, after pulling them from the oven and placing the dish on my counter, I didn't even have my hand off of the dish and it exploded in a million pieces. It scared me half to death, with cuts on my hand I proceeded to clean up the mess, as for me this is the worse baking dish I have ever used and I couldn't wait to share my experience with someone else, hopefully somewhere this prevents someone else from having a severe catastrophe...Thank you..
06:50 PM | sabrina arnold
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
OK, First off GLASS DOES NOT EXPLODE it may shatter but not EXPLODE even my 4 year old knows that. Second, if you read the use and care instructions that came with you pyrex baking dish that would have never happened. When cooking meats and veggies that release liquid while baking you must add liquid to the dish prior to putting it into a pre-heated oven. So for those of you who were cooking meat or setting it on top of the stove that is your own fault for not reading the directions. I am sorry that you cannot read and you would just like a free pan. Misuse does not fall under warranty that is for sure. So the next time you folks buy any dishes makesure to read the use and care or you will find another dish on the floor. The loud noise you heard was a pop from the dish shattering not exploding in.
12:11 AM | TJG
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
TJG:
Well, one definition of "explode" is "to burst forth with sudden violence or noise from internal energy", which describes what happened to my baking dishes. The dishes each made a loud "crack!" noise, shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces, and sprayed the pieces across the kitchen in this sort of pattern:
http://www.geocities.com/david_charles_curran/safety/explosive.gif
This ConsumerAffairs.Com columnist would agree that the distinction between "explode" and "shatter" is just semantics:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/03/pyrex_panic.html
If your 4-year-old can distinguish between this and a "true" explosion, perhaps World Kitchen has an executive-level position for him/her. :)
Colin
08:46 AM | Colin
# RE: Spontaneous Glass Baking Dish Explosions
alright baking dishes may be due to the cause of temperature changes.
but how do you explain drinking glasses to explode?
saren
06:58 PM | saren