Silicone Bakeware Dangers: Fact or Fiction?

The dangers of silicone bakeware. Fact or fiction?

There are clearly some benefits to using silicone bakeware – easy cleanup, quicker bake time and cooling time. But with all of the great benefits of this popular bakeware, there still exist some silicone bakeware dangers.

Here are some tips to help you avoid the disadvantages of silicone bakeware:

1. Much of the silicone bakeware you find in your stores can be cheap. By saving money on your silicone bakeware, you are risking the quality of the bakeware and, ultimately, the final product.

2. While silicone is known to withstand high temperatures, poor quality silicone bakeware can easily get overused when baking with very high temperatures, leaving ugly marks and white spots. So once again, spring for good quality pans and spatulas if you are using silicone.

3. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions!

4. Silicone bakeware (especially pans) are far from sturdy. When baking cakes, place your silicone pan on top of a metal baking sheet before you pour the batter in. Then proceed to place the cake in the oven. Again, if unsupported, silicone bakeware can wobble around due to the heat of the oven, leaving you with misshapen cookies or brownies.

5. Not so much of a danger as an inconvenience – silicone bakeware is far more expensive than traditional glass or metal pans and cookie sheets and may not be worth the cost.

While silicone bakeware does provide easy and quick cleanup and a quicker cooling time, traditional glass and metal bakeware has been around for quite some time. My advice, stick to tradition and avoid the risk of silicone bakeware dangers.

Despite the dangers of not baking a top quality product, the FDA has approved silicone as a completely safe bakeware. It will not poison your food and it is not toxic to your own personal health. You can feel safe while using silicone bakeware and not worry about the safety of you or your family.

Here’s a great article with more detail about how the FDA has approved silicone as food safe.