Cooking tools — from spatulas to kitchen mitts, baking pans to pastry brushes — are being fashioned from silicone plastic that goes from the freezer to the oven without ill effect.

Silicones are synthetic polymers that can be made into fluids, gels and rubbers (elastomers) whose physical and chemical properties include a high degree of chemical inertness, thermal stability and resistance to oxidation. In other words, they're food-safe (according to the Food and Drug Administration), they don't absorb heat and they don't rust.

The silicone wave hit professional kitchens in the 1980s in the form of pastry molds and liners made from silicone with an internal fiberglass mesh, produced by European manufacturers with brand names like Silpat, Gastroflex, Lekue and Fiberlux. Now familiar names such as Tupperware (Magic Baking Forms brand) are getting into the act.

Silicone kitchen tools have many advantages: Silicone spoons and scrapers don't damage nonstick pan surfaces and they sweep squeaky clean, so you can scrape out those elusive pan juices or that last bit of gravy. Silicone oven gloves protect you up to 500 degrees and, so long as you don't cut them, don't lose their effectiveness the way quilted fabric gloves do as the quilting begins to bunch up in spots or the fabric becomes scorched.

The silicone can be molded into almost any shape but the pans are floppy and flexible, so you can pop food out of a muffin tin or a madeleine form without danger of its losing shape.

Even sugary foods don't stick to silicone surfaces and the kitchenware is dishwasher-safe. The silicone molds also are used in making pâtés, molding vegetable purées and forming candies.

Especially exciting for Island cooks: Silicone bakeware doesn't rust or degrade in our humid climate. And, a boon for Hawai'i's storage-deprived living spaces, you can actually roll up a muffin "pan" or squash a Bundt cake form for storage and it will pop right back into shape.

And the pans are, well, cute: They come in a variety of bright colors. If yours is an open-plan kitchen, they could actually became an item of décor.

There are downsides: Silicone does melt if exposed to direct flame or a hot burner or temperatures above 500 degrees. The pans also can be cut with a sharp knife.

If you bake a half-pan of muffins, you need to fill the empty spaces with water; testers have reported smoke and flame if the pans are baked "blind" at high temperatures.

The pans don't stand up well to heavy or dense mixtures such as seed cakes, meatloaf or fruitcake; they may sag and produce a misshapen product. Some brands provide rigid rings to fit under the rim of baking pans, to help them keep their shape. Others must be used on a baking sheet or a rack.

Pastry chefs universally approve of the silicone sheets used for lining cooking sheets or jellyroll pans, but some don't think the bakeware gives the desired browned surface color and crispy texture to some baked goods.

And the pans aren't cheap:

Expect to spend $15 and up for a pan or muffin tin.

When I decided to invest in silicone pans — to test them out and also because many of my baking tins are rusting and dented — I spent more than $50 (exclusive of shipping) on a 15-puka mini-muffin mold, two 8-inch cake pans and a Bundt cake pan from QVC. They are French-made Elastomoule pans by De Buyer. Some pastry chefs think the French brands are superior. (My QVC shopping spree took place some time ago, before local kitchen supply shops, such as Executive Chef and Compleat Kitchen, began carrying several brands of alluring bright-colored silicone pans.)

I haven't regretted the investment. Oatcakes made in the mini-muffin mold browned nicely and popped out in perfect shape. And the mold cooled quickly so I could go on to another batch in record time.

My first attempt at a Bundt cake stuck in the curves, which led me to read the directions and find out I was supposed to lightly oil the pan (some brands suggest oiling, others do not). The second cake, prepared for a charity auction, had a beautiful, glossy sheen and attractive shape.

As with any new cooking tool, there are tricks to be learned:

• Cakes may brown too much on the bottom of silicone cake pans that are placed directly on a cookie sheet. Instead, place a rack (such as a cooling rack) on the cookie sheet and bake the cakes on the rack.

• Silicone pans acquire a greasy film that washing doesn't completely remove and that can affect the life of the pan (said to be good for 2,000-plus uses). It's best to wash the cookware in hot, soapy water, dry with paper toweling and place in a 250-degree oven for 5 minutes to fully dry and burn off grease.