Is Silicone Silly or Useful?

Silicone here, silicone there, silicone everywhere. One of the hottest trends in culinary circles is silicone. The question always seems to be, “Does it work?” Or sometimes we get, “How do you like this stuff?”

I understand people’s skepticism. I am the type of person who is wary of new things and always takes a wait and see approach. I am rarely an early adapter. In the culinary world, the entry product is usually very expensive and fresh from the professional kitchen environment or development “lab”. In my opinion, products get better as the manufacturers refine products, often based on user feedback and market response.

Let’s talk a little about what this product is and how it can best be used in our home kitchens. First, what is silicone?

Definition

Silicone is a term used much like plastic – it covers a lot of material. Silicone can be used for lubricating oils, caulking, heat tiles on the space shuttle and yes, breast implants. Oh, and there may be a few kitchen uses also.

——————–From Wikipedia – the technical junk…

Silicone is often mistakenly referred to as “silicon.” Although silicones contain silicon atoms, they are not made up exclusively of silicon, and have completely different physical characteristics from elemental silicon.

The word “silicone” is derived from ketone. Dimethylsilicone and dimethyl ketone (a.k.a. acetone) have analogous formulas, thus it was surmised (incorrectly) that they have analogous structures. The same terminology is used for compounds such as silane (an analogue of methane).

A true silicone group with a double bond between oxygen and silicon does not exist in nature; chemists find that the silicon atom forms a single bond with each of two oxygen atoms, rather than a double bond to a single atom. Polysiloxanes are called “silicone” due to early mistaken assumptions about their structure.

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The basic difference between silicone polymers and “organic” polymers is in the molecular make-up. Silicone or Dimethyl Polysiloxane, is made up of silicone/oxygen linkages, the same found in high temperature materials such as quartz, glass, and sand. Natural rubber, or organic polymers, are made up of carbon/carbon linkages. Through altering the chemical make-up of the silicones by adding phenyls, vinyls, and flourines, significant variations can be achieved. Therefore molds from different manufacturers can vary in their quality and final results. Did everyone get that?

History

The first silicone product was invented in 1965 by M. Guy Demarle, in Northern France. He was seeking a better way to bake baguettes and invented the first non-stick baguette baking trays or filets – as they are known in France – using non-stick silicone coatings. A few years later, Mr. Demarle went on to invent and create the original SILPAT. Silpat is a fiberglass weave covered in silicone. The sheets were shaped to fit the various metal baking sheets used by bakers. It allowed the bakers to quickly and easily bake multiple times without going through multiple sheets of parchment paper. The invention proved to be a great boon to bakers as the material was found to be so non-stick that neither chocolate, nor candy nor most anything would stick to it. The largest sizes are called Roul-Pat and are used for kneading and working dough or candy.

I use Silpat for baking cookies, biscuits, scones and the like. I use it under my pie pans to catch dripping filling. Even if something looks burned on, it’s silicone so, it washes off easily! One can also use it under chicken or meatloaf as it roasts in the oven. It is truly a wonderful product.

Over the years, creative people began to explore many other uses for silicone. As I understand it, the first products were made for professional bakers and came in the form of intricately detailed pans for baking and dessert molds. It quickly gave professional chefs the ability to create “wow!” baked goods for appreciative diners.

As with most technological culinary advances, it took some time for the products to be affordable and available to the average consumer. The first products I became aware of were Gastroflex by, the French company Bourgaet. Gastroflex was once the only choice for the consumer. Gastroflex remains one the most expensive and, some say, best molds on the market. They make only small pastry shaped molds. Nothing in the larger shapes. Many companies make this bakeware today, including SiliconeZone, de Buyer and Le Creuset.

Key Features

There are many factors which play into the quality of this product. The first and easiest to determine is the amount of silicone in the product. Cheaper silicone bakeware will get a bright white strip in the middle when pinched. What does this matter? Well, it means more bulk fillers, and more bulk fillers means lesser performance, compromised heat stability and shorter life span. It will have a much lower cost but inferior temperature tolerances, will probably flake and wear out under normal use. As with most things, the lower price means some “corner was cut”.

The second factor you want to consider is the thickness of the walls. What you are looking for here is evenly balanced thickness. It is generally believed that if it is too thin heat doesn’t transfer quickly enough, too thick and it takes too long to transfer. Now defining what is too thin or too thick is tough. Gastroflex, de Buyer and Silicone Zone are thicker, while Le Creuset is thinner. All seem to work well enough. In my observation, I am not sure I can say whether this makes all that much difference. Of course, I have only used the bakeware from the better manufacturers.

All silicone bakeware is flexible – it is one of the key benefits. It can be stored curled up or be put in the dishwasher, bent around posts and it will spring back to its former shape. This flexibility is the main concern for many people. It can be difficult to carry a filled “pan” from counter to oven and back. I found it disorienting at first, but you learn to adjust how you move. Most of us are used to just quickly grabbing our filled metal bakeware and tossing it in the oven. Obviously, you can’t do that with silicone bakeware. The easiest solution is to place the pan on a cookie or half sheet pan, fill it and place it in the oven. I found for the smaller pans, such as madeleine, muffins, cupcakes, brioche, if you hold the ends stretched taut with both hands and carefully move to the open oven you shouldn’t have any problems. However, if the pan seems unstable to you, by all means put it on a cookie sheet and take it to the oven. An exception to this method may be the silicone cake pans or square bakers. Their width combined with the flexibility are just too unstable to attempt to carry to the oven. I suggest always using a cookie sheet for those. Deeper pans such as bundt/kugelhopf should present less of a problem.

