Why are your PYREX dishes breaking? Company files for bankruptcy

Folks all across TikTok have been claiming their PYREX dishware is cracking and breaking — but why is it happening? Here’s what you need to know, and why the company is filing for bankruptcy protection.

TikTok is a perfect place for foodies of all kinds to share their confectionary creations… but recently, there’s been an influx of at-home chefs claiming their supposedly indestructible PYREX dishware is faltering in a major way.

Take this video from user ‘gothowl,’ for instance, who claimed that their PYREX cake pan shattered in their oven while baking a tasty treat at 325 degrees Farenheit just one minute before it was done. (Yikes, that’s painful.)

However, there is an explanation for why this has been happening to so many people lately — and it was nicely laid out by another TikToker named ‘Cooking at Pam’s Place.’

What’s the difference between PYREX and Pyrex?

First, let’s give an explanation as to what PYREX actually is and why it’s supposedly so great for cooking. PYREX is a brand that specializes in cookware made out of a type of borosilicate glass.

Borosilicate boasts a far lower thermal expansion rate than regular tempered glass, meaning that it’s harder to break at very high and very low temperatures. For instance, when you pour hot water on a cold glass, it might shatter — but not PYREX.

Although it’s been hailed as one of the number-one brands in cookware for some time, one of PYREX’s parent companies, Corning, sold licensing rights for the brand to other companies… only using lowercase lettering, of course.

That’s why you’ve likely seen a ton of dishware at stores using the ‘Pyrex’ label in lowercase — but it’s not the same thing. Products sold with the lowercase ‘Pyrex’ by other companies are probably using tempered glass instead of the tried-and-true borosilicate… meaning that it’s far more likely to shatter at extreme temperatures.

This fiasco comes on the heels of a big change for Pyrex’s owner, Instant Brands, which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to “tighter credit and higher interest rates,” as reported by abc7news.

The company will now be restructuring; but that’s not the end of the drama. The company is also involved in a Class Action lawsuit due to shattering cookware as a possible result of this PYREX vs Pyrex debacle.

This is just the latest foodie fiasco to take over TikTok after a McDonald’s worker sparked a debate on the platform after claiming their ice cream machine was broken.