http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x68874Oh my.
The empressof all (1000+ posts) Mon Sep-14-09 06:51 PM
Original message
Silicon Bake Ware
I was given a Silicon Heart shaped bake pan. I really love it's non stick properties but why is it so hard to get clean. Mine is Pink and I also noticed it stains around the top pretty easily.
So how do you clean the Silicon? I've soaked, and tried the top rack but if nothing is suppose to stick why does it still feel dirty? I don't think I'm digging this stuff.
Isn't silicon a chemical?
franksolich uses only cast iron, stainless steel, and Corningware for cooking, all which are easier than strawberries-and-cream, to keep immaculately clean.
supernova (1000+ posts) Mon Sep-14-09 07:11 PM
Response to Original message
1. My bakeware stays clean
the silpat mats, not so much.
The sparkling husband primitive:
Stinky The Clown (1000+ posts) Mon Sep-14-09 07:20 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. I have no bakeware ..... but yep .... that Silpat gets dirty fast
Truth be told, however, I often use one of mine under the broiler. Like for crab cakes.
buzzycrumbhunger (668 posts) Tue Sep-15-09 07:46 AM
Response to Original message
3. I haven't noticed that
I throw mine in the DW, which may be key. I also have dark red, which probably hides crud better than pink.
Of course, "silicon" is sand. I assume you mean silicone. *ducks*
The unfrocked warped primitive:
Warpy (1000+ posts) Tue Sep-15-09 08:47 AM
Response to Original message
4. Clean bakeware?
How very odd. My half sheet pans started out their lives in a restaurant 30 years ago shiny stainless. They're dented and encrusted. My cookie sheets, plain steel, are black now. My loaf pans, unused since I discovered it's nicer to bake in a Dutch oven, are also black from years of use. The brioche pans are still tinwear and shiny, but that's from rare use. Things I use frequently look it.
While I know it's advantageous to keep dishes and glasses pristine, I think it's far less so for bakeware. If you're really concerned with a little crud on the cake pan, why not take the cake out of it to serve?
I agree with Julia, what the guests don't know is good for them. Crud on bakeware doesn't hurt anybody since oven temperatures are high enough to kill the wildlife. Some crud, like my bread pan crud, actually helps the bread brown evenly.
While there might be a certain thrill in using a new pan for the first time, it's often the well loved and encrusted pans that do a better job.
(oh, and my Silpat is really crummy looking. As long as it works, I tolerate it.)
Grandma:
hippywife (1000+ posts) Tue Sep-15-09 10:16 AM
Response to Reply #4
5. Pretty much describes most of my bakeware and all the reasons I love it so much.
The Bayer aspirin primitive:
cbayer (1000+ posts) Wed Sep-16-09 07:35 PM
Response to Original message
6. I hate it and am going to toss the ones I have.
At first I though they were perfect, particularly since I could virtually roll them up for storage.
But the cleaning is a nightmare (particularly if you have no dishwasher). They just seem to stay greasy and I don't even like to touch them.
And anything with weight to it becomes a juggling act when you try to get the pan out of the oven.
One last little story:
One night I had guests over and had planned a strawberry shortcake for dessert. I had a silicon cookie sheet which I planned to bake the shortcakes on. Shortly after putting them in the over, flames and smoke started to pour from the oven. This, needless to say, could be a major catastrophe on a boat.
But the error was mine. I have a non-slip pad that I usually put dinner on so it doesn't slip around on. It was the same color and size as the silicon cookie sheet. I had used it instead.
The fire went out quickly and did not spread, but the oven was covered with sticky, molten blue plastic which it took weeks to remove!
kcass1954 (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-17-09 12:34 AM
Response to Original message
7. I had a silicone bundt pan, and loved it - for several years.
Cake didn't stick - super easy to clean - it was great. One day, it developed some sort of sticky film on it that I could not wash off. I had to toss it. I don't have a bundt pan right now, and I miss it.
buzzycrumbhunger (668 posts) Thu Sep-17-09 04:20 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. Straight ammonia would probably have fixed that
For about 69¢ a bottle, good old Parsons can out-clean a lot of newfangled chemicals. (Just don't mix it with chlorine or use near pets.) I use it straight to clean the metal filter on my range hood, which gets really disgusting, and a quick soak rinses it shiny like new. I think that's comparable to the oily film that builds up on cookware, so should work the same.
With a little elbow grease and a ScotchBrite or SOS pad, it also shines up aluminum--including the screens on my lanai and that disgusting little broiler pan in my toaster oven.
Warpy (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-17-09 06:56 AM
Response to Reply #8
9. I wish I could find the stuff
The local market doesn't carry it and neither does Wally's.
One great thing to do with it for a really crusty thing like a broiler pan or stove hood vent is to soak the offending thing in a dishpan and put the whole arrangement into a black plastic trash bag out in the sun. Leave it for a couple of hours and the goo will just melt off.
You do want to be careful with it, gloves and eye protection are a must. Some people also use masks but that's gilding the lily and doesn't work particularly well.
buzzycrumbhunger (668 posts) Thu Sep-17-09 08:57 AM
Response to Reply #9
10. Say it ain't so!
I've never had trouble finding it--it's usually tucked away on a bottom shelf, but I can usually find at least one bottle of plain and one of lemon (not sure the lemon scent improves this stuff at all. . .) You can find it online, of course, but in this case, four gallons sounds like overkill.
Another great use for ammonia is to drizzle it around your yard to repel animals, who think something else has come around to pee and their favorite spots. It's worked for me on 'possums, armadillos, and cats who thought my succulent garden was their litter box. You do have to repeat every few days and after a rain.
Brilliant idea with the garbage bag!
Gee. . . I have managed to hijack a perfectly good thread here, haven't I?
Warpy (1000+ posts) Thu Sep-17-09 09:04 AM
Response to Reply #10
11. Well, it is the best way to get greasy scuzz off bakeware so it's not much of a hijack.
