Flex to impress: Swetha Sivakumar has the scoop on silicone

To understand silicone, it helps to think of this material as a group of teenagers forced to attend a family gathering. They have no interest in bonding with anything around them. They band together and glare unwelcomingly at all who approach.

In the case of the teens, this would appear to be hormonal (or so one hopes, because at least this means it will pass.)

In the case of silicone, the indifference and resistance come from the fact that the silicon-oxygen chain at the core of such compounds is supremely stable. It takes immense amounts of energy to break those bonds.
This is what makes the substance so chemically inert, as well as water-resistant, flexible and capable of withstanding extreme temperatures (as high as 230 and as low as -60 degrees Celsius).
The strong yet flexible chain is also what makes silicone spatulas and moulds so bendy, allowing them to seamlessly shape and then release everything from cupcakes and chocolate to ice cubes. Even heated, the material does not react to acids and does not adhere to food, which makes it ideal for whisks, spatulas and bakeware.
The popularity of the material would come as a surprise to the English chemist Frederic Stanley Kipping, who coined the word in 1905 and was a pioneer in the field, creating a range of such polymers. He didn’t think much of them; he dismissed the material, in fact, as a “sticky mess”.
It was Corning Glass Works, in 1930, that first saw its potential. The company was looking for a new material that was more heat-resistant than plastic and more flexible than glass. Silicone polymers fit the bill and Corning began to use them as sealants in glass and electrical equipment.
In the 90-odd years since, the compound has found its way into medical implants and hair conditioners, lotions, serums and even some silicone-rubber boots once worn on the Moon.
Now for a little silicone vs silicon chat. While a lot of people think this is a case of UK / US spelling variations, it isn’t that at all.
Silicon is a naturally occurring element. It is found in trace elements in the human body and, combined with oxygen as silicates, it is found in substances such as quartz and sand.
Silicone is a man-made material in which silicon and oxygen atoms bond (as siloxane), which can then attach to various chemical groups, to make a range of compounds.
Add gums, resins and rubbers to siloxane and one gets super-flexible polymers. Add certain chemicals and one can make a fluid that mixes seamlessly into lipsticks, lotions and serums, making them adhere better to skin and hair while yielding a glossier texture.
Back to the kitchen, parchment paper is now sprayed with this material (which is why our cookies don’t stick as much as our mom’s cookies did). And silicone mats make it far easier to shape and set sticky jaggery chikki or caramel candy. Once cooled and hardened, it just peels off. There are no lingering goodbyes… I’m looking at you, aluminium foil.
But every ingredient has an Achilles’ heel. Silicone’s kryptonite is vapour. Its pores absorb odours and cling to them. Make dal in a cooker with a silicone gasket and then make kheer in the same cooker (even the next day), and you can expect to have lingering hints of the pulses in the dessert. So mixed use can be problematic.
The really big downside, though, is that this material doesn’t biodegrade. Environmental studies suggest it is better than single-use plastic (which isn’t saying much). But don’t swap wood, glass or metal for this bendy dark knight, if you can help it.
And if you must buy some, cling to it; pass it on. It isn’t going to break down anyway.
(To reach Swetha Sivakumar with questions or feedback, email [email protected])