This is the Frequently Asked Questions about Pyrex section organized by topics. For questions about a particular pattern’s name and details please check the pattern reference first. For questions about the Pyrex Love site itself or information about us please visit the About page.

Please note that while every attempt has been made to provide the most factually correct answers here, there is a chance that we may have got some bit of information wrong - because we are not glass experts.

Note: This page is under development…

General Questions

Care and Cleaning

Patterns

Nomenclature

Bowls

Promotional Casseroles

Casseroles

Divided Dishes

Refrigerator Dishes

General Questions

How can you tell if an item is Pyrex or not?

Look at the bottom of the piece (or sometimes at the handles). In most instances, Corning did put a maker mark on their “Pyrex”. This is not an absolute rule, but it should be your first step. If a piece is marked with something else, chances are it is not Pyrex. After collecting Pyrex for awhile, you’ll learn to distinguish their shapes and patterns, so you can tell Pyrex just from sight. [Back to Top]

What are some of the other makers of vintage glass?

There are many, but some of the common glass marks and companies you’ll come across in your search for Pyrex might be: “Fire King”, “Anchor Hocking”, “Glasbake”, an “H inside of an “A” = Hazel Atlas, an “F” inside a shield = Federal, “McK” = McKee, “Pyr-o-Rey” = Vitrocrisa, and “Termocrisa”. Glass that is marked as “Fry Ovenware” may actually be Pyrex, as they had a contract with Corning to produce the pieces. There are also many “3rd party” pieces that are sometimes confusing because they have a different maker’s on them (a majority of those occurred on coffee makers). Some of them include “Silex”, “GE”, “Universal”, “Cafex”, “Chemex”, “Aloa”, “Melitta”, “Salton”, “Hamilton Beach”, and “Gemco”.

You may also be interested in our page on patterns that are frequently confused with Pyrex. [Back to Top]

Who makes Pyrex items now?

Corning Incorporated still does produce Pyrex items, but those are mostly research and chemistry labware. Other companies are licensed by Corning to produce modern Pyrex, most notably World Kitchen, LLC. Our site concentrates mostly on older vintage Pyrex that was produced by Corning. [Back to Top]

I’d like a list of all the different Pyrex ID#s and sizes.

We’re still working on this… ideally we’d like to make an illustrated page with all the sizes and ID#s but that takes time. We do have a small section on tableware sizes because that question comes up so frequently. [Back to Top]

Care and Cleaning

Is it all right to use my vintage Pyrex in the oven?

Before we say anything: our standard disclaimer is that we’re not responsible for anything that happens to your Pyrex or glassware, vintage or not. We have heard instances and seen pictures of Pyrex items new AND old that have broken, shattered, cracked, or even “exploded”. We’re not going to pass judgement on anything, but you assume all the risk on your own.

Now… a lot of vintage Pyrex was developed expressly for the purpose of cooking in the oven. So, in most cases cooking a casserole in your Pyrex in the oven should be fine - that’s often what it was meant for! We’d recommend not putting your more valuable items in the oven though, because anything can happen. Baked on food can cause wear for fired-on patterns, especially when you factor in the washing and scrubbing to get it off. And where people really get in trouble is something known as “thermal downshock” (this term needs clarifying?). Basically, anytime there is a large temperature difference like taking a hot item out onto a cold tabletop, or taking cold item out of the fridge and putting it into a hot oven, or pouring cold liquid into a heated item, you are playing with fire! Avoid this type of situation at all costs.

It may also be a good idea to keep the oven temperature at 450F or below for cooking in Pyrex… we’re not 100% sure about that, but it seems like several people have reported Pyrex failing at temperatures of 500F and up. [Back to Top]

Is it all right to use my vintage Pyrex in the microwave?

This is another case where it may not actually be the Pyrex that is at fault … it’s more the effect of what you do with the container after it’s been heated (or cooled). Many modern Pyrex items will denote whether they are safe for the microwave on the bottom of the item. But we have used vintage Pyrex in the microwave many times (I can’t count the number of times I’ve microwaved a Diagonal Handle Pyrex cup filled with coffee). Basically, it’s up to you if you want to take that chance with a piece that isn’t marked “microwave safe”. However, you want to again make sure you don’t put any hot items down on cold surfaces, as in the previous question.

A reader reminded us of an important issue regarding the microwave - there are quite a few vintage Pyrex items (especially promo ones) that use metal gold leaf in the pattern. I think it goes without saying that you don’t want to put any items with metallic patterns into the microwave if you don’t want sparks to fly! [Back to Top]

Is it all right to use my vintage Pyrex directly on the stove?

