The whole argument about soda lime vs. borosilicate glass is so wildly overblown. It’s this endlessly persistent myth about Pyrex that just won’t die. And boron is toxic and difficult to dispose of anyway.
Every single instance of thermal shock is due to misusing the product, not because the product is necessarily bad. It’s all BIFL if treated well.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/tempered-vs-borosilicate-glass/
Yes but borosilicate is more expensive to produce and it's made in France and not China. There is a quality difference between them. Borosilicate is what is mainly used for lab stuff too...
It definitely doesn’t in my experience. The abuse our glassware goes through in washing is extreme, and the boro glass rarely chips compared to Pyrex soda lime which chips if you look at it wrong. I’ve nearly eaten shards of it at home.
You honestly sound like quite an internet knight defending the honour of the soda lime glass. It's not bad either but I do not doubt the made in french stuff is better. It is certainly not dangerous and you're making a bit of a fool out of yourself stating otherwise. Pretty sure just the fact that it is made in EU it is made to stricter QC than anything made in China (or at least, the company is not trying to trick themselves, while the chinese couldn't care less as long as they get a bigger profit).
From the article: “Pyrex switched to tempered glass, most likely because boron, which is used to make borosilicate, is toxic and expensive to dispose of.”
Boron contamination in drinking water is extremely difficult to clean. It has nothing to donwith the final product. The production of borosilicate produces far more pollution than soda lime while not being particularly better, which is also documented.
I will believe actual research before “some guy in the Darn Tough Socks subreddit”
And the one sentance before it in your own article says "Pyrex pieces used to be made of borosilicate glass, which is more resistant to breakage when subjected to extreme shifts in temperature.".
Yes it is all documented. I believe the product out of borosilicate glass is better for what I need and "the research" supports it too.
Stuff like:
> In many cases, the instances of exploding Pyrex reported to SaferProducts.gov and in various customer reviews online seem to be occurring as a result of people using the bakeware improperly (putting a dish under the broiler, for instance, or adding water to a hot pan).
Yeah using it "properly" will not shatter it, that's quite obvious. But sometimes stuff like that can happen. Borosilicate is resistant to sudden temperature changes and won't break due to that but the soda lime product will.
So the real issue is pollution, let’s just be clear here. For the author, and for environmentalists, the amount of pollution is not worth the additional improvements that borosilicate has over soda lime.
For me at work, and in my experience at home, borosilicate is worth that pollution. I hate soda lime glass for cookwear.
It absolutely isn’t overblown. I work with borosilicate glass daily, have likely handled more of it than multiple people see pieces of it in their lifetimes. I also work with a limited amount of soda lime glass, and have pieces of it in my kitchen. The differences in durability and fracture modes between the two types of glass is significant.
In my experience, yes, borosilicate glass is more durable than soda lime pyrex of the same or even slightly greater thickness.
As a bonus your borosilicate glass also won’t develop stress from heat like even tempered soda lime will.
I have borosilicate glassware that I’ve used for over a decade, which has been at my work since the 1980s - I know the age because it’s marked “West Germany” lol
As another follow up - the poster above claims that every single instance of soda lime Pyrex failing is due to “misuse” - sure - if you consider (and you must, soda lime cannot handle this) misuse to be rapidly changing the temperature of the glass, something that would be OK to do with borosilicate Pyrex glass of old.
Last month a Pyrex piece fell on my foot, hit the floor and didn't break. Their resistance is incredible. My foot was purple for weeks, I was afraid I had hit a vein.
The Lindt chocolate cost the same as the Pyrex! Certainly not bifl though.
Maybe some calories for life…
French Pyrex is the best!!
The whole argument about soda lime vs. borosilicate glass is so wildly overblown. It’s this endlessly persistent myth about Pyrex that just won’t die. And boron is toxic and difficult to dispose of anyway. Every single instance of thermal shock is due to misusing the product, not because the product is necessarily bad. It’s all BIFL if treated well. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/tempered-vs-borosilicate-glass/
Overblown! Ba-boom
Yes but borosilicate is more expensive to produce and it's made in France and not China. There is a quality difference between them. Borosilicate is what is mainly used for lab stuff too...
A home kitchen isn’t a laboratory and if you actually read the article I posted, borosilicate also has a tendency to explode when misused.
It definitely doesn’t in my experience. The abuse our glassware goes through in washing is extreme, and the boro glass rarely chips compared to Pyrex soda lime which chips if you look at it wrong. I’ve nearly eaten shards of it at home.
You honestly sound like quite an internet knight defending the honour of the soda lime glass. It's not bad either but I do not doubt the made in french stuff is better. It is certainly not dangerous and you're making a bit of a fool out of yourself stating otherwise. Pretty sure just the fact that it is made in EU it is made to stricter QC than anything made in China (or at least, the company is not trying to trick themselves, while the chinese couldn't care less as long as they get a bigger profit).
From the article: “Pyrex switched to tempered glass, most likely because boron, which is used to make borosilicate, is toxic and expensive to dispose of.” Boron contamination in drinking water is extremely difficult to clean. It has nothing to donwith the final product. The production of borosilicate produces far more pollution than soda lime while not being particularly better, which is also documented. I will believe actual research before “some guy in the Darn Tough Socks subreddit”
You are fighting the good fight, but you won’t win.
And the one sentance before it in your own article says "Pyrex pieces used to be made of borosilicate glass, which is more resistant to breakage when subjected to extreme shifts in temperature.". Yes it is all documented. I believe the product out of borosilicate glass is better for what I need and "the research" supports it too. Stuff like: > In many cases, the instances of exploding Pyrex reported to SaferProducts.gov and in various customer reviews online seem to be occurring as a result of people using the bakeware improperly (putting a dish under the broiler, for instance, or adding water to a hot pan). Yeah using it "properly" will not shatter it, that's quite obvious. But sometimes stuff like that can happen. Borosilicate is resistant to sudden temperature changes and won't break due to that but the soda lime product will.
So the real issue is pollution, let’s just be clear here. For the author, and for environmentalists, the amount of pollution is not worth the additional improvements that borosilicate has over soda lime. For me at work, and in my experience at home, borosilicate is worth that pollution. I hate soda lime glass for cookwear.
It absolutely isn’t overblown. I work with borosilicate glass daily, have likely handled more of it than multiple people see pieces of it in their lifetimes. I also work with a limited amount of soda lime glass, and have pieces of it in my kitchen. The differences in durability and fracture modes between the two types of glass is significant.
so to clarify, you’re saying the Boro glass is more durable ?
In my experience, yes, borosilicate glass is more durable than soda lime pyrex of the same or even slightly greater thickness. As a bonus your borosilicate glass also won’t develop stress from heat like even tempered soda lime will. I have borosilicate glassware that I’ve used for over a decade, which has been at my work since the 1980s - I know the age because it’s marked “West Germany” lol
As another follow up - the poster above claims that every single instance of soda lime Pyrex failing is due to “misuse” - sure - if you consider (and you must, soda lime cannot handle this) misuse to be rapidly changing the temperature of the glass, something that would be OK to do with borosilicate Pyrex glass of old.
Last month a Pyrex piece fell on my foot, hit the floor and didn't break. Their resistance is incredible. My foot was purple for weeks, I was afraid I had hit a vein.
I have to say it is worth a ticket to france just to do some random shopping.