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Paper or Plastic Pink Saturday


With my return to baking I took an inventory of my baking tools. Almost all were bought forty years ago -- really -- and purchased from Woolworth's. When I moved to New York in 1975 I was living on a $150.00/week -- not a fortune even then -- and lived in a studio apartment. By the time I graduated to a bigger apartment and more disposable income I'd pretty much stopped baking. Miraculously my Woolworth's cookie sheet and cooling rack have held up well, but I decided it was time to step up my baking game and took a trip to several stores looking at muffin tins and new baking sheets.  

I started my shopping stuck in 1975. I was looking for metal muffin tins and paper liners, which was all that I knew. Feeling like Rip Van Winkle waking up after a long nap I was quickly catapulted into the present  -- silicone. I found both silicone cupcake/muffin liners and silicone muffin and loaf pans.


 muffin liners and...
 
 silicone muffin cups.
 
 
To buy, or not to buy, that is the question...
 
With apologies to Mr. Shakespeare, that is my dilemma. Should I stick with the tried and true metal or move to silicone. My first thought was to put the question out on Facebook, and then decided to open it to my blog buddies, some of whom are known to be outstanding bakers. I also turned to my friend, Nancy, a terrific cook and baker, who I expected had some familiarity with using silicone products. She used silicone ice cube molds for freezing coffee and the coffee aroma stayed, no matter how many times the molds went through the dishwasher. 
 
I then turned to Google -- of course! -- and opinions were mixed, very much so. My concern about not being able to get the liners clean -- cake stuck in the little folds -- seemed to be a common complaint and there were a number of concerns about fillers in the silicone. I read over fifty comments and blog posts and there was no clear decision. I'm leaning to buying a good muffin tin and using paper liners, just as my mother did fifty years ago.
 
Dear baking blog friends, any recommendations? Paper or plastic, as they ask at the grocery? I'd also appreciate any advice about brands of either silicone or metal that you like. I'm looking for something sturdy, but it doesn't have to be top-of-the-line. I'm actually quite impressed with how long lasting my Woolworth's purchases have been, and I still have my first Pyrex measuring cup, bought in Nashville in 1972, also at Woolworth's. I do miss that store! 
 
It's still nippy in New York, but after rain yesterday we had a sunny autumn day. Thankfully we've escaped the hurricane, but my heart and prayers are with everyone in South Carolina affected by the flooding. 
 
 I'm happy to join my friends at Pink Saturday tonight. I'm also happy, as ever, for your visits and comments. Wishes for a sweet autumn week!

6 comments

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

A few years ago I bought a couple of novelty silicone products for my baking needs. I used them once and went back to my old, worn tin pans. I often like to try new gadgets, but I was not happy with the these. They are now in my basement collecting dust on a shelf.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

I'm still using the old pans and paper liners. They have so many different kinds anymore. Decorated for any occasion. Who could pass them up? I'm glad it has cooled off enough to turn the oven on again.

Linda said...

Nippy here in western NY as well...I have always used metal pans--my husband got me high quality baking sheets last Christmas, and I also use paper muffins cups when I bake cupcakes or muffins. I am just not so sure about those silicon ones, they look "fun", but after 48 years of being on this Earth, I like to stick to what I know and afraid to try new. Blesings

Little Wandering Wren said...

I'm not a baker but I am a 'anything for an easy life' sort of a person, I have a silicon cake mould in the shape of a flower, it always looks a special creation and I find them easy to use and clean!
Ready, steady, bake dear Buttercup!
Wren x

Mevely317 said...

I'm no baker (and certainly not outstanding), but I think there's something to be said for the quality of tins our mothers and grandmothers enjoyed.

Annesphamily said...

I still use all the tins. Paper cups too. I was the cupcake Queen with the kids when they were younger. I still make a batch occasionally but I just put a meatloaf on to bake and slid my ole faithful baking pan and some aluminium foil under it!
Enjoy baking and feeling better very soon! :-)