We’d like to just nip this one in the bud and say - NO. Some pieces actually say “Not for stovetop”, but we never put vintage pyrex bowls, casseroles or whatever directly on the stove, ever. You can try it, but we’d rather not risk it.

But we do get a lot of people who are asking about Flameware and related Coffee makers / pots. Flameware was indeed meant to go directly on the stove, and that includes the coffee makers. However, some of those came with “heat spreader” grids to help diffuse the direct flame or intense heat from an electric stove. Some modern Pyrex (Visions, etc.) is also meant to go directly on the stove. Again, use your best judgement, and never temperature-shock the Pyrex by putting it on something cold! [Back to Top]

Is it all right to put my vintage Pyrex in the refrigerator or freezer?

Cold refrigerator temperatures should be fine for most vintage Pyrex pieces. In fact, the Oven Refrigerator Sets were meant for just that purpose. Just make sure the food you are going to refrigerate and the dish has cooled down enough before putting it in. We’ve put bowls, casseroles, refrigerator sets, and mugs in the fridge for extended periods longer than a week.

I don’t know about putting Pyrex in the freezer, although we’ve heard of people doing that. Personally, I’d avoid taking chances with your vintage Pyrex in the freezer.[Back to Top]

Is it all right to put my vintage Pyrex in the dishwasher?

NO. Do NOT put your vintage Pyrex in the dishwasher. You may not notice any difference at first, but the extreme heat and harsh cleaning detergent will take its toll on your piece. This is especially true with older solid color fired on patterns. I think quite a few of the modern clear glass pieces may be dishwasher safe. But older pieces will suffer and the damage is irreversible - we have seen too many sad and faded solid color Pyrex item at the Goodwill. Don’t do it! [Back to Top]

Can you give me some tips on how to clean my Pyrex?

Sure, we actually have a separate section under development that talks about a few ways to clean your vintage Pyrex. We’ll be adding more info on that page as we get a chance. [Back to Top]

My vintage Pyrex lid tends to “rattle” or fits unevenly on my item. How do I fix it?

Join the club, hehe! It is extremely common with any vintage kitchen items to have lids that sort of “rattle” whenever there is vibration through the floor (people walking, washing machines and dishwashers, etc.). This occurs most commonly with refrigerator dishes and casseroles. I believe that because the manufacturing process was not as perfect back in the day, they had to have a bit of tolerance for the lids - that’s sometimes why they seem “bigger” than they should be. In other cases, you’ll note that the lid almost seems to sit crookedly on the piece, so that parts of the rim are touching and others are not. This happens very frequently for us with oval casseroles - and again we just believe it’s imperfections in the way it was manufactured. Also, make sure first of all that the lid that you have is the correct one for your Pyrex item! Mismatched lids are common - some sellers may try to fit a new lid on an older piece…

Ways to fix it - if it’s for storage, you can just place a paper towel or cloth between the two in order to limit the rattling. For display, you can try one of the “collector’s putty’s” that they sell. We’ve used Museum Putty before with some success with glassware… a few blobs at specific points are enough to keep the rattling to a minimum. Be careful though when taking them apart… the putty is pretty strong! Remember to “rotate” instead of “pull”.

On refrigerator lids, you might also try reversing the lid to reduce rattling… this also has the added benefit of allowing you to stack other pieces more securely on top if you wish. [Back to Top]

Patterns

I have a casserole that seems to have a different base/lid than other ones pictured?

This is a very common issue, and is not only limited to casseroles. Because Corning standardized the sizes of much of their glass and because there was a great variety of patterns (especially considering promotional items), you’ll often find mismatched bases, lids, cradles and other accessories. For the most part, there is nothing to be done - you just need to learn which lids came with which bases (we are still learning this too!) Where possible we try to show pics of both the base and the lid in the reference.

If you see a piece that is mismatched, the seller most likely just does not know it is, or they are just trying to get rid of both pieces by selling them together. This can also work to your advantage - many times a rarer promo lid is sold along with a common base, and if you are looking for that lid, it can sometimes be had for cheaper. [Back to Top]

What is the difference between Spring Blossom Green and Crazy Daisy?

