In the kitchen, a lot of silicone-made products are used–silicone bake wares, silicone baking mats, and a lot more. They are popular because they are reusable, making them very cost effective products. However, are silicone baking mats safe to use? In this article, we’ll answer that question as well as tackle commonly asked questions about silicone baking mats.
What are Silicone Baking Mats?
Silicone baking mats are primarily utilized to shield cookie sheets when baking. They are made of high quality, food grade silicone materials. Due to their non-stick feature, they make baking a lot easier and an ideal choice for baking messy or sticky concoctions. Silicone baking mats vary from sizes and uses to accommodate each household.
Purpose of Silicone Baking Mats
As a baker, you can’t help but think about your safety when it comes to using the baking tools. One of the tools you use for baking is baking mats, and you can’t help but ask yourself, “Are silicone baking mats safe to use?” Let’s get first to know how baking mats help in our kitchen when we bake.
- It can be used in a lot of different ways.
- They can be a great alternative for Parchment paper and aluminum foil.
- Covers baking goods to make sure they rise evenly.
- Keep baking pans clean.
- Can be placed on a try when you heat food in the oven
Almost all quality brands of Silicone bakeware offers a non-stick surface that makes baking a lot easier and clutter proof. They make an excellent choice for baking some of the stickiest and messiest baked goods. Plus, silicone baking mats can be used time and time again. You can easily clean them when you’re done using them.
How to Use Silicone Baking Mats
They have tons of uses, and they can be used whenever you are kneading dough, baking cupcakes or cookies, it is always up to your imagination when it comes to their uses.
How to Clean Silicone Baking Mats
With the help of water and soap, you can wipe away all types of dirt. They can easily be dried. We highly recommend laying the mat flat on the surface to drain them easily. It saves you time too.
Silicone Baking Mats: Safety and Protection
Before you decide to buy a product just like silicone baking mats, you can’t help but ask yourself, “Are silicone baking mast safe to use?” Actually, yes, they are safe and specially made to be heated around 428 degrees Celsius. Also, they can be stored or placed in the freezer. However, due to the rising popularity of silicone baking mats, manufacturers have added different kinds of fillers in their products. It is important to note the different types of fillers you are planning to buy.
This may contribute to the health hazard they may pose. Silicone fillers may omit different kinds of toxins that may be hazardous to our health. So, if you aren’t sure about your silicone mat, once heated or cooled, they may exhibit strong odors of burnt-like objects.
For people who want to buy silicone baking mats but are quite unsure, it is always essential to read the product description, or for better understanding, reach out to the customer service of that brand. Lastly, many respectable manufacturers provide high-quality and non-hazardous silicone mats. It is best to go with them.
Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat: Which is Better?
Even if both of them have the same uses, they possess each advantage and disadvantages. One good thing about silicone baking mats is eco-friendly because they are reusable. They can also be used in a lot of different ways with regards to baking, and they minimize clutter in your kitchen.
On the other hand, parchment papers aren’t reusable and are mostly used as covering of baking sheets. Overall, they are still pretty much relevant in today’s baking standard. They offer pretty much everything too.
Does the Silicone Merge with our Food?
The substance Silicone is approved by the FDA, meaning they passed all the safety standards. Most people wonder about are silicone baking mats safe to use because of this notion. They assume that when silicone mats are heated, it incorporates itself to the food that we baked for us to eat. However, that notion is false. There are no studies that showed silicone interacting with food.
It is also stated that silicone is inert, meaning they don’t react with liquids or food, and doesn’t emit gaseous substance when heated. Those people who stated otherwise were people that weren’t knowledgeable enough and didn’t provide any evidence of the toxicity of silicone. However, this has to be taken with a grain of salt because the FDA approves a lot of things that we wouldn’t want to eat either.
Possible Dangers when Using Silicone in Cooking
Here are some things to remember whenever you find yourself using silicone baking mats and bake wares. Although there are still no significant studies about these, it doesn’t hurt to have it in mind anyway.
- Some manufacturer makes low-quality silicone making products, and some of them may contain hazardous fillers. To test whether your silicone product has fillers in it, try to squeeze them tightly, and when a white show, most likely, it contains fillers.
- While there are no scientific evidences, the proves, there is a cause of concern that silicone has oils in it. They are known to be quite potent and contain toxic materials that are harmful enough to endanger our health. Also, they can merge with our food when heated together.
- Silicone emits powerful odors. Although this may not be associated with the silicone, it is more connected to the fillers. You may occasionally witness this whenever you try to heat food.
Almost all silicone baking mats are fiberglass covered in silicone. So, it is wise not to cut open your mats if you don’t want to risk having fiberglass in your food.
Conclusion
There are so many questions as to what are the risks when using silicone baking mats, including are silicone baking mats safe to use. These questions should not be taken lightly. It still needs further studies and research to fully understand how they interact with our food and the possible toxins they may possess.
However, silicone is FDA approved, which is a good start. Nonetheless, there are still lots of options and alternatives if you aren’t willing to use silicone baking mats. Just remember to be careful and consider the learnings you got from this article. Get more tips on using baking mats.