There can hardly be a family in the world that doesn't own at least one Pyrex mixing bowl or their other omnipresent staple the measuring jug. However what you may not know is that Pyrex has been around since 1879 although it wasn't patented and sold until 1915. The first Pyrex cookware items were baking dishes and even though housewives of the time thought that putting a glass dish in a hot oven was a strange idea, they soon caught on and became extremely popular.

Pyrex Cookware

Within 12 years around thirty million Pyrex bowls, jugs and dishes had been sold in America and over 75% of US homes are thought to still have one or more of these items, either in everyday use or stashed away in their kitchen cabinets.

Pyrex Cookware

Some of the older designs of Pyrex kitchenware have become highly collectible and even quite valuable. An example of this is the vintage sets of primary colored mixing bowls that were introduced in the 1940s. During the 1970s a whole host of different designs were produced in Pyrex bowls and dishes which although they are not particularly valuable yet are becoming fashionable again in today's retro kitchens. These colorful designs from the 1970s, often on opaque white Pyrex, can still be picked up for very little cash in thrift stores and at flea markets. The designs all have names such as "Crazy Daisy", "Spring Blossom Green" and "Cinderella". There has even been a book published about collecting Pyrex.

In the 1990s the Pyrex name was sold to the Borden Food Corporation who continues to make Pyrex under their World Kitchen trade name. Although Pyrex is still used by the manufacturing industry, the majority is sold for use in kitchens around the world.

Always useful and durable Pyrex mixing bowls are as much a kitchen essential today as they have always been. They are guaranteed oven safe to temperatures of 300 degrees centigrade and you can also freeze and microwave them, plus they are also dishwasher safe. Glass bowls are great for food storage as there will be no taint or odor leached into foods stored in them, and Pyrex bowl sets are available with plastic lids especially for storage.

A standard Pyrex mixing bowl set now comprises a 1 quart, a 1 1/2 quart and a 2 1/2 quart bowl together with brightly colored plastic lids for all three. As well as mixing these versatile bowls can be used as salad serving bowls or for storing leftovers and once the lids are on they can conveniently be stacked. There are a whole range of different sizes of Pyrex mixing bowls including 3 and 4 quart mixing bowls for when you need the extra capacity.

Virtually all Pyrex produced today for use in the kitchen is just clear glass, which is a shame as in the future it is unlikely to become collectible as the quirky designs of the 1940s to 1970s have.

Through the Years With Pyrex Mixing Bowls

Pyrex Cookware