Question from S. T.
Why do you recommend silicone baking mats? Isn’t cooking parchment safer?
Debra’s Answer
Cooking parchment also called parchment paper, kitchen parchment, greaseproof paper and cooking paper is a sheet of paper impregnated with silicone, which makes the paper grease- and moisture-resistant as well as relatively heat-resistant. It is commonly used to eliminate the need to grease baking pans–allowing, for example, repeated batches of cookies to be baked without regreasing the pans–and it can also be folded to make moisture-proof packages in which foods can cooked or steamed.
Parchment is made with bleached white and unbleached brown paper. Since the bleached paper might contain toxic dioxin, it’s better to use the unbleached parchment paper if you use it.
Silicone baking sheets are a sheet of silicone that can be reused over and over again.
Silcone is safe to use for baking and cooking, whether impregnated in paper or in a sheet by itself. Silicones are made chemically by creating a “backbone” of silicon from common sand, the same stuff from which glass is made and oxygen molecules, a combination that does not occur in nature. Then various other synthetic molecules are added branching off of the main silicon-oxygen line to create hundreds of different silicones that range from liquids to rubbery solids. Though this is a completely manmade product, it is completely inert and will not transfer to foods (more at Q&A: Is silicone cookware safe?).
I use both silicone baking sheets and parchment paper. I use my silicone baking sheets to line pans whenever I bake something which might stick. They have saved much time, effort and water from clean-up, and are much safer overall than using baking pans with other non-stick surfaces. I use parchment paper now only when I want to specifically use the cooking technique of baking in parchment, as when I make a recipe such as Fruits Baked in Parchment, or as a substitute for waxed paper waxed paper is covered with paraffin, a petrochemical wax.
The advantage I see to using silicone baking sheets over parchment is that they can be reused up to 2000 times. Though the mats cost more than parchment paper, there is a great savings overall. A box of unbleached parchment paper costs $5 and a silicone baking sheet costs $20, but a box of unbleached parchment paper will cover only 32 baking sheets, and a silicone baking mat will cover 2000 baking sheets. It would cost $310 to buy enough parchment paper to replace one silicone baking mat.
Hello,
Which brand of silicone baking mats do you use and what is your opinion of these? Thanks!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BR4F7ZD/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_tTJPBbT72TASX
That’s the brand I have been using.
Have you ever had a problem with the brand you use emitting a white residue? I have been using the same ones as you and it happened the other day.. I don’t know if it is limescale from water or chemicals leaching?
No. But I will also say that I don’t use these mats any more. For the past year I haven’t had an oven of my own while living with family. So my cooking has simplfied.
Hello Debra,
Thank you for this informative article. Just wondering if parchment paper or a product such as this:
https://www.floraandfauna.com.au/agreena-3-in-1-eco-kitchen-wrap?gclid=CjwKCAjw7vraBRBbEiwA4WBOn34xSK6NgGkzQEzXDq9k8noskTcBesoOTvVIvJSedBrpKRBYBCBdmBoCdDsQAvD_BwE would be suitable to use in a sandwich/panini press and sandwich toasters (the kind that creates sealed sandwiches a.k.a ‘jaffles’ in Australia)
Thanks again!
Regards,
F
I would check with the manufacturers of these products for this information.
I don’t have an oven and I am thinking to bake bread in a cast iron skillet as my stove top oven. So that the bread doesn’t get too burnt – would it be OK to put a silicone mat between the bread and my skillet?
Thanks, Raychel
Yes.
I would like to know about Reusable Non Stick Cookie Sheet Liner – Baking Parchment Paper I just found out about these and I do not know what they are made of and how it is different from regular parchment paper and a silicone mat. Can you explain?
Parchment paper by definition is paper coated with silicone. A silicone mat is the same silicone that is on the parchment paper in a thicker layer to make a mat.
The thing to watch out for is all baking parchment is not the same. I use the UNbleached parchment paper. Bleached parchment papers I’ve tried have an odor to them.
Parchment paper is by definition much different than a paper impregnated with silicon. This whole post is misleading.
Parchment paper is paper that has its cellulose partially disrupted to create a water resistant surface that turns out to be non-stick. There is no silicon involved.