Flexibility will be very beneficial when it comes time to unmold the baked items. Being able to bend or twist the pan makes unmolding less challenging. I do recommend that you follow the same general rule as when using metal pans – allow the baked goods to cool a bit before unmolding. This cool down period allows the crusts/sides to firm up and be more able to stand on their own. Not only does this allow for the completion of the carryover cooking, but as the baked goodies cool, steam is released which helps the baked goods release easier. The beauty of silicone is that you are a lot less likely to get sugar, fat or other things sticking to the sides , corners or top. You know how it is, your muffins rise up over the top and stick on an area you didn’t think to grease. Not a problem with silicone, the whole pan is made of the same non-stick surface as the “cup” area. Of special note, silicone cools down much more quickly than does metal. This makes it possible to safely handle and refill these molds in shorter amount of time.

Performance

If you own a pizza or baking stone, make sure you remove it before baking. This rule isn’t limited to silicone bakeware. If you leave that stone in the oven, even metal pans will scorch on the bottom. The stone transfers too much heat directly to the bottom of loaf, baguette and silicone bakeware.

As for baking, I find the performance very good. I have used the silicone molds for everything from madeleines, to cakes and brioche. My first experience was with muffin pans. I baked some in metal pans and some in the silicone. The results were almost identical and of course the muffins popped right out of the silicone. The silicone was easier to clean up also. The browning is even and consistent. I think I was surprised how well some things browned, particularly when I made brioche. You may notice a slight sheen on the side of the baked goods that were in contact with the silicone mold. This is normal and not a problem.

Remember the additional beauty of the silicone molds are that they can be just as easily used for frozen or refrigerated desserts. Here if/when one is ready to unmold the dessert, you will have to use a tray or sheet to catch and support the dessert.

In all this discussion, we haven’t mentioned the shapes much. All the pastry molds are connected sheets/cups like metal cupcake pans. The sizes and shapes of baking “pans” is quite extensive now. There is nary a form which doesn’t have a silicone counterpart. The only individual size molds in silicone, that I am aware of are those made to look like cupcake papers. I have recently seen some smooth sided individual dessert molds, but only online as of this writing. The individual molds are easier to unmold or deal with for serving frozen/refrigerated desserts and of course flan or creme caramel type desserts.

Also, another great use of silicone molds is chocolate making. Most standard candy or chocolate molds are made of durable plastic. The silicone version is vastly superior to the rigid plastic ones. In addition to special chocolate and candy molds, you can use your molds for cupcakes, madeleines, brioche, and so on to shape chocolate cups for fanciful desserts using ganache or gelatin. The cupcake pans make great chocolate cups as do the brioche ones. The madeleines can make a nice shell shaped chocolate shape. You can also make various frozen or chilled desserts in them. You can use the chocolate molds for fancifully shaped butter to impress your friends at dinner parties.

I have thought about using the cupcake molds for individual savory dishes where you serve a stacked dish like potatoes or a rice. You’d have to put a plate or platter on top before unmolding them.

So as you see, while not necessarily better than metal bakeware for traditional baked goods, silicone is much more versatile.

As for non-bakeware uses, you now see silicone in rolling pins, egg/pancake rings, bowl spatulas, coating for turning spatulas and tongs, ingredient or pinch bowls, measuring cups, ice cube molds, pot holders, oven mitts, trivets, even bowl lids, splatter screens and pan covers. Silicone is microwave safe, oven safe, dishwasher safe and won’t break or dent if dropped.

Care

Clean up is a breeze with silicone bakeware. Even if something burns on it, soaking or rinsing it usually takes care of the problem. As with Silpat, use only a sponge and mild soapy water to clean these products. I ruined my first Silpat by scrubbing it too hard with a nylon scrubby.

It can be stored in spaces where metal could not and can be bent around supports in the dishwasher.

Click these links to buy some silicone bakeware….

Gastroflex

SiliconeZone

de Buyer

Le Creuset

Sample photos of various molds:

Pastry Molds

Cake Molds

Chocolate Molds

Conclusion

Are these pans useful? Yes. Should one get rid of your metal bakeware? Not necessarily. If your present metal bakeware is old, worn out or generally in need of replacing, yes, give serious consideration to buying silicone bakeware. If you have none or very limited bakeware or just feel like buying some new pans, again consider the silicone bakeware.

My opinion is that these silicone molds are best for the smaller baked goods. I like metal for my bundt cakes, and regular cake pans, just my personal preference. However the ease of use, quick clean up and make them viable options for all baked goodies.

Not everyone will like silicone bakeware. There are going to be people who have always used metal pans and just won’t like the difference in feel and preparation. There is a well known pastry chef in a big east coast city who calls silicone bakware the spawn of the devil. I don’t subscribe to that bombastic opinion and let’s face it, most pastry chefs are going to buy the cost effective solution for their kitchens. They can buy aluminum bakeware relatively cheap in mass quantities. I can, however, appreciate the feeling of someone who has baked for a long time and finds change difficult. We still sell hand cranked egg beaters in the store all the time, mostly to older people. Silicone bakeware will, if treated well, last a long time.

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