Influencer Ella Henry (@glowwithella) has a problem with Pyrex glassware. She aired her grievances with the brand, despite continually purchasing its products. In a video that’s accrued over 3.1 million views, she shared her inability to cleanly pour her “citrus elixir.”
Ella’s video begins with her pouring red liquid from a Pyrex measuring pitcher into an ice-filled glass jar. She narrates a problem she has with the popular food storage brand in her 13-second video.
“I have a bone to pick with Pyrex,” she says. “Please explain to me how you create these glasses with spouts meant to pour.”
As the liquid cascades from the product, it begins spilling out from the sides, getting all over her countertop. “But no matter when I pour I’m spilling?” she says. “Like yes, I know I’m the problem, I keep buying them. But I know I’m not the only one.”
User error?
Numerous folks who responded to her video stated that the issue wasn’t with the pitcher.
“I’m afraid this is user error,” one person replied.
Another also remarked, “Pour properly?”
However, Ella responded, saying that she couldn’t seem to understand how she was pouring incorrectly: “I’m sorry like HUH what am I doing wrong?”
“You’re pouring too fast,” one TikToker commented.
There was a litany of people who said she was pouring the liquid out much too quickly. Furthermore, one commenter explained why this is an issue. It’s all connected to spout size. “Pouring way way too fast. Small spout slow pour. Big spout fast pour,” they wrote.
Next, another user further explained this methodology. “You see the overflow left and right from the pout. Pour slower to respect the capacity of the volume its meant to pour,” they said.
A tale of two pyrexes
However, one commenter stated that the issue was related to the actual product. There’s a distinction, they, said between (uppercase) PYREX and (lowercase) pyrex products.
“Look up the difference between PYREX and pyrex (lowercase),” they said.
AllRecipes stated that the differentiation in case usage denotes the type of construction in these separate offerings.
“It’s not just in a name—the difference could affect your safety in the kitchen,” the outlet writes.
That’s because, the website states, kitchen glassware is often broken down into three types of categories. There’s glass that is tempered. Then there are soda-lime and borosilicate variants as well. The latter, third option sports a “low thermal expansion” which is integral when it comes to temperature shifts.
Let’s say you’re cooking something in the oven. A borosilicate ramekin, platter, dish, etc. can be moved out of an oven and into a refrigerator without shattering. Boron trioxide, the active component in borosilicate, is responsible for these climate-regulating properties.
Tempered glass
Additionally, you may have heard of the aforementioned moniker appended to kitchenware. This just means soda-lime glass has been heat-treated to be more durable. However, “extreme temperature changes” can “shock the glass at different rates, resulting in cracks and fissures.”
So why are there two different names? That’s because it has licensed its name so that other companies can put it on their products. Traditionally, all pyrex items were made with borosilicate glass. But “because boron is toxic and expensive to dispose of” pyrex switched to tempered glass.
This process is ultimately more resistant to breaking than soda-lime glass, borosilicate is still a “thermal shock” top dog. All uppercase PYREX goods are made of borosilicate, while lowercase pyrex offerings are probably soda-lime.
This means you should be extra mindful of thermal shock if you’re rocking lowercase pyrex wares. Handle them with care when taking them out of a refrigerator and into an oven and vice versa. For instance, allow the glass to adjust to room temperature for a bit. Then set them down gently whenever removing them from a refrigerator, oven, or microwave.
@glowwithella @PYREX ORIGINAL explain yourselves #greenscreenvideo ♬ original sound – glowwithella
Spot the difference
Depending on how you intend to use your kitchen glassware, look out for the differences in case usage. When it comes to dishes, the pyrex branding should be emblazoned on lids. Oftentimes, this same logo will be imprinted on the bottoms of containers and dishes.
DIY Home Garden Blog calls the borosilicate PYREX variants the “original hero” of kitchen glassware. The outlet also stated that cracks in glass aren’t the only things consumers have to worry about. Sometimes, lowercase pyrex materials can “explode” in the oven. Or seemingly spontaneously after setting them on a countertop.
This could have serious implications for your home fixtures and appliances. Shards of glass can get caught inside of your oven, for instance, or damage a nice granite kitchen island. What’s more, is that many of these shards can be so tiny that they’re easy to miss. Which makes removing them entirely a steep challenge. Subsequently, these shards can fall into other dishes you may make in the same appliance. Or accidentally injure you or anyone else in your household.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Pyrex via email and Ella via Instagram direct message for further comment.
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