I think we are both right. I’m referring to baking parchment. I think you are referring to writing parchment.
Baking parchment paper is run through sulfuric acid to make it non stick
What is your reference for this?
I found that statement in a Washington Post article, however the very next paragraph says,
“More recently, “parchment” for kitchen use is likely to be a heavy paper coated with a silicone, which thoroughly waterproofs and grease-proofs it. Kitchen parchment paper is stronger, easier to cut and handle, and superior in almost all respects to waxed paper. It is nonstick and scorch-resistant at temperatures up to 400 or 500 degrees, depending on the brand, so it can be used, for example, to cover a pastry shell before loading it down with pie weights and baking it.”
Hi Debra, any thoughtS about granitware bakeware? Made in USA. Thank you so much. http://graniteware.com/bakeware/
Graniteware is not toxic to the best of my knowledge, however I find it too flimsy myself.
Hi,
I had tried this mat for baking cookie cake but how do we clean these mats?
We cannot do cleaning with water on regular basis as this will reduce life of the mat so is there any special cloth or chemical is required for cleaning of these mats?
I just clean mine with soap and water.
I recently called Kirkland/Costco to ask if their parchment paper contained chlorine. They told me that it is “bleached with oxygen, not with chlorine, no dyoxins present…has silicon coating…solvent free…genuine veg parchment
…made in france. What does that mean that it’s bleached with oxygen? Is that safe? It’s so much cheaper than the other brands, but I don’t want to get it if it’s not healthy.
It’s fine. Bleached with oxygen means that the bleaching process does not produce toxic dioxins.
My problem is cookie sheets don’t come in glass as I often use parchment when making cookies.
Debra, you stated that the silicone mats can be used up to 2000 times. Do we need to keep track of each use or will the mats start to, perhaps, fade when they reach about 2000 uses? I’d never remember to mark each use. Been there, tried that on other things. The ol’ memory refuses to co-operate.
That 2000 number comes from the manufacturer. It’s just “expected life” of the product.
I don’t count my uses. I’ve been using these long enough that I’ve experienced wear. They get a little thin and then I replace them. You’ll notice signs of decay.
Bleached Papers no longer are “bleached white” with by product of Dioxin. Now wood pulps are oxygenated with non chlorine chemicals [ peroxide, ozone] which do not pass along undesirable byproducts.
Unbleached Papers tend to be a bit stronger in general. Less “energy” is required to produce the bleaching agents as well as exposing the wood fiber.
Baking Papers eliminate food residues that can be transferred or be a problem from one recipe to another. In commercial settings, Baking Papers reduce – eliminate costs for labor, water for wash ups.
I’ve been using parchment to transfer pizzas to a cast iron pan in the oven (the cast iron pan has to stay in the oven while preheating) with my oven set at 550. I have fantastic results with the pizzas. The parchment around the edges turns almost black, but the parchment under the pizza looks fine. Is this dangerous? If so, is there anything I can use instead? I’ve tried cornmeal and a pizza peel/paddle, but it always makes a mess and the cornmeal always gets in the bottom of the oven and smokes.
See Q&A: Formaldehyde Emissions From Silicone and Other Materials.
In general, the higher the temperature, the greater the release of anything that may be there to release.
However, in the greater scheme of things, and the fact that the pizza is only in the oven for a few minutes, this is probably less toxic than driving your car on a busy street.
If you have birds, they will die from the fumess emitted from scorching parchment. Silicone is highly toxic to birds. I lost three birds using Beyond Gourmet unbleached 100% paper parchment that overheated while baking artisan bread.
That’s a reason to not use it if you have birds. But different species respond differently to different chemicals.
Trim off excess paper above the food. Raw – cold food is a “heat sink” Open paper can brown but black paper is harmless but can be avoided.
Would you use parchment paper on a broiler pan (so the metal won’t leach into the turkey burger), or will the materials in the paper leach into the burger? Or is there a better or healthier way to cook grass fed or organic burgers? Thank you!
You could do that, but I would use a Pyrex glass baking dish for this purpose.
