Six Questions about Replacing Rusty Aluminum Baking Pans

I wanted to use the last of my in-laws rhubarb to make a peach and rhubarb crumble. My glass baking dish was already in use. I rooted around in the back of the cupboard for a metal baking pan of the same size.

I was very surprised to find that the inside of my metal baking pan was rusty! I checked the rest of my cake pans and they are rusty too. How can this happen? I don’t use these pans very often!

Has this ever happened to you?

My first thought was to use sandpaper to remove the rust and save my baking pans. Then I remembered that aluminum has to be coated with something to make it food safe. If I sanded off the rust, I’d sand off the coating and that would make matters worse when I used the pans.

My best bet will be to replace the rusty baking pans with a new set. Now I have even more questions about what to get because I got my current pans as a Christmas gift.

• If I go with aluminum non stick baking pans it would lessen the chance of the pan rusting but then I’d have to be deal with the health concerns with using nonstick coated pans with the higher temperatures that baking requires.

• Do they make an aluminum baking pan with a safe non stick or regular coating?

• Do they make stainless steel baking pans? They wouldn’t rust, and I wouldn’t have to worry if there was BPA in the pan liner material.

• Do they make cast iron baking pans? I know you can bake in a cast iron skillet and they make enameled cast iron casserole dishes but both of those would make a wonky shaped cake I think.

• Silicone is supposed to be an inert plastic and is considered safe. I have silicone oven mitts and like them. I’m leaning toward silicone baking pans because I’m curious. Have you tried it? Did you like it?

• On the other hand, should I just throw caution to the wind and buy the Springform pan I have always wanted. I don’t bake cakes and tarts as much as I would like (and my waistline is thankful for that.) I hope that if I buy a quality pan, it won’t rust.

Do you have any recommendations or pros and cons? What would you do?

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