BakeItFun Silicone Baking Mat

I received a BakeItFun baking mat and have some comments about it. First of all, I don't bake much at all, even though I think it is fun and my husband loves anything that I bake. Baking is time consuming and it is much easier to throw ingredients into a crockpot and then forget about it until it is time to eat. 

However, I love my husband so I do like to bake occasionally. :)

I was worried at first about baking with silicone. I use silicone molds for my gummy candies and chocolates, but I fill the molds and put them in the freezer or refrigerator, and never heat them up. Even though it says they are good to 450 degrees, I just haven't done it yet.

These baking mats are good to 450 degrees, and the FDA says it is safe. But, it is not solid silicone, and that is what I don't like about it. It is made of fiberglass with silicone on the outside. Now, I agree, this makes it nice to have in the oven as it gives it even heating. But once my husband decides to cut brownies while they are on the silicone baking mat, and cuts into it, then the whole mat is ruined. You don't want fiberglass anywhere near your food with the possibility of contaminating it.

The mat is flexible and can fold, to make it easy fit in a drawer or small space.



After researching a bit more I saw over and over again that silicone is believed to have low toxicity and thermal stability, but you may want to use it only up to about 428 degrees F.

There are some other positives about it:

1. It is easy to clean
2. It is non-stick
3. Eco-friendly, allowing you to replace disposables like parchment paper.

However, it doesn't biodegrade, so while it is still safer than non-stick cookware treated with PFOA, if you do cut this mat and expose the fiberglass, you will end up having to throw it in a landfill.