What is the difference between the two sides of a silicone mat? Mine have a smooth side and a rough side.
All silicone mats have a smooth side and a rough side. Since the entire mat is the same silicone, I can only conclude that it’s funtional. The rough side would hold better to stick to the pan and the smooth side would easily release the food.
You actually are thinking backwards. The smooth side is to stick to the pan…solid contact. The rough side has less contact with the food and therefore does notstick.
No, I’m right. Here are some “official” instructions that say the writing side goes up, which is the slick side.
http://chefdepot.net/bakingmats.htm
Great Post! I bought a silicone baking mat that fits my 8 x 8 pan–it is shaped like a lower case t and so does the bottoms and sides of pan. I love it, clean up is a snap and the oven on our little camper seems to burn the bottom of things–but not since I use a mat! At home I use them all the time–I like to freeze single layer items on them too and then transfer to a bag.
Caveat emptor. It’s not just the dyes. Methyl, ethyl, and phenyl are typically problematic for folks with chemical injuries, regardless or their (organic or synthetic) source.
I agree…better safe than sorry if sensitive to “things”.
I bought stone bake ware and nothing sticks…love it!
I was recently served a delicious pork tenderloin and when I asked for the recipe, it had been wrapped in plastic wrap, then foil and cooked in a 400 degree oven for 2 hrs.
I would never cook with plastic wrap and wondered whether I could safely use unbleached parchment paper in place of plastic wrap.
Yes, it’s entirely different.
Wow, I don’t even where to start with this entire conversation. Debra: your entire explanation of silicone is almost verbatim of what we were told about breast implants. I had reconstruction surgery after cancer and began getting sensitive to chemicals. I told anyone who would listen I suspected the implant. I was told exactly what you said: it’s an inert product, it can’t possibly be making you sick, etc. This was the 80s with no knowledge of the toxicity of silicone and no computers. Eventually we all found out about silicone toxicity, hence, the lawsuits. I have MCS because of silicone. Why the human body reacts to it, I couldn’t really tell you. Perhaps Dr Rae has an explanation. If I eat anything that comes in contact with silicone I react to it, same as nonstick cookware. I don’t really care if something sticks a little. I cook everything in old glass bake ware. I use custard cups on a baking sheet for muffins and cupcakes and a large glass roasting pan for my cookies. They work fine. I can’t tell you how much I would never recommend anything made with silicone. Please, reconsider. No one believed us when we first became ill from it and I’m sure there will be skeptics reading this. Please, don’t kill the messenger!
Please see Q&A: Silica, Silicon and Silicone
I concur!!! and I also use glass for everything. Have to be careful with ceramic cookware, too, the glazes sometimes contain lead. Everyone needs to do their due diligence, and I don’t mean reading a pamphlet provided by a product’s manufacturer. I hear you and I believe you, and you are certainly not the only who’s had that experience, unfortunately. By the way…glass custard cups are a great idea, hadn’t thought of that…thank you : )
For those of you who “use glass for everything” would you please write and list what you use glass for and how, for the benefit of others. Thank you.
I don’t use glass for everything, but here are some things I *do* use glass for that I love:
Weck jars are perfect for culturing yogurt because they also have glass lids (I heat the milk up in a pot on the stove, then cool & culture in the Weck jars)
Pyrex glass loaf pans for bread making
Glass drinking straws – there is a woman who makes them & sells on Etsy (Many’s Minis) for a very good price.
Bee House ceramic coffee dripper for an individual cup of coffee or Chemex for serving a bunch.
Glass funnels for syrup making
Glass canisters for storing coffee, flour, sugar, etc.
Glass or unlined stainless steel water bottles
Anyway, maybe it helps. If not, I enjoy the feel of the glass straws, the taste of the coffee, the result of the yogurt, and the look of the rest.
I have a glass loaf tin and have not ventured making a bunloaf in it yet as I don’t want to waste the ingredients if it doesn’t cook well. I stopped making the bun/fruit loaves as I was using a non-stick PTFE tin which I learnt was BAD! Have you any comments on using glass for bun/fruit loaves? Thanks! Silicone is no do now after reading this!
