Can You Freeze Food in Pyrex (Is it Safe?)
Pyrex makes some of the best, and perhaps the most popular, oven-proof dishes in the world. If you buy a Pyrex dish, then you pretty much have it for the rest of your life. They are that good. Now, we all know that you put a Pyrex glass dish in the oven, but can you freeze food in it?
Yes, you can freeze food in a Pyrex dish. You will have to take a few precautions e.g. letting the dish cool down before you place it into the freezer. However, as long as you treat the Pyrex dish with care, then you can freeze it just as well as you can place it into the oven.
As I said, there are a few precautions that you will need to take, both with putting the Pyrex into the freezer and taking it out. This means that I have a lot more information that I want to share with you.
Can You Freeze in Pyrex?
Firstly, I do want to point out that we are purely talking about glass Pyrex dishes on this page. We know that Pyrex now makes plastic dishes too. Obviously, you cannot put those in the oven. However, you will be able to place them into the freezer without taking any additional precautions.
On the glass Pyrex dish front then, you can freeze them. Glass actually freezes incredibly well. I do encourage you to place some sort of foil or film over the top of your food to prevent it from getting freezer burned.
However, providing that you take the precautions that I will list over the next few sections, then you should have absolutely no issues freezing food in Pyrex.
You are able to leave the Pyrex dishes in the freezer for as long as you want. I know that there are people out there who have kept their food frozen in Pyrex dishes for months at a time. However, let’s be honest, it is a bit of a waste to have a high-quality Pyrex dish spending its life in the cold, isn’t it?
When You Should Avoid Freezing Food in Pyrex
As I’ve said, Pyrex, and glass in general, work well when you freeze it. In fact, Pyrex probably works a little bit better than your average glass because it has gone through a special process to toughen it. However, this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to take care when placing your Pyrex in the freezer.
I’m going to assume that you won’t be placing the Pyrex in such a way that it could fall out of your freezer and break. Trust me. No matter how much that Pyrex has been toughened up, it will shatter if it hits the ground.
What I do need to point out is that glass is not all that great at dealing with temperature fluctuations. If the temperature swings wildly, then the glass is prone to cracking.
This means that if you move your Pyrex dish straight from the oven to the freezer, then it is going to break. The same would happen if you moved it from the oven to the fridge. This means that before you freeze any food that is sitting in a Pyrex dish, you should let it cool down to room temperature. Leave it covered on your countertop. It may take an hour or so to cool down, but this is the only way that it is going to be safe to put it into the freezer.
Of course, this is advice that you should pay attention to no matter what dish you are placing in the freezer. Food should always be allowed to cool down. Not only will hot food in the freezer cause the freezer to heat up (which wastes energy cooling it down) and form frost, but food that is frozen while it is still hot can potentially be dangerous.
We won’t go into too much depth on that here, but suffice to say, it is something that you will want to be avoiding. If your food has cooled down properly, then you can leave it in the freezer for as long as you want.
These are the #1 rated Pyrex storage containers on Amazon.com.
The Importance Of Proper Defrosting Of Food Frozen in Pyrex
The reverse will also apply.
When you remove the food from the freezer, you will need to let it defrost to room temperature before you place it in the oven. If you do not, then there is a chance that the dish could end up cracking. In fact, no. There isn’t a chance. It will end up cracking.
It is important that you let it naturally warm up too. This means that you have to leave the Pyrex dish on your countertop or in the fridge. We know that there are some people that do have a defrost setting on the microwave. However, we do not recommend that you use that to defrost the Pyrex dish.
Not only is glass not great for putting in a microwave, but the defrost setting may apply a little bit too much heat which, of course, will cause that dish to crack!
Yes, I know that the Pyrex website does state that you can move the dish from the freezer to the microwave. However, whether this works will all be dependent on the way that the microwave works. Some microwaves defrost in short bursts on full power, and that will cause the Pyrex to crack. I wouldn’t risk it.
When you touch the Pyrex dish, it should be room temperature. Sometimes, it takes a little bit longer for the bottom of the dish to ‘unfreeze’. because of this, some people will raise the dish up a little bit. If that dish still feels frozen, then you should not be placing it anywhere near an oven.
Of course, this is information that you can completely disregard if you are not planning to place the Pyrex dish into the oven. If you are removing the food from the dish and heating it another way, then you don’t need to worry about the dish warming up to room temperature.
Can You Freeze Food In a Cracked Pyrex Dish? Is It Safe?
So, what happens if you accidentally cracked your Pyrex dish because you didn’t take precautions? Is that the end of your Pyrex dish? Can you still use it to cook with? Can you freeze it?
Well, I wouldn’t recommend that you cook with a cracked Pyrex dish, although some people will still use one to freeze their foods.
That being said, I wouldn’t even risk that. You can’t repair a crack or a chip in a Pyrex dish. All you really have now is a weak point in the dish. This means that you are running the risk of the crack getting worse (and it will get worse!), which means that you are also running the risk of getting small shards of glass into your food.
Honestly, if you have cracked your Pyrex dish because you froze it or defrosted it incorrectly, then I’d suggest that you just throw it away. It is now useless. Just make sure that you don’t make the same mistake the next time.
Can You Freeze Food in Pyrex – Conclusion
Yes, you can freeze food in Pyrex. However, before you place that Pyrex dish into the freezer, you will want to ensure that it has fully cooled down. If it has not, then there is a risk that it will crack when placed into the freezer.
The same applies when you take it back out of the freezer. If you want to cook with the Pyrex dish again, then you need to let it warm up to room temperature. Placing a frozen Pyrex dish directly into the oven is going to cause it to shatter. Not only will you have lost your food, but you would have lost your dish too.
