Food-grade silicones are increasingly the material of choice for the entire food processing cycle, from large-scale industrial facilities and restaurants to home cooking, as well as in food packaging and labelling. They are convenient, safe, heat resistant, long-lasting, versatile and ensure no modification of food properties and tastes when in contact with food.

They are particularly appreciated, by both food professionals and for home cooking, as ideal materials for kitchenware, in particular utensils and molds. This is because they can be specifically designed and manufactured to meet exact specifications, such as hardness, degree of flexibility and heat resistance, to make almost every tool in the cooking process that was previously made of materials such as glass, ceramics, metals, plastics, wood, etc. Silicone utensils are also perfectly adapted to non-stick cooking surfaces and protect the life cycle of pots and pans.

Versatile and efficient, silicone materials used for kitchenware are absolutely safe for human contact, as exemplified by the fact that they are also used for demanding childcare products, such as baby bottles.

What are the main applications of silicone-based kitchenware products?

Silicone molds

For many years now, Silicone molds of all sorts, to make creative and convenient shapes for cakes and pastries, ice cream, chocolates and many other foods have entered most kitchens for years. Silicone molds are flexible, easy to demold, resist high and low temperatures, maintain their original shapes, do not alter the taste of food and are easy to wash and store.

Utensils

Silicone scrapers, spatulas, beater parts, spoons, oil brushes are just some of the most popular uses for silicone kitchen utensils. These cooking tools can be designed and manufactured to exact degrees of hardness and flexibility, are stable and durable and can be used in all mixing and cooking recipients, including those with scratch-free protection.

Recipients

Food-grade silicone is used to make bowls, basins, plates, cups and many other food and human contact products.

Summary of the features of silicones for kitchenware:

• Excellent heat and cold resistance over a wide span of temperatures (-60°C to 220°C)

• Easy to demold thanks to customizable formulation and post-polishing finishes
• Excellent tensile and tear strength features to create robust and durable products
• Guarantee of safe and neutral effects on food and taste.

Why is silicone an efficient and cost-effective material to make quality kitchenware products for manufacturers?

Silicone rubber formulations can be adapted to produce specific mechanical properties for making a wide range of kitchenware and utensils. They offer excellent processability, which means they can be integrated into existing manufacturing systems or new facilities. Continuing research and development and growing production volumes are bringing the cost of raw materials and formulations down, with interesting price points for mass market manufacturers.