I have a lot of glass cookware and while it’s not “nonstick,” it’s fairly easy to clean and food releases much more easily than metal.
I use glass whenever possible, but there are at least some situations in which glass is not suited, for instance, if you want to temper chocolate in the microwave, glass raises too much temperature whilst plastic (microwave safe) is more appropriate for this. Glass also is not suited for too high temperatures like the ones required to bake bread, because it can break, or at least that´s what I think.
I also found that glass is not as good as plastic to culture homemade yogurt, but I usually use glass anyway and put it in the microwave again if the yogurt is not made yet. I just don´t trust plastics to be in contact with food for too long, specially with higher temperatures and acidic food
Bobby, thank you for your post! Silicone toxicity is not uncommon and more and more women are getting these things implanted in their bodies without being told the risks or that they ALL leak and cause all kinds of problems. I have spent thousands of dollars trying to recover from my health. I have been also trying to figure out this silicone mat vs parchment paper thing. I guess I’m back to scrubbing my old glass pyrex clean. Or eating my food raw? Which seems to be the trend. Check out Dr Susan Kolb MD who has written a great book about this issue.
The parchment paper is impregnated with silicone is said above, so that doesn’t make a difference. I am still curious about metal accessories?
2 THUMBS UP. This is the only comment that makes sense to me. I just discovered this blog post when searching for the safety of silicone in cooking mats, having just read on a description of a cooking mat on Amazon that mentioned a blend of silicone and fiberglass — FIBERGLASS? REALLY? I thought people got lung disease from that stuff, can’t imagine cooking with it. I don’t know the science or the truth, but the comment of this person makes me think twice about it . Keep it simple! Thank You
People get lung disease from BREATHING fiberglass. The fiberglass in this case is encased in the silicone and the user is not exposed to it.
I agree. When I read of the silicon baking papers alarms in my head went off. I remember many women dying or plagued with health problems because of the silicone breast implants. I just did more checking. I will not be buying parchment papers. Silicone or otherwise. Personally the risks for me are not worth taking no matter how slim are not worth the health risks involved
I have just used a panasonic bread maker to make a spicy fruit loaf which I often do.
This time lined it with siliconised baking parchment before putting in the ingredients -when cooked the parchment had completely disappeared, where is it?
I have just eaten a thick slice! but what has happened to the parchment ? will I get sick?
HELP
I don’t know what happened to it. I’ve never had that experience, but I’ve never used it in a bread maker. I don’t think you will get sick.
When using a bread maker machine you DO NOT put anything in other than the ingredients. The paper you put in probably got shredded and incorporated into the bread. Likely you will find small chunks of paper in your bread.
Bread maker machines have a non stick bread pan that is used to bake the dough. You can always take the dough out after the final kneading and bake it in oven. Do this when you want an artisan bread or don’t like the shape of the bread pan.
P.S. I take the paddle out after the final kneading and let the machine continue the final program of resting and baking. Ends up with one small hole on the bottom of the bread vs a gigantic hole when trying to remove the paddle after baking.
We often heat up frozen foods in a toaster oven, using unbleached parchment paper from Whole Foods. It’s a bit disturbing to notice that it usually becomes discolored and at times it seems to burn – not sure the cause.
Hmmm…haven’t had that problem myself with unbleached parchment paper.
This webpage has some interesting info on the safety of silicone baking mats:
http://lifeyourway.net/is-silicone-bakeware-really-safe/
I read it. She doesn’t understand that silicon is perfectly safe. It’s sand. It’s melted to make glass. I do question the colorants, but I only use Silpats and USA Pans.
The author of this article says that various synthetic molecules are added branching off the main silicon-oxygen line. I can see silicon may be inert, but what about these various synthetic molecules that are added to make different types of silicone. Does the author know what they are or if they are safe?
I’ve actually been learning more about silicone since it is turning up as the basic material in more and more products.
Silicones include any inert, synthetic compound made up of repeating units of siloxane.
Siloxane is a functional group of two silicon atoms and one oxygen atom, frequently combined with carbon and/ or hydrogen. Silicon, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen are all basic elements found on the Periodic Table of elements.
