Aluminum Foil Is Cooler Than People Think
Aluminum foil is a fairly simple subject, but it raises a lot of questions such as “does it really matter which side I use?” And “does she really protect my thoughts from them ?” Plus, it can be infinitely customizable, making it a work item in the kitchen with many uses.
It may sound boring to you, but if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, it becomes clear just how necessary and convenient flexible metal sheets are. I personally cannot manage my kitchen without aluminum foil, and I am here to preach the good word.
Which brand is the best?
To get the most out of your aluminum purchase, you will need foil that is easy to manipulate and is unlikely to rip or puncture, so just skip anything that isn’t “heavy duty.” Earlier this year, Sweethome spent hours testing various brands of foil before announcing Reynolds Wrap Heavy Duty as the winner (Great Value Heavy Duty works just as well, although testers noted its “bouncy” quality):
All the heavy-duty foils we tested were equally strong and easy to work with, far surpassing the thinner and weaker standard foils (don’t waste your money!). But Reynolds has slightly better ductility than other heavy-duty types and was one of the thickest and least likely to puncture with regular use. It’s also more affordable than generic brands and comes in a better choice in width and length.
Six months later they still support this statement, although it is recommended to use the dispenser for aluminum foil ChicWrap for optimal rolling and cutting. However, if you don’t want to buy a fancy dispenser, you can use a foil box: just insert the little end tabs as shown in this video:
To be honest, I never really noticed these little tabs, so it was a revelation that changed my life.
Shiny or Dull?
As you may or may not have noticed, this ductile metal sheet has two sides, one shiny and the other not very shiny. Some people insist that the shiny side reflects heat better, while others prefer to cook up a dull party. According to the people who do this (Reynolds) , it doesn’t matter at all:
It really doesn’t matter which side of the aluminum foil you use both sides, which do equally well with cooking, freezing and storing food. The difference between matte and glossy appearance is due to the foil manufacturing process. At the final stage of rolling, two layers of foil simultaneously pass through the rolling mill. The side in contact with the polished steel rollers of the mill becomes shiny. The other side, not in contact with the heavy rollers, has a matt or matte finish.
If you are suspicious of large corporations and are unlikely to believe their words at face value, there is also empirical evidence to support this claim, as America’s Test Kitchen conducted a side-by-side experiment with baked pasta :
To resolve the issue once and for all, we baked stuffed manicotti, foil-covered with shiny side up and shiny side down. A thermometer probe inserted in the center showed that both casseroles reached the same temperature (within a few degrees) in the same time. To check browning, bake the bacon on foil baking trays. The shiny and matte sides produced crispy golden brown bacon at intervals of a few seconds.
So please: it doesn’t matter which side you use. (Unless you are using Reynolds Nonstick Foil. The nonstick coating is dull, so make sure it comes in contact with your food.)
What’s cooking?
Foil is one of those items destined to be the subject of a few dubious hacks, and while I don’t think it will make a good cat toy or a particularly beautiful gift ( both offered by WikiHow ), it can’t be denied that it’s super -macgiver in the kitchen. However, before we get into the trendy tricks, let’s start with the basics.
I love cooking in baking trays, whether it’s cookies, carrots, or dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, but I don’t like washing away the greasy mess they leave behind. (Although, surprisingly, dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets are hardly a mess.) Putting a sheet of foil in the pan will save you time when it’s time to clean up; just throw it away and you’re done! There are a few things to keep in mind when lining baking trays with foil. First, because of its reflective nature and thermal conductivity, things cooked on foil will cook crisper than things cooked on parchment or any other less reflective surface. This means that foil is not the best lining for thick pastry brownies, but ideal for thin crunchy cookies like brownie. (A metal skillet will give you crispy cookies as well as foil, but again, it will take a little more cleaning.)
Another drawback of foil is that it sticks. This is annoying, but easily preventable; all you have to do is quickly sprinkle it with vegetable oil. Oh, and don’t put it in the microwave; as young Claire learned as she warmed up Wendy’s still wrapped hamburger. It’s just bad in the microwave.
Also, do not cover the oven with foil. According to Real Simple , while this may seem like a simple drip and spill solution, it actually interferes with the even cooking of food:
This will cause food to heat up unevenly and damage the oven over time, according to Mary Ellen Camir, Ph.D., a food development expert at the nonprofit Institute of Food Technology. It’s best to wipe up debris after each use, when the oven has cooled down, but before any spilled liquid hardens.
However, there is no reason why you cannot cover the stove with this material to make it easier to clean after frying.
Perhaps the most valuable attribute of foil is its ductility, a quality that makes it possible not only to make really great hats, but also custom kitchen utensils such as the nifty aluminum foil bacon grill :
You can also cover your grill with foil to harness the power of the radiant heat and get the perfect crust on small pieces of meat without overcooking the inside:
Don’t forget the buns! Foil can be used to make small rings that are perfect for keeping brioche buns in shape while baking. (They also make great shapes for perfectly round scrambled eggs.)
When you’re done using aluminum to channel heat out for lunch, you can use it to draw the heat away from the dessert by making the pie crust free:
And, of course, nothing beats the ease of foil food. Simply place a sheet of heavy-duty material, place the ingredients in the center, and fold everything into a neat little bag, leaving some room on top for steam to escape. These bags can be tossed in the oven (for which there are many great recipe ideas on SheKnows ), on the grill (the Food Network has fifty ideas for this ), or even over the fire ( Buzzfeed has a great selection for that ). After you’ve eaten the delicious food, toss in the foil to peel it off as easily as possible.
It’s a wrapper!
Wrapping or covering something with foil and placing it in the refrigerator is perhaps the easiest and least difficult way to store leftovers. (Although I had a stepfather who was too lazy with his foil applique and left the pieces open, as if the mere presence of the foil was enough to protect the food and keep it from drying out. Spoiler: it wasn’t.)
Not only can it be folded into neat little bags or shaped to fit in the top of any container, but in terms of storing smelly leftovers, it can’t be beat as the metal is impervious to odors. The trick is to form a good seal by squeezing around the edges to avoid odor escaping. This impermeability also makes it great in the freezer. Even if the prepackaged food is already wrapped in plastic, an extra layer of aluminum foil will help prevent burns in the freezer by blocking oxygen access. If you want to get really hackish, you can even use it to super-seal plastic bags by rolling a piece of foil over the hole (the food is already inside, of course) and running the iron over the aluminum.
One thing you don’t want to store in aluminum is acidic foods like citrus fruits, berries, or tomatoes. According to Real Simple (and food science writer Harold McGee ), acids can react with metal, causing it to erode and pass into your food. (It’s not particularly bad, but it’s not very tasty either.)
And that’s all she (like me) wrote about foil, that metal workhorse in the kitchen. Do you have a favorite application or maybe a favorite brand? Maybe there is a particularly interesting hat pattern you would like to share? Let me know in the comments!