Crazy Daisy does not exist - simple as that. In the past, there has been a lot of confusion about whether or not that was a separately named pattern from Spring Blossom Green. Initially, the confusion was over the fact that there are at least two distinct varieties of Spring Blossom. See below:

  

The pattern that was known as Crazy Daisy is on the right. Then sellers began to use the name interchangably, and then often began to use “Crazy Daisy” MORE frequently than Spring Blossom. This has continued until today - if you are looking for this pattern you’ll want to search under both names. To date, we have never seen a box that has the word Crazy Daisy on it, and until we do we’re going to consider the case closed. However, it is certain that there are several variations of the Spring Blossom pattern. More info is on the legacy page we’ve left up for Crazy Daisy. [Back to Top]

What is the difference between Citrus and Daisy?

Citrus does not exist, and the issue is similar to Spring Blossom. We are nearly 100% sure about it now. As far as we can tell, people may have initially labeled the Mixing Bowls for the Daisy line as citrus because of its summery orange and yellow solid colors. Also, there is a Corelle pattern by the name Citrus and we think that prompted people to call the un-patterned Daisy mixing bowls Citrus. Then later, this was reinforced by other websites calling the set “Citrus” as if it was separate from Daisy. Because the mixing bowls for Daisy are solid colored instead of having the large Daisy anywhere on it, it was easy to call it a separate pattern.

Further confusion comes because the false “Crazy Daisy” name gets confused sometimes with the real pattern name “Daisy”. In fact, we have seen original brochures that show the entire Daisy line, including the so-called Citrus bowls. We have also seen original boxes of the mixing bowls that say Daisy on them. Thus, we are going to consider the matter closed. Please see the pages on the Daisy pattern for more info. [Back to Top]

What is the difference between Early American and Americana?

  

This one is pretty much just the names that confuse people. The pattern are very easy to tell apart, and in fact Americana only exists for two mixing bowl sets - they almost might as well be considered promotionals. In the pictures above, Early American is on the left with the brown and white pattern with a host of different motifs like cats, wheat, corn, salt mills, lamps, eagles, etc. Americana is on the right. The thing is that it’s just much easier to say or type “Americana” and so many sellers are guilty of doing that.

In addition, because there were only the two bowl sets for Americana, and the “pattern” is simply a solid color with the top band around the bowl left white, there isn’t as much demand for Americana (in fact, most people don’t even know its a different pattern than solid colored - just try to find them on eBay by searching w/ “Americana”). [Back to Top]

What is the difference between Snowflake and Snowflake Blue?

  

Where snowflake patterns are concerned, it can get pretty confusing for vintage Pyrex. There are two definite different patterns: Snowflake and Snowflake Blue. They look very different as well, with “Snowflake” having large real looking snowflakes while “Snowflake Blue” uses abstract dots and lines to form garlands of snowflakes. In fact, keep in mind that the latter is often called “Snowflake Garland”.

We have seen original boxes for both, so we are relatively sure that those names are correct. However, there is always that issue where it’s not known whether Pyrex meant the “color” at the end of the name to actually be a part of the pattern name, or if it was just a color description (i.e. Spring Blossom GREEN, Old Town BLUE). To keep our sanity, we’re going to assume the Snowflake Blue IS the full name.

“Snowflake” actually came in several color schemes: turquoise/white, charcoal/white and even pink/white (Crown pyrex??). Keep in mind that there are several promotional pieces that have snowflake-like designs on them as well. [Back to Top]

Is the “Square Flowers” pattern promotional… and why are boxed sets labled VERDE!???

  

Without a doubt, this pattern has given us the most headaches among the more “common” patterns. In the first place, Square Flowers may not actually be the official name of the pattern, but we are not 100% sure about that. One thing is sure: that name is commonly used so we have decided to call it that too for now. The patterns looks like square flowers, so we guess that’s appropriate.

Secondly, we have actually seen several original boxes containing casseroles with the Square Flowers pattern - but those boxes say VERDE! Verde, you may recall is a mostly solid colored pattern (with exception of the lids of the casseroles). Now, we thought at first it might be the case that the Square Flowers items were actually part of the Verde line. The problem is that the Verde line already has divided dishes and casseroles - why would they have identically sized alternate casseroles in the line with the square flowers pattern? Still, we have never seen a box that said “Square Flowers” on it.

That also brings us to the issue that an ORANGE version of Square Flowers exists for casseroles as well - these feature TWO rows of square flowers and only occur on Bake-Serve-Store and Round Casseroles. So it’s even more unlikely this pattern was Verde - since they’re orange!

Final analysis - we’ll continue to call it Square Flowers. But we don’t know what this pattern is called, or whether it is promotional (seems very unlikely though), or whether it is meant to be a part of the Verde set, or meant to be its own pattern. Maybe you can tell us? =) [Back to Top]