Culinary foil: which one is better to choose. Food wrap or foil: what is the best way to store food How to properly store food in foil

Or vegetables, and the rest of the food to pack and bring back home. On average, prices for foil vary from 30 to 400 rubles. We decided to test food foil from various manufacturers and see if it makes sense to overpay.

Cooking foil in the kitchen is always useful

How to properly store food in foil

Most housewives use aluminum foil for its intended purpose: to preserve the freshness of products brought from the store after their packaging has been opened. A piece of this or that product is simply wrapped in several layers of foil and put into the refrigerator. In fact, you can wrap it in one layer, the main thing is that the joint of the sheets is airtight. Air and vapor permeability of even the thinnest foil is almost zero. A number of manufacturers say that you should not use foil for storing acidic and salty foods, as the metal can oxidize. But we did a simple experiment: we put pieces of foil from different manufacturers in ordinary table vinegar. After 3 hours, the sheets were washed and looked at. None of them showed clear signs of oxidation. Conclusion: for a short time (a couple of hours), acidic foods can be stored wrapped in foil. For longer storage, it is better to use cling film or a container with a lid.

How to bake in foil properly

Another popular use of foil is for baking. In this case, it is better to fold the foil sheet in half so that it does not break and for better heat transfer. It is not worth tightening the edges hermetically - there is a chance, albeit small, that the bag can break with steam.

There is a lot of controversy among housewives about which side - glossy or matte - to lay out products. By and large, there is no difference: the reflectivity of the glossy side is 88%, and of the matte side - 80%, that is, the cooking speed will be approximately the same. We conducted an experiment: for a delicious salad, we baked two beets of the same size, wrapped in foil in different ways. An hour after staying in an oven preheated to 180 degrees, the temperature of the beets in the foil wrapped with a glossy outside was 99.6 ° C; beets wrapped in foil with the matte side out - 101 ° C. So if you want to cook the dish a little faster, wrap the foil with the matte side out.

Beets wrapped with matte side out will cook a little faster

But in the microwave, you should not cook in foil. Aluminum does not transmit electromagnetic waves, and the potential difference between the foil and the metal parts of the stove or different pieces of foil will lead to the fact that the metal starts to spark at the contact points. If it is necessary to reheat something in the foil, then it should be unrolled before reheating.

Another use of foil is to make baking dishes out of it. For this, it is better to use thick foil or fold thin foil in several layers.

We tested food foil for ease of use (whether it is easy to unwind from a roll), strength (does not tear when wrapped), "stickiness" (whether food sticks to it when baked), fire resistance - that is, those qualities that housewives usually pay attention to and summer residents.

Test instances

For testing, we chose foil of the following brands: Paclan, Toppits, Every Day, Sayanskaya Grill, Sayanskaya Universalna, Food Foil, Chistyulya, and Moi Dom.

Foil prices range from 30 to 400 rubles

The Toppits foil was packaged in a box, all the others were shrink-wrapped. All foil, with the exception of the "Every Day" foil, has a warning about unwanted contact with acid. The thickness is indicated only for the Sayanskaya foil (20 µm and 11 µm). Of all the samples, upon first acquaintance, the Toppits foil with a honeycomb structure attracts attention. According to the manufacturers, this improves its use. But, as it turned out in the course of testing, in most standard situations, foil with an embossing behaves in about the same way as without it.

Foil Toppits with honeycomb structure

The rest of the foil is similar to each other, and if you stack all the samples side by side, you will notice only a slight difference in gloss.

The convenience of use

First of all, the foil must be strong and not tear when unwinding. After opening the package, we carried out the first test - we unwound a piece of foil and tore it off by hand. Only one foil - nameless ("Food Foil") - broke inside during unwinding. There was a desire to immediately remove it from testing, but after carefully unwinding a large piece, we managed to curb it.

"Food foil" tore when unwinding from the roll

In the future, it was with this roll that problems arose again: the edge did not want to unfold - a situation familiar to many housewives.

The edge of the foil did not want to unfold in any way

We found the Sayanskaya for grill foil to be the most convenient to use. We rated the usability on a 5-point scale (see the summary table at the end of the test drive). And they also made sure that it is more convenient to tear off the foil with your hand on the edge of the table, and not cut it with scissors.

