What is Pyrex?

What is Pyrex?

What do you think of when you think of the word “Pyrex”? Chances are you picture that typical clear glass measuring cup that says “Pyrex” in its classic red writing. What you might not know, is that there is a fairly extensive history to Pyrex and that it has now been around for nearly 100 years! Pyrex was created nearly a century ago (in 1915) but what you might not know is that the famous, heat-tempered glass was actually invented for the use in railroad lanterns by Corning Glass scientists. The glass was used for multiple industrial purposes by 1913. This is when Bessie Littleton asked her husband to bring home some glass where to use in place of a cooking dish she had broken. Her husband brought home some used, sawed-off battery jars for her to try. To their amazement, the glass worked amazingly! From there, the famous Pyrex brand was created and has remained an iconic brand of cookware ever since!

Pyrex has not only offered great, useful cookware over the past 99 years but they have released some really neat, unique pieces over the years as well. Pyrex has continually offered some promotional and seasonal pieces that are just downright awesome! Take a look around online and you will quickly learn just how much Pyrex has had to offer over the years. Chances are, you will also notice that there are some very serious collectors of Pyrex pieces! Many articles and blogs can be found that showcase some of the finer pieces that Pyrex has sold in the past century. In addition to making great cookware, Pyrex is also known for making great pieces for scientific laboratory purposes and even telescope lenses!

Pyrex was originally produced by Corning and is now produced by World Kitchen. The difference between the glassware produced by the two companies is actually quite noticeable. For instance, when looking at a glass measuring cup from each you will most likely notice two distinct differences in the appearance. The Corning made measuring cup has a simper, all uppercase font that says “Pyrex” and the glass is completely clear while the World Kitchen made measuring cup will have a logo which is bolder and contains lower case letters. The glassware produced by World Kitchen also tends to have a bluish tint, due to the composition of the glass.  Over the years, Pyrex has broadened their range of offerings which now include glass Tupperware and storage containers.

At almost 100 years old, Pyrex has certainly proved itself to be one of the most reliable and useful glass types on the market, especially for cookware, food storage, and laboratory sciences. Do some research online and you will find the vast array of pieces that Pyrex has produced over the years and just how crazy some people go for the pieces. If you have not tried cooking with Pyrex, I would certainly highly recommend it – after all, the company didn’t make it 100 years selling low-grade products. I hope this short article has given you a bit more knowledge about Pyrex! Now get cookin’!