Food silicone: composition, application

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 20:55

Silicone is a very common material used today for the production of products for various purposes. These can be molds (moulds designed to make sculptures, jewelry, etc.), fishing tackle, cosmetics, etc. However, food-grade silicone used to make kitchen utensils is currently the most popular.

Dishes

Until recently, food-grade silicone was used to make only molds for baking. Today, dishes and various kitchen accessories are also made from it. Very good performance characteristics are distinguished, for example, by silicone colanders and double boilers. Their undoubted advantages include, first of all, safety for he alth. Food-grade silicone does not oxidize and does not emit any harmful substances even when heated strongly. In addition, it is completely hypoallergenic material. Colanders made of silicone, among other things, are very convenient to store. They can simply be folded several times and put in a locker.

Because silicone has a very lowdegree of thermal conductivity, potholders, heat-insulating handles and coasters for hot dishes are often made from it. The performance of these products is simply amazing. Stands reliably protect countertops from damage, and oven mitts allow you to remove dishes even from an open fire without the risk of burning your hands. The simplest kitchen utensils of this variety can, by the way, be made independently. For this purpose, liquid food grade silicone is usually used, from which the desired product is simply cast.

Durability can also be attributed to the advantages of dishes made from this material. Abrasion, unlike, for example, from the same wood, it is completely not subject to. In addition, it is elastic and does not slip at all. These qualities make it ideal for making mallet tops and glass cases.

Silicone molds

Moulds made from this material are simply very popular with housewives. Food-grade silicone is most often used specifically for the manufacture of molds. There are several advantages to using it for this purpose:

• As with cookware, good non-stick properties. Silicone baking molds do not even need to be greased when used.
• Elasticity. Pulling out pastries from this form is very simple. If desired, the mold can even be simply turned inside out.

• No smell whatsoever. Flour products made in such molds are completelyretain their natural taste.
• Easy care. Forms made of this material are very easy to wash.

You can use silicone molds not only for making flour products. Very often they are used for baking fruits, vegetables, meat and fish stews. Some housewives make beautiful marshmallows and puddings using them.

How to spot a fake

Of course, only high-quality food-grade silicone, manufactured in compliance with all the required technologies, differs in all the advantages described above. But, unfortunately, on the modern market there is simply a huge number of such products cast from fake material. You can distinguish them from the real ones by external signs:

• According to questionable packaging. The absence of a label and description in Russian may indicate a low quality of dishes.

• The presence of an unpleasant smell of rubber.
• Appearance of a white streak on the bend.

Very cheap products made of food grade silicone are not worth buying. Too low a price can be a sign of a fake. Among other things, when buying such dishes, you should definitely pay attention to the labeling. The presence of the letters CE means that the product complies with European standards. The letters FDA are affixed to silicone utensils if they are FDA-approved.

Disadvantages of silicone kitchenwareaccessories

The disadvantage of dishes made from this material, many housewives consider that it is too soft, and it is not very convenient to use items because of this. In this case, the way out may be the purchase of products of this type with a metal frame. Also, the disadvantage of silicone dishes is that they do not wash very well in the dishwasher.

Composition of regular and food grade silicone

So, forms and utensils made from this material are considered completely harmless. But is it really so? Let's look into this in more detail. All silicones are, in fact, nothing more than one of the varieties of artificial rubber. That is, they belong to the group of polymers with monomers that contain silicon atoms.

There are both one-component and two-component silicone. In the latter case, in the manufacture of various kinds of products, a hardener is additionally used. All silicones are made up of a silicon-oxygen chain - SiO-SiO-SiO. Organic side groups are added to this inorganic chain. They are attached via silicon atoms. By changing the length of the main chain, varying the side groups, specialists obtain materials with different properties.

The composition of the silicone of any groups, therefore, is almost the same. The food version of this material differs from other varieties in that it includes various kinds of additives that increase its resistance to high temperatures and prevent destruction due to contact with food.

Manysurely would like to know how to make silicone at home. Unfortunately, making its food version with your own hands is impossible. You can only make ordinary silicone, which cannot be used for baking or cooking other dishes. Such material is made from liquid glass and ethyl alcohol in different proportions.

