Cooking With Glassware In Your Kitchen

!±8± Cooking With Glassware In Your Kitchen

With all the new innovations in cookware, the old stand bys are being left behind, but the old stand bys are sometimes the better way to go. Glassware is one of my favorite cooking vessels. You can put this in the oven, then cover it and put the leftovers in the freezer, and when you want to eat it again put it in the microwave.

Glass pans are great for casseroles, baked goods, and anything else you can think of. There are some things to keep in mind when using this type of pan. Whatever you cook you need to spay non-stick cooking spray on the bottom and sides of the pan to prevent sticking, you might also want to line the pan with foil this will also help prevent your food from sticking. Another thing to keep in mind is that you may have to adjust the temperature. Some recipes will call for a change if you are cooking in a glass pan. Therefore, if you're baking brownies and the box says to cook at 350 degrees then you may want to cook them at 325 degrees.

You will be surprised at how easy it is to clean glassware. Depending on how dirty you get it. You can use steel wool but that can scratch the glass so be very careful. If it has not too dirty, you can put it in the dishwasher. When there it stuck on food that is stubborn and will not come up you can put water in the pan and put it in the microwave for a minute or two and use a spatula to get the stuck on food to lift.

Glass cookware is wonderful to cook in you don't have to worry about minerals leaking into your food like some of the other pans are said to do. They are also good if you want to cook individual servings of fondant or dip because if you use little glass desert cups you can then put them in the microwave when needed. If you are like me, I want to see if my casserole is bubbling and almost done without opening the oven door or lifting the foil, so with the clear glass casserole pan you can do this. Making meatloaf is one of my favorite things to do and cooking it in my loaf pan is great. My meatloaf cooks evenly and comes out with a great crust all the way around. Cooking on the stovetop is different and takes some getting used to. You can easily burn your food so when you first start using them. Watch them closely, once you get use to them, you will be able to walk away and not be scared you are going to burn anything.

Most people use their microwave to just heat up leftovers or frozen dinners. Your microwave can do so much more. We use to call my mother the microwave queen because she could cook anything in the microwave and this was before there was microwave safe cookware in every store. One year she cooked an entire thanksgiving dinner in the microwave, I do not know how she did it but it tasted really good. Now you can find them anywhere. Just know that not everything is microwave safe, the box or directions will tell you if it is.

Glass cookware is great for freezing leftovers. The lids fit tight and if you want extra protection then you can put some plastic wrap over the top. When you take your glass pan out of the freezer let it sit on the counter for a little while. You do not want to put it in the microwave or oven straight from the freezer because the radical change in temperature could cause the pan to brake. I have Pyrex glassware it is very sturdy and can go from the oven to the freezer to the microwave and then the dishwasher; this makes it easier to clean up because you only have one pan to clean. One thing that is very important is to put a piece of freezer tape on the lid with what is in the pan. You may not remember what is in it if it's been a couple of months. Having a night of dinner surprise may not go over so well.

Glassware is not that expensive I recommend that you start with a 9"x11" pan and see how you like it I say this because this is the pan that I use almost every day I bake brownies and au'gratin potatoes. They come out better if you cooked them in a disposable pan and if you spray the pan with cooking spray, they do not stick. If you want a set of glassware then you can go to your local discount store to get them pretty cheap.

Pyrex is not the only glassware out there; there are many others that are just as good. You need to follow their directions on how to clean and store them but glass pots and pans are pretty easy to take care of.