New Silicone Muffin Pans
Dec. 26th, 2007 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebToday Robin and I went shopping at an outlet mall. I'm not convinced that outlet malls have great deals, but I do sometimes find things to buy.
Today I got some silicone baking pans. I got a second mini-muffin pan (for party food) and two regular muffin pans (for breakfast muffins, where I do actually want a whole one). I like the idea of muffins and cupcakes--individual servings that don't have to be cut. Only they're hard to get out of the pans unless you have a cupcake liner, but cupcake liners seem such a waste. So now I have these pans.
Also I couldn't resist two tiny train-engine-shaped pans. They were right next to the heart-shaped pans. Sure, you can express your love with heart-shaped cake, but wouldn't train-shaped cake be even better?
After getting home, I googled for more information about silicone baking pans. I learned that things baked in them either never stick, always stick, stick only when you use cooking spray, stick only when you don't use cooking spray, or don't stick at first and then they start sticking after several uses. Things either cook evenly or the part on top cooks more quickly than the parts touching the sides of the pan or they cook unevenly in a completely unpredictable way. Things either brown evenly or they don't brown at all. The pans either maintain their shape perfectly or warp in the dishwasher. It takes either more or less time to cook things in them than in other kinds of pans. And professional bakers may love these but regular people may hate them so much that they trash them along with their failed baking goods. Silicone pans may or may not leach toxins. Some people feel that the pans are too floppy and thus a big mess waiting to happen; I assume they don't realize that you should always set them on a cookie sheet when using them.
Everyone agrees that these pans should be washed before the first use. They also agree that silicone is not a conductor of heat but an insulator, which does seem to make for a very odd cooking pan material. So it makes sense that things wouldn't burn but also wouldn't brown on the edges and, because of the nonstick properties, might not rise as high in the pans as in other pans. It's possible that any negatives are less extreme in small baked goods (like muffins) than in large ones (like bundt cakes).
So I'll have to get back to you on my results. As I've already written, my first attempt was a failure (uneven cooking), but I still want to attribute that to using the toaster oven and forgetting to move the cooking rack down first. I had no problems with sticking, even though I just poured the batter right into the pan without any other preparation.
Today I got some silicone baking pans. I got a second mini-muffin pan (for party food) and two regular muffin pans (for breakfast muffins, where I do actually want a whole one). I like the idea of muffins and cupcakes--individual servings that don't have to be cut. Only they're hard to get out of the pans unless you have a cupcake liner, but cupcake liners seem such a waste. So now I have these pans.
Also I couldn't resist two tiny train-engine-shaped pans. They were right next to the heart-shaped pans. Sure, you can express your love with heart-shaped cake, but wouldn't train-shaped cake be even better?
After getting home, I googled for more information about silicone baking pans. I learned that things baked in them either never stick, always stick, stick only when you use cooking spray, stick only when you don't use cooking spray, or don't stick at first and then they start sticking after several uses. Things either cook evenly or the part on top cooks more quickly than the parts touching the sides of the pan or they cook unevenly in a completely unpredictable way. Things either brown evenly or they don't brown at all. The pans either maintain their shape perfectly or warp in the dishwasher. It takes either more or less time to cook things in them than in other kinds of pans. And professional bakers may love these but regular people may hate them so much that they trash them along with their failed baking goods. Silicone pans may or may not leach toxins. Some people feel that the pans are too floppy and thus a big mess waiting to happen; I assume they don't realize that you should always set them on a cookie sheet when using them.
Everyone agrees that these pans should be washed before the first use. They also agree that silicone is not a conductor of heat but an insulator, which does seem to make for a very odd cooking pan material. So it makes sense that things wouldn't burn but also wouldn't brown on the edges and, because of the nonstick properties, might not rise as high in the pans as in other pans. It's possible that any negatives are less extreme in small baked goods (like muffins) than in large ones (like bundt cakes).
So I'll have to get back to you on my results. As I've already written, my first attempt was a failure (uneven cooking), but I still want to attribute that to using the toaster oven and forgetting to move the cooking rack down first. I had no problems with sticking, even though I just poured the batter right into the pan without any other preparation.
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no subject
on 2007-12-27 05:09 am (UTC)Good movie, btw. Have fun with your pans!
no subject
on 2007-12-29 05:57 am (UTC)outlet malls
on 2007-12-29 04:49 pm (UTC)I tend to buy shoes at the Reebok store in the outlet mall because they always have something on sale that will do the job. It is the only deal that I ever find there.