Food allergy moms cook...A LOT! So when we find a great cooking or baking brand and we ruin it, it's as if we have lost a dear friend of the family. Cooking foods is made just a smidge easier when our bake ware helps to keep the foods coming out as they should (or as close to what they should look like as possible). Nothing is worse than being in a panic the night before a birthday party and finding out that your best cake pan has recently bit the dust and is teaming with rust. Yay! So then we have food allergies and Tetanus to worry about.
I know my oven has decided to have a mind of it's own lately and not even all of the time, just when it feels like it. I chalked it up to uneven temperature changes. But then I started noticing that more and more, my beloved bake ware was just throwing in the towel. I tried the next option- forking out a little more money and purchasing a better brand. That was fine until my new favorite baking sheet also decided to harbor stuck on food particles that would not come off no matter what I did. Another baking sheet gone, unusable. Can I cry now?
I decided to do some research. After all, this couldn't possibly just be happening to me. What I found made me realize that I was taking my bake ware for granted. I was abusing them, unknowingly and I needed to take steps to improve my behavior to correct the problem going forward.
The number 1 thing that I do is put my bake ware into the dishwasher. This is apparently a huge no-no. The mixture of the harsh dish washing detergents and the possibility of some of the water not evaporating causes a rusty, unusable item. Hand washing only going forward.
The number 2 problem I am also guilty of- using metal utensils to remove items. This also includes when you are cutting to serve directly from the pan. This will scratch and nick your pans, thus leading to other problems. The suggested utensils are plastic and wooden only. Got it, onward.
The number 3 issue that was mentioned is cooking on high heat.....this one stumps me a little. So, if I buy bake ware to use for baking and the temperature that is required is higher heat, it will destroy my bake ware? Is anyone else thinking this is slightly ironic? I don't know about you but I have never made muffins using a 500 degree temperature. Oh well, next.
The number 4 thing to avoid is improper storage. Meaning, do not stack them on top of other pans...guilty! I have many frying pans that are piled up high due to lack of storage space. I guess I need to consider what is more important in the budget- continuously buying new bake ware or investing in an inexpensive storage organizer.
The number 5 factor is drastic temperature changes. Picture this- you have finished baking and you have some cool water in your sink. You empty the muffin tin and place it right into the sink...WRONG! Try again. You empty the muffin tin and place it aside to cool, then clean it out...DING, DING, DING! You get a prize.
The final thing I found was using your bake ware for storing foods in them. This is something that I do not do. I had a past event of trying to refrigerate some leftover lasagna in a metal pan and things got very unsightly! Who knew the metal would be effected from the tomato's acidity? Lesson learned.
In the end, this is just part of being a mom (food allergic or not). You learn as you go, you pick up tidbits and you try not to agonize over the money you may have wasted here and there. There is no instruction manual - it's just life. Be kind to your bake ware and it will love you back.
I know my oven has decided to have a mind of it's own lately and not even all of the time, just when it feels like it. I chalked it up to uneven temperature changes. But then I started noticing that more and more, my beloved bake ware was just throwing in the towel. I tried the next option- forking out a little more money and purchasing a better brand. That was fine until my new favorite baking sheet also decided to harbor stuck on food particles that would not come off no matter what I did. Another baking sheet gone, unusable. Can I cry now?
I decided to do some research. After all, this couldn't possibly just be happening to me. What I found made me realize that I was taking my bake ware for granted. I was abusing them, unknowingly and I needed to take steps to improve my behavior to correct the problem going forward.
The number 1 thing that I do is put my bake ware into the dishwasher. This is apparently a huge no-no. The mixture of the harsh dish washing detergents and the possibility of some of the water not evaporating causes a rusty, unusable item. Hand washing only going forward.
The number 2 problem I am also guilty of- using metal utensils to remove items. This also includes when you are cutting to serve directly from the pan. This will scratch and nick your pans, thus leading to other problems. The suggested utensils are plastic and wooden only. Got it, onward.
The number 3 issue that was mentioned is cooking on high heat.....this one stumps me a little. So, if I buy bake ware to use for baking and the temperature that is required is higher heat, it will destroy my bake ware? Is anyone else thinking this is slightly ironic? I don't know about you but I have never made muffins using a 500 degree temperature. Oh well, next.
The number 4 thing to avoid is improper storage. Meaning, do not stack them on top of other pans...guilty! I have many frying pans that are piled up high due to lack of storage space. I guess I need to consider what is more important in the budget- continuously buying new bake ware or investing in an inexpensive storage organizer.
The number 5 factor is drastic temperature changes. Picture this- you have finished baking and you have some cool water in your sink. You empty the muffin tin and place it right into the sink...WRONG! Try again. You empty the muffin tin and place it aside to cool, then clean it out...DING, DING, DING! You get a prize.
The final thing I found was using your bake ware for storing foods in them. This is something that I do not do. I had a past event of trying to refrigerate some leftover lasagna in a metal pan and things got very unsightly! Who knew the metal would be effected from the tomato's acidity? Lesson learned.
In the end, this is just part of being a mom (food allergic or not). You learn as you go, you pick up tidbits and you try not to agonize over the money you may have wasted here and there. There is no instruction manual - it's just life. Be kind to your bake ware and it will love you back.
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