Organic atoms of methyl, ethyl, or phenyl are used to attached to the inorganic elemental silicon-oxygen group.
As a whole, these silicones are considered to be very low risk to health or the environment. On MSDS sheets they are given a health rating of 1, which is just above zero.
I just don’t see anything toxic about this basic material.
Now there could be additives, such as colorants, of unknown toxicity. But these appear to be tightly bonded to the silicone.
Please let me know if you find more details about silicone that we can add to this discussion.
Thanks for the explanation, Debra. I can see you have done your homework. Your answer makes me feel more comfortable about using silicone coated cookware.
I wondered what you think of ceramic non-stick cookware. That also seems like a good alternative to teflon non-stick cookware.
See Q&A: OSTER “DURACERAMIC” NONSTICK WAFFLEMAKER for details regarding so-called “ceramic” finishes.
Thanks for your last answer on non-stick ceramic cookware and all your input.
Best wishes,
Larry
But there’s fiberglass in silicone mats too. Wouldn’t that make them “iffy” to use…I havent used mine since reading that and just might chuck it out.
And what is toxic about fiberglass? It’s glass in the form of fibers. It can be a particle hazard if you breathe small bits of the fibers but in this case they are totally bound into the silicone.
I use silicone baking mats and I just don’t see any hazard to them at all.
I’ve noticed that many of the less expensive silicone mats are made in China and may or may not be FDA approved. Would you have any concerns about mats made in China?
I don’t want to say that every product made in China is bad, because there are some very good products made in China. I personally use Silpat baking sheets, which are made in France. I think products made in China are unknown in terms of quality and contamination unless you know manufacturing is being overseen by someone who is monitoring for those things. I would stick with Silpat, which is more likely to not be contaminated.
I contacted Pyrex, Denby(English Pottery!??), Great British Bakeoff, hmmm all said their products are made in CHINA. I have read so many ‘bad’ reports about the Chinese deviating from the Manufacturers Specification to use cheaper materials etc(even making PLASTIC rice and mixing it in with very expensive rice!), that I would not buy Pyrex etc now and feel that Manufacturers should be obliged to state where their product was actually made-Pyrex states France Denby states England so now the ‘Made in’ is omitted. That to me in my opinion is deceitful and unethical so I won’t purchase anything now unless it states the ‘Made in’ on it too. Sadly a lot of firms are being closed down as goods are more and more made in the Far East hence we lose the jobs not being there.
I agree.
My first choice is Made in USA and even better as close to home as possible.
i also agree that all products should disclose their country of manufacture, however, keep in mind that many parts are made elsewhere than the country of manufacture. We really need a whole profile of information on each product, more than would fit on a label, but could be on the company website.
Silpat mat from France says it contains fiberglass mesh inside.
Yes and that is not a problem. It’s fully encased in the silicone.
Yes, I won’t buy or use anything made in China. Their reputation for producing poorly made and toxic products is world renown.
And is not necessarily true 100% of the time. Some highly regarded nontoxic products are made in China. You need to evaluate this on an individual basis.
I get a taste of “OVEN” in cookies that are baked on cookie sheets which are not lined with parchment paper. A metallic taste leaches into the cookies. Is this harmful?
It’s clear that all heavy metals can accumulate in the body and cause harm. So I woud take all precautions about eating anything that tastes metallic.
hi,
thanks for your help but is there a temperature resistance difference between parchment paper and silicone mats?
I’m just using logic here, but I would think that silicone is silicone and it would react the same to temperature whether in the form of a mat or on paper. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
I don’t have a silicon mat but my silicon pot holder can be used up to 600 degrees I believe while the parchment paper I use (usually the brown unbleached kind) can only be used up to 425 degrees.
At 392 degrees F silicone mats release trace amounts of formaldehyde. Higher the heat, higher the amounts of formaldehyde.
See my research on this at Q&A Silicone and Formaldehyde
Thank you for your informative article on the differences of the two.
I plan on using it for making a low carb pizza out of cheese and cauliflower dough (very sticky) and the recipe calls for parchment paper, in your experience has the silicone mat been an effective non-stick medium for all recipes or atleast my pizza?
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
I’ve found both to be usable for all recipes.