This New Pyrex Costco Set Has Customers Split Between Hate And Love

Social media user costcohotfinds (who recently posted about the lemon raspberry loaf) has scoured through Costco aisles again and discovered another item on the warehouse club's shelves. It's a new, eight-piece mixing bowl set from Pyrex, a company whose glass kitchenware is in many households across the country. It includes four glass bowls of varying sizes along with matching lids (hence eight pieces) retailing for an affordable $16.99.

Though these seem like a perfectly ordinary Costco find, the bowls have commenters buzzing. Some people are miffed about it being described as an eight-piece set since the lids are counted as pieces, while others don't like that these mixing bowls are both lidded and round, which would potentially make them space-inefficient, an issue many of us tackle in our kitchens. One commenter says, "Just round takes up so much room in refrigerator. Square just makes more storage sense. Pyrex please listen!" There are, of course, a few fans since Pyrex is a household name, but a few astute shoppers pointed out a key detail about these bowls that's worth considering.

The most interesting detail about these Pyrex bowls, however, is in something subtle. One commenter on the post astutely points out, "Don't forget this is pyrex not PYREX. pyrex is made of a cheaper material and highly sensitive to extreme temperature changes."

This might sound strange, but it's actually true — the lowercase letters aren't just a stylistic branding choice. Things get a little confusing here, but uppercase PYREX branded goods typically use borosilicate glass, which is designed to handle sudden shifts between temperatures (preventing shattering). Meanwhile, lowercase pyrex products tend to be made of soda-lime glass, which isn't treated to handle sudden temperature changes and so isn't meant to be used for heavy-duty cooking.

You're generally not going to want to make scalding hot soups or sauces in these Costco pyrex bowls — they're mainly for storage, making them a one-trick pony despite being Pyrex-branded. Most people aren't big fans of unitaskers in the kitchen (though there's always a few exceptions). If you're looking for storage, sure, they're just like any other lidded bowls; just know that they aren't going to be your best bet for everything you need in a mixing bowl.