It is convenient to tear off the foil on the edge of the table

Strength

To test the strength, we packed the beet tuber in one layer of foil and twisted the ends tightly. Two samples - "Sayanskaya universalnaya" and "My house" - broke at the same time, I had to make a second take. Our expectations that some sample would burst from steam did not come true, all the packages remained intact.

For another strength test, we wrapped a piece of foil over an ordinary glass and cut off the edges.

Foil can be used to make molds

Then a glass of water was poured into each mold. Only Toppits foil and Sayanskaya for grill passed this test successfully, all the others sooner or later turned around and the water flowed out of them.

"Stickiness"

The most common use of foil is as a backing or envelope when baking meat or fish in the oven. When baked in an envelope, products are rather stewed in their own juice, therefore they almost never stick. But when using foil as a substrate, this happens quite often.

First of all, we decided to bake chicken wings on foil (see recipe). The wings are baked in two passes: first without anything, at a temperature of 180 ° C for 30 minutes, and then they are greased with sauce and sent to an oven preheated to 150 ° C for another 15 minutes. The chicken just didn't stick to the Sayanskaya universalnaya foil.

The chicken wings did not stick only to the Sayanskaya universalnaya foil (left in the bottom row)

We also decided to bake salted lemon on the foil - it was interesting to see how the foil would behave in an aggressive environment. There were no visible changes with the foil. The juice released from the lemons is baked. The lemon only seriously adhered to the foil of Paclan, Everyday and My Home.

The lemon did not stick at all only to the Toppits foil (second from the left in the top row)

Fire resistance

Many manufacturers claim that their foil is suitable for grilling food. We put the samples to a cruel test: we burned them with a burner for 30 seconds (about the same as throwing foil on hot coals).

Burning foil with a burner is almost the same as throwing it on hot coals

The metal was heating up, but holding on. Later, having examined the foil, we saw that all the sheets had burned out: a transparent mesh was visible in the light. Conclusion: you should not throw vegetables wrapped in foil into the fire, it is better to cook on smoldering coals.

Instead of a resume. By the end of testing, we remembered the saying about the "British scientists": it became clear that we had proved only one thing - all tested samples behave approximately the same. The leader could not be identified. But they identified an obvious outsider: the foil "My House" did not pass the strength tests, the salted lemon completely adhered to it, and the chicken wings also adhered. But "Food foil", which broke during unwinding, passed one of the strength tests, and the wings and lemon almost did not stick to it. The Sayanskaya for grill foil turned out to be the most convenient to use; it holds its shape better than others, but, unfortunately, chicken wings stick to it. Foil Paclan distinguished itself by an unreasonably high price - in our testing it did not show results worthy of purchase.

Fortunately, now those who want to get sausages no longer need to stand in a kilometer-long queue and collect all relatives in order to get more “delicacy”, which is sold only for three hundred grams “per one hand”. However, the desire to buy food for future use is firmly wedged into our subconscious and does not allow us to leave the store with a half-empty bag. And appetite, it happens, and fails. Not everyone can eat everything brought from the store in one sitting.

You should not be guided by the motto: "It is better to burst your belly than to waste goodness", you just need to learn how to store food correctly. And you can't do without competent packaging.

Bags and films

Plastic bag- a good container for most products. However, the package is not the same. Polyethylene bags, in which non-food items are packed, are not intended for storing food. Therefore, it is best to leave the food in the package in which you brought it from the store. All packages there are intended for foodstuffs. A good alternative to the bag is cling film. True, after you have unrolled a piece wrapped in a film once, you will have to throw it away and unwind a new piece of cellophane.

What to store: vegetables, fruits, cheese, smoked meats, meat, fish.

Not suitable for: storing sausages, butter and other fatty foods. In cellophane packaging, they quickly become slippery and become covered with an unpleasant white coating.

Foil

Does not allow foreign odors to seep through, does not absorb grease and does not allow moisture to pass through. Products in it will live longer than in a bag or film.

What to store: in the foil, ready-made food, fatty dishes are remarkably preserved.

Not suitable for: hot dishes, do not wrap them in it. Heating the foil becomes brittle, tears easily, and the food can become windy.

Paper

Products "breathe" in parchment paper, and this will save them from the appearance of an unpleasant odor and excess moisture, characteristic of "suffocated" sausage or brisket.

