More than an American collector's fetish.
Published January 20

Pyrex has a place in almost every kitchen. They manufacture the hardened, high-temperature resistant glass that comprises a lot of measuring cups. But Pyrex might not have a place in everyone’s heart. For decades Pyrex also made a wide line of kitchenwares.  Many folks might remember them as the clear or white and flowered casserole dishes used to serve things like spinach madeline at many a southern holiday (or funeral, for that matter).

There is something of a brisk market in vintage Pyrex, as a quick search on Ebay will reveal. But, the stuff is more than an Americana collector’s fetish. It is also has a very practical place in the modern kitchen. I use their “refrigerator dishes,” compete with a clear, beveled lid to store leftovers all of the time. Their small baking dishes are ideal for individual sides ranging from crème brulee to a generous mound of asparagus with hollandaise sauce.

The advantages to owning and using vintage Pyrex are many. First, they can often be bought for a song at garage sales (and your grandmother probably has a pyramid of them that she would part with, if you ask nicely). They are also eminently meritorious in this age of conservation. Not only are you reusing them on a daily or weekly basis but you are also reusing them in the broader, manufacturing sense. Sure, you can go out and buy sturdy, new, plastic leftover containers but they are just another item that has to be made. Vintage Pryex already exists and it doesn’t get that grimy feathering that bedevils plastic containers after too many washings. They work equally well in the microwave or oven, which makes them more versatile than plastic. Lastly, they just look cool.

I realize that not everyone will be drawn to the mouse-brown Pryex with the white chickens on them but they come in many solid colors that look right at home in today’s stainless steel and black marble kitchens. I have been amassing a collection of vintage Pyrex for years, ever since I was first alerted to their decorative qualities by the architect duo of Mike and Ursula Emory-McClure.

It seems that every time my mother finds herself at a swap meet or flea market she comes back with a piece of Pyrex for my collection. I have so much of the stuff now, that I may have officially switched from curious user of the product to impractical hoarder. My own peculiar interest in them aside, they deserve consideration from the environmentally or aesthetically conscious home chef. Cheap, cool and old are rarely found in the same object, but they mingle in vintage Pyrex. These little kitchen items warrant a second look from all of us who have ignored them as we filled our plates with green bean casserole at the Thanksgiving feed line. 

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