The mats are made of fiberglass mesh and food-grade silicone. They have a rubbery texture that frankly made me skeptical to put them in the oven, but the promise of a nonstick bake intrigued me enough to give it a try. And after testing them out on a variety of foods, I was sold. First up was roasted prosciutto. Normally, a delicate meat like this would stick to a baking sheet or even aluminum foil, but it practically slid off of the Silpat mat after getting crispy in the oven. Next, I used a mat to bake chocolate chip cookies rather than prep my pan with cooking spray. I was delighted to see the baked cookies slip off the mat with a quick shovel of my spatula. To buy: $23 (was $25); amazon.com. Because the mats are reusable, they’re a great investment that will last you a long time. However, you do have to clean them in between uses, which is the only area foil has them beat in terms of convenience. Overall, it’s worth taking the time to clean the mats for how well they prevent food from sticking and grime from forming. “It’s kept major messes off my rather battered cookie sheets and allowed me to reuse some whose nonstick coating has seen better days,” another wrote. “No degradation, no damage to the silicone, and no messes on my trays!”