What to store: confectionery, sausage, smoked meats, cheese, cottage cheese, butter.

Not suitable for: vegetables, fruits, herbs, fish.

Containers

Perhaps one of the most civilized packaging. Square plastic trays with a lid are a very practical way to store food. But when choosing a container, you need to be careful. Naturally, the tray you choose should be for food. This will be reported to you by the icon in the form of a glass and a fork, applied to the container. However, this is not all. Ask which food, hot or cold, this tray is for. The fact is that some types of plastic, which are quite safe at room temperature, can release toxic substances when heated. The most "resistant" are containers made of polypropylene. They can handle even the highest temperatures easily, so you can reheat food in the microwave without removing it from the container.

What to store: anything. You can even freeze food in plastic containers. Look for the appropriate markings and feel free to place the container in the freezer.

Vacuum packaging

Oxygen is the "main enemy" of fresh food. They oxidize in air, and most bacteria cannot live in an airless space. Therefore, after removing air from the package, food will remain fresh, if not forever, then for a long time. Vacuum containers are made of glass or plastic. You put food in a package and use a special pump to pump out the air. There are two types of pumps - mechanical and electrical. The former are cheaper. But you have to pump out the air by hand and it is unlikely that you will be able to create a completely airless space. The latter are more expensive, operate on mains or battery power, and provide sufficient rarefaction of the air. At the bottom of each container there is a special grid that prevents the products from coming into contact with the moisture they release. Expensive trays have a date and month indicator on the lids so you don't forget when you put food in the tray.

What to store: cuts, ready-made meals, fresh meat and fish, sausages, semi-finished products, cheese.

Not suitable for: vegetables, fruits and herbs.

by the way

Do not store food in cast iron pans or aluminum pots. Cast iron is highly susceptible to rust, and aluminum is highly susceptible to oxidation. It is better to use glass or enamel dishes. But if you want to pour the soup from one pot to another, before putting it in the refrigerator, you need to boil the soup, because the second pot was not sterile, which means that the soup will deteriorate faster.

A big piece and your mouth is happy? Sweets and other culinary temptations are sold mainly in small packages. It is believed that this helps to control the amount of "harmful" eaten. But according to a study by European scientists, in reality things are a little different. A small package of high-calorie sweets is often considered quite permissible and provokes to eat more. Large packages, on the other hand, make people think about overeating and limit themselves accordingly.

The study proceeded as follows. In a group of participants, scientists activated "dietary concerns." Simply put, we made them think about weight and nutritional issues by passing a series of tests "How satisfied are you with your body", as well as weighing and measuring volumes in front of a mirror. The subjects believed that their purpose was to evaluate the commercials, but in fact, the scientists monitored the consumption of potato chips, which were provided free of charge in the room. The chips were in large and small packages. As a result, those who took large packages ate less. They hesitated longer before opening the pack and ate fewer chips.

On a note

To keep the fish fresh longer, it must be gutted and scaled before being placed in the refrigerator.

Greens will not wilt for a long time if you put a quarter of an onion in the bag where it is stored.

Do not store apples in the same bag with other fruits and vegetables. This "neighborhood" leads to the fact that vegetables and fruits deteriorate faster.

Milk should not be in the refrigerator door. In order not to turn sour, milk needs a constant temperature, and slamming the door makes it difficult to maintain it.

Do not wash vegetables and fruits before placing them in the refrigerator.

The oiler should not be transparent. Oil quickly deteriorates in the light.

Many experienced housewives prefer to cook for future use. In this case, the question of the correct storage of food is relevant. It is important to know what to pack to keep them fresh and attractive for longer. Today polyethylene and foil are leading in the rating of packaging materials. Each of them has its own characteristics and scope.

Meet the packaging materials

One of the most demanded materials is for food products. It can be found in almost any modern kitchen. In stores, fruits and vegetables, cheeses, sausages and meat are packed in it.

Its widespread use is due to:

optimal adhesiveness - the layers of the film are connected to each other, not allowing it to unfold;
good tensile and puncture strength characteristics;
transparency - this provides an excellent overview of the product.

When choosing a film for storing food, it is important to pay attention to the presence of the appropriate mark ("cling film"). Also, not all of its types are applicable for use at low temperatures in freezers. Therefore, it is important to examine the label before purchasing.

