Hi, folks-

I’m beginning to suspect that my silicone cup cake ‘papers’ are giving the outside of my muffins an off smell/taste. Has anyone else experienced this? I’ve washed them repeatedly, and baked a couple batches in them in the last couple weeks. They’re several years old. They work really well otherwise, and my family doesn’t corroborate my suspicions…

Also, someone suggested to me recently that there is question about the safety of baking in silicone. Does anyone know about this?

Cathy

Yours probably aren’t 100% silicone.  There are only a few manufacturers who make 100% silicone products, such a Lekue, and they are more expensive, but of better quality and not full of other plastics, etc. that give off those bad odors.  One way you can tell is by bending the silicone—if it turns white, then it has those fillers.

Also—silicone will absorb odors of things cooked in it—so if the taste is a food flavor that is probably what happened.  If it is chemically and plastic-y, then it is because it is not 100% silicone.

Great tip on bending the silicone Matthew - I didn’t know that one.

Matthew - 05 July 2009 08:44 PM

Also—silicone will absorb odors of things cooked in it—so if the taste is a food flavor that is probably what happened.  If it is chemically and plastic-y, then it is because it is not 100% silicone.

I’ve read this and I’ve read the opposite as well (no odor absorption).  I use 100% silicone sheet pan liners and spatulas all the time, for everything from roasting garlic to making caramel, and I’ve never experienced any flavor transfer.  Just my two cents .

Thank you all for not suggesting that I’m experiencing olfactory hallucinations!
The cups in question are called Sili-Cups, from Sur La Table. They pass the white-bend test. The label claims they are made of ‘high quality food-grade silicone’.
They do retain some scent of what was last baked in them. Despite scrubbing, they might have some stale oil residue.

I have a silicone spatula that I dote on (one piece, with a rigid shaft embedded in the silicone of the handle) that also retains odors, but I think it isn’t in contact with one part of the food long enough to transfer noticeably. My silicone baking sheets haven’t given any trouble.

I have to say I have experienced silicone picking up savory flavors on my spatulas, haven’t noticed it on bakeware, but I don’t use all that much silicone bakeware.

I have also noticed that silicone, especially spatulas, leak out a greasy residue after a while and tend to smell and taste like dishwasher detergent.  I think the fat from food is being absorbed, not all of it is washed off in the dishwasher, and it sort of oozes out and forms a greasy film as it sits in the drawer.

I have occasionally come across that greasy like film on silicone spatulas after they come out of the dishwasher, but I give them a quick wash in the sink with Ivory liquid (no scent), and that seems to take care of it.