Even if youโre not using it to cook with, it matters quite a bit how your glass is madeโboth for aesthetics and for your health and safety. To simplify things, weโve put together a comprehensive guide to borosilicate glassโcommonly used to make drinking glasses, tupperware, and other kitchen itemsโand why you might want to consider buying crystal glass instead.
What Is Borosilicate Glass?
The most common type of glassโsoda-lime glassโis made primarily from silica (aka sand), soda ash, and lime. Itโs usually not tempered or heat treated, and is easy and inexpensive to produceโhence why itโs used in everything from mason jars to beer bottles.
Borosilicate glass, on the other hand, is made with an additional ingredient: boron trioxide. This added compound makes for a glass thatโs much stronger and more thermal shock-resistant than soda lime glass, or even tempered glass. In simple terms, a casserole dish or pie plate made from borosilicate glass can undergo extreme temperature changes without so much as cracking. Note, however, that borosilicate tends to be more brittle than tempered glass, which makes it more susceptible to breaking when dropped.
Borosilicate Uses
Borosilicateโs hardiness and thermal shock resistance makes it an incredibly versatile material: If youโve got a glass blender jar, pie plate, or even just a regular old set of drinking glasses, youโre probably acquainted with it already.
Whereas you would never use a cheap soda-lime glass for something youโd put in the oven or microwave (we hope not, anyway), borosilicate is pretty much all-purpose. In fact, borosilicate is so reliable that itโs even used to make labware like beakers, flasks, and test tubes.
Is Borosilicate Glass Safe?
Borosilicate glass is completely safe and non toxic. Like our Glassware, itโs made without heavy metals like lead or cadmium, both of which can occasionally be found in vintage drinking glasses and stemware. And since itโs so durable, you wonโt need to worry about your borosilicate bakeware cracking or exploding when transferring it to the oven from the fridge or vice versa. Itโs even safe to put in the microwaveโand the dishwasher.
How Does Borosilicate Compare to Crystal Glass?
As much as we love borosilicate for blenders and storage containers, crystal glass is a different beast. If youโve sipped from one of our crystal Wine Glasses before, youโve probably noticed the thin, elegant rim and gorgeous, transparent bowl. This is because theyโre made using quartz sandโa mixture of kaolin, silica sand, and feldsparโsourced from one of the purest mineral deposits in Europe. The final product is not only lead-free, but also produces the clearest glass possible.
Of course, borosilicate wine glasses can make a fine, budget-friendly alternative to crystalโespecially if you live in a house with kids (or are particularly accident-prone). For elegance and doing right by the bottle of wine, however, weโd have to recommend opting for crystal.
Which One Is Better: Borosilicate or Crystal?
Borosilicate glass and crystal glass each have their own unique applications and benefits. As we mentioned, borosilicate is sturdy and resistant to breakage: this makes it an excellent option for items with heavy-duty usage, like food storage containers. However, it doesnโt offer the same delicate look and feel as crystal. Not to mention, you wonโt get the same high-pitched โclinkโ sound that you would from high-quality crystalโborosilicate instead makes a โclunkโ sound.
While high-quality crystal stemware is more delicate than borosilicate, it offers an unparalleled wine drinking experience. Not only will it flow seamlessly from the glass to your mouth (something you wonโt get with a thick, clunky rim), but youโll also be able to better observe the colors and textures of wine as you swirl itโa must-have quality for any aspiring somm.
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Borosilicate is our top pick for tupperware or for reheating leftovers in the oven or microwave. When it comes to stemware, however, we get a bit more preciousโand once you try your first sip of perfectly chilled sav blanc out of one of our proprietary-shaped White Wine Glasses, we think youโll be converted, too.