Pasted in from today's Wolf's Daily Howl


This Howl isn't about the challenges of human interaction
but may be important none the less.

A handful of years ago, I was boiling pasta for a dish I
was preparing for a holiday party. I was boiling the
noodles in a Pyrex pot I'd bought in a thrift shop.

My kitchen is small. It's a "galley" kitchen which was
originally a pantry. So the sink and stove are about
a foot and a half apart. I was standing at the sink
when the pot with the noodles came to a boil ----
and exploded. Obviously, besides obliterating the
noodles, my entire kitchen was a mess. The great
news was that I wasn't either burned or cut by the
flying glass.

Afterwards, I speculated that the used pot had arrived
at my home with a crack that either hadn't been visible
or that I had missed when I bought it.

Now --- however ----- all over this morning's news programs, is
a consumer alert that both the major kitchen glass manufacturers'
products have had thousands of complaints lodged against them, over the last ten years.

Back in ny childhood, my father's coffee pot was Pyrex. I watched
him make his morning coffee for all my growing-up years, every
morning in the same pot. So to me, the Pyrex stamp meant that
the glass was heat-safe.

Now we learn that a change in the way the U.S. manufacturers
(Corning and Anchor-Hocking) formulate their products is different
than how the European kitchen glass producers formulate theirs.

Here are some caveats for using glass kitchenware, even
ones that are supposed to be stove and oven-safe:

Never touch them with a damp towel or put them down
on a damp counter or in a wet sink.

Never shock them temperature-wise.

Never put them under the broiler.

I'm afraid I may be missing one, but these are the basics.

In this season of intensified food prep and baking,
make sure that you are aware of the constraints of
glass cook- and bakeware.

Now ----- what's your best bring-to-a-party dish?