There is also a very interesting edible silicone on sale today. It is used as bait when fishing.

How to use silicone molds

When baking with this kitchen accessory, you should follow these rules:

• Pour the dough into the mold already when it is on the wire rack or on a baking sheet. Otherwise, due to the softness of the walls, it will be problematic to transfer it later without spilling the contents.
• It is not necessary to grease the baking dish before use. They do this only once - after buying a new product.
• Ready-made pastries should be held in the form for several minutes. After that, it can be obtained without any problems.
• It is impossible to use knives and various metal objects to separate burnt pastries from silicone. It is very easy to tear or cut through this material. Instead of a knife in such cases, a wooden spatula is used.

Freezing Molds

If desired, silicone molds can be used not only for baking, but also for preparing frozen sweets or jelly. This materialperfectly tolerates not only high, but also low temperatures. Above, we looked at how to make silicone, not food, but ordinary. By the way, this option may well be suitable for making ice molds.

There are even special silicone molds for making ice. Pulling the finished product out of them is very simple. You don't need a knife or anything to do this.

Like silicone utensils, molds intended for baking or freezing can be stored folded. Of course, in no case should such products be put on fire. Food grade silicone will melt.

Sealant

Food grade silicone can be used for more than just molds and dishes. Its unique properties allow it to be used in some other areas. For example, food-grade silicone sealant is used in the repair of equipment in bakeries, confectionery factories, etc.

Use for vegetable cooking

Some housewives believe that everything is cooked a little faster in silicone molds than in other dishes. In addition, it is easier to care for kitchen utensils made of this material. Therefore, they use molds for cooking not only baking, but also other dishes in the oven or microwave. For example, in such a mold you can make a delicious vegetable stew according to this recipe:

• A small piece of meat is beaten, cut into small pieces and marinated in sour cream for half an hour.
• At this time to bakevegetables are being prepared. Potatoes and eggplant should be cut into cubes, carrots should be cut into pieces, and cabbage should be finely chopped.
• The slices should be put in a cup and mixed, pre-s alting.
• Then green peas are added to the vegetable mixture.
• Sprinkle chopped green onions on top.
• Next, meat is added to the vegetables.

The resulting mixture is poured into a silicone mold and placed in the oven for about 1.5 hours.

Baking recipes

Flour products in such dishes, as already mentioned, it is allowed to make absolutely any. It can be, for example, a delicious cupcake. It is prepared as follows:

• 200g of margarine melting on the stove.
• 1.5 cups of sugar is added to it (no need to remove from the stove).
• 4 tbsp. l. cocoa and 100 ml of milk is poured. The mixture should boil and cool.

Separately, beat 4 eggs and pour them into the margarine mass. Then a little soda and 2 cups of flour are added to the mixture. Then everything is thoroughly mixed and poured into a silicone mold. Bake the cake for 45 minutes.

How to make ice

To make ice in molds, it is best to purchase mineral water without gas. You can also use boiled water. Very unusual ice is obtained from sweetened, tinted with food coloring or juice water. In this case, a berry or a piece of some kind is first placed on the bottom of the mold.fruit. Next, sweetened water is poured. Ice molds, by the way, are easy to make, including using food-grade silicone sealant.

Other species

As already mentioned, silicone can be not only food grade. There is also a cosmetic option, medical and construction. Above, we considered how to make alcohol silicone, which can be attributed to the construction group. Such material is used for the manufacture of molds for various kinds of decorative products. Medical silicone is most often used for casting implants. Shampoos, shower gels, etc. are made using a cosmetic option.

Edible silicone, as already mentioned, is used in fishing. Lures made from it can be shaped like fish or worms. There are a variety of options for such products.

As you can see, the scope of food grade silicone is quite wide. It can be used for the manufacture of dishes, baking dishes and various kinds of kitchen utensils. By the way, for the production of such products, a single-component version of this material is usually used. Two-component silicone is more often used for the manufacture of molds for soap, figurines, etc. The fact is that the hardener may contain various kinds of substances harmful to he alth.