Are vintage Corningware pans worth keeping?

Since Pyrex changed its formula and is now more prone to shattering, vintage Pyrex at garage sales and flea markets is a find. But is the same logic true as to Corningware cookware? In the 70's the glass cooktop was popular and my mom was the first on the block to get one. Out went the old pans and in was a whole set of Corningware pots and pans-glass lids as well. This cookware has been sitting in my basement collecting dust and taking up valuable space. I am wondering should this stuff be donated to the local charity or does it still have a purpose? I know it is fine for baking but I just bought a stove with cast iron grates and I do not need more baking pans...but the glass lids make transport less spillworthy. Please let me know if I should keep them or get rid of them Thanks.

I am curious about this too, because I see the older stuff at estate sales and wonder whether it would be good to pick it up.

Hi- I also post over at Jill Cataldo's couponing blog, and I just did a search on her site, and I dug up an article that she wrote in December of 2013, as to why she loves the old sets of corning ware. The old pans can be used in the freezer, and I am not sure if the new ones can. Corning Ware has also changed the composition of their pans too, and she says that you can still buy the pans with the original composition, but those pans cost $87 on Amazon. She also says that there is a Corning Ware outlet store in Huntley, which is where she lives, and you can get glass lids and rubber gaskets for your pans, and occasionally they will sell some of the pans with the old composition for a lot less than Amazon. Here is a link to her article. http://www.jillcataldo.com/my_love_for_old_corning_ware. As you can see, she has quite a collection of old Corning Ware.

Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi,

Contemporary pyrex reformulation was removing lead from the glass, which was mandated by the government. It is no more prone to breakage than it was before.

I did break a heavy corning pot on Christmas day. I forgot I had it in the oven when I lifted it off the stove. My hand was burning and I dropped it hard on the metal grate. Handle snapped off and the bottom cracked. I scrapped out the gravy and threw the pot away. I used this pot for at least 10 years and likely more.

Corning cookware, new or old, are kitchen workhorses. I wouldn't avoid them. You do have to take into consideration they are glass and avoid thermal shock: when I remove them from the oven, I put them on a trivet with a towel on top.

Regards,

You have to decide whether you will used it. Its still worth it and its a prized finding at garage and estate sales and thrift shops. I am not a big fan design wise of the little blue cornflower type corning ware and I have my own stash of French white that I use so I had to get rid of some of the stuff. Most of my mom's pyrex ware which is clear was recycled to my son and it seems less brittle than the new stuff. If you don't want it why not try selling it on ebay? Also maybe someone here might want it or even buy it from you.