Food storage aluminum foil has good protective performance.

Its advantages include:

non-toxic - foil does not emit harmful substances;
impermeability to vapors and gases with a thickness of at least 0.025 mm;
lack of smell and taste that food can absorb.

On contact with hot food, the foil becomes brittle and brittle. Therefore, experts advise to wait until it cools completely. In this case, it does not matter at all which side the food is placed on. Mat and gloss differ slightly in reflectivity, but do not affect the "pot life" of the packaged food.

Aluminum sheets should be thin but strong. When buying, it is important to pay attention to the presence of the appropriate marking - domestic products must have a mark of compliance with GOST.

In film or foil?

The refrigerator is a reliable container for most perishable foodstuffs. Therefore, when asked how best to store food, most housewives present it first of all. But what to wrap the products in so that they retain their useful and taste qualities for a longer time?

The cling film is resistant to low temperatures, so it can withstand refrigerator conditions well. You can pack greens, various vegetables and fruits in it. There is an opinion about the long-term preservation of bread in cellophane, but this is far from the case. Wrapped in plastic, it grows moldy faster, and even stale in the refrigerator. Also, according to the rules for storing food, you cannot keep oil, lard, sausages, etc. in the film.

Reflecting on how to properly store food in the refrigerator, so that they do not absorb foreign odors, the hostesses came to an unambiguous conclusion - in foil. It is ideal for smoked meats, fatty and fried foods. You can store raw meat in it for up to 4 days.

Previously, all this was called tricks, now more and more life hacks. Be that as it may, the global network sometimes throws up curious ideas. For example, how to make a kitchen, where you spend so much time, even more convenient.

The hostesses already seem to know everything about the functionality of transparent containers, the convenience of devices such as a vegetable cutter of a famous German brand. Someone covers the stove with foil when hot oil is boiling in a frying pan - to make it easier to wash it, and someone covers the entire table with cling film when cutting fish.

We will pay attention to the storage of food, utensils, appliances and other items needed in the kitchen. The Internet has brought 13 unexpected solutions.

1. Use mesh shelves for your shower stall. This is not only a way to use the space in the corner of the kitchen (if the shelf is corner, of course), but also to increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

hosebeautiful.com

2. A wire basket will do the same.

3. ... or a laundry bag.

4. Position the spatula, slotted spoon, whisk, tongs and ladle mounts on the side of your kitchen cabinet using the shower curtain hooks as holders.

notmartha.org

5. Bathroom towel holder is perfect for pans and saucepans.

casaandcompany.com

6. For storing kitchen towels, bags, parchment, cling film and napkins, etc., you can use a wire basket placed on the side wall of the sideboard, which will free up its interior space for food, fragile utensils or infrequently used appliances.

goldenboyandme.com

7. In general, the side walls of kitchen cabinets - wall-mounted and floor-standing - provide a lot of room for imagination. Why not place heavy cutting boards and colanders on top of them.

anitafaraboverubies.com

8. If you attach magnets to the lids of baby food jars, you can store spices right on the refrigerator.

oneluckypickle.com

9. Transparent organizer with pockets - what is not a replacement for shelves for bulk products?

housebeautiful.com

10. The door to the kitchen is also a vertical surface on which the shelves are mounted.

dailygarnish.com

11. Velcro hooks can be found in any utility room and can be used for more than just towels.

thehyperhouse.com

12. Nowadays, more and more often in hardware stores there are special organizers for the kitchen sink, in which it is convenient to hold sponges and bottles of liquid soap, as well as to defrost food or use it for cleaning while harvesting vegetables. But they and the sink nets can also be attached to the wall of the cabinet or in the space between the sideboard and the door for storing groceries (jelly, powdered sugar, packs of pasta or cereal, for example).

makebakecelebrate.blogspot.com

13. For bags, by the way, you can use a hanger for trousers and skirts.

withlovebysim.com

What interesting ideas for storing items in the kitchen do you have?

We are used to the fact that wall hooks are needed primarily in order to hang towels on them in the bathroom. In fact, hooks are one of the the most affordable and multifunctional accessories... Of course, they are mainly used for hanging and fastening, but there are a lot of options!