I have always suggested that beakers should be placed inside of 5 qt. Corning Ware dish when using a hot plate. Until now, I didn't know that there were different types of CW and some will break. Recently, I bought a large white CW dish and it broke on the hotplate. I then put the ceramic dish from a crockpot on the hotplate and it broke also, after a couple of hours. In both cases, I was lucky not to lose any gold solution that was in the beaker. This is the CW stuff that I broke - don't buy it.
http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/corningware/french-white
The only white opaque CW dishes that I know won't break are those made from Pyroceram. They must be listed for stove top use. CW stopped making them in the late 90s but resumed production in 2009. The 5 qt. one at the top left in the first link below is the shape I used. If you buy a used one, make sure the inside isn't scratched or rough. If the glaze is damaged, liquid can penetrate to the inner, more porous material and it can expand and break the dish when heated. However, the glaze is very tough stuff and it is difficult to mechanically damage. The only time I ever damaged it was when I heated conc. sulfuric directly in it to about 300-400F. AR doesn't faze it and I've used it directly for evaporations. I've seen quite a few of these at flea markets and resale shops. With a new one, make sure it says StoveTop.
http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/search-results?searchBox=pyroceram&x=0&y=0
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=corning+ware+5+quart&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3286
I have also used transparent CW Vision ware with great success. The flat bottomed roaster type works better than the bowl-shaped ones. When these first came out, the TV ad showed them melting solder in a dish with a torch. They stopped making Vision in 1992.
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=corning+ware+vision&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=
http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/corningware/french-white
The only white opaque CW dishes that I know won't break are those made from Pyroceram. They must be listed for stove top use. CW stopped making them in the late 90s but resumed production in 2009. The 5 qt. one at the top left in the first link below is the shape I used. If you buy a used one, make sure the inside isn't scratched or rough. If the glaze is damaged, liquid can penetrate to the inner, more porous material and it can expand and break the dish when heated. However, the glaze is very tough stuff and it is difficult to mechanically damage. The only time I ever damaged it was when I heated conc. sulfuric directly in it to about 300-400F. AR doesn't faze it and I've used it directly for evaporations. I've seen quite a few of these at flea markets and resale shops. With a new one, make sure it says StoveTop.
http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/search-results?searchBox=pyroceram&x=0&y=0
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=corning+ware+5+quart&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3286
I have also used transparent CW Vision ware with great success. The flat bottomed roaster type works better than the bowl-shaped ones. When these first came out, the TV ad showed them melting solder in a dish with a torch. They stopped making Vision in 1992.
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=corning+ware+vision&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=
