Ideas to Catch Those Messes!
Before I launch into my theme, here’s something from THE GOOD TO KNOW department: Use your sink or dishwasher to catch messes. Do messy tasks like measuring ingredients or using cooking spray over your sink or over your open dishwasher to make cleanup easier. Putting your open dishwasher to work this way is smart, because the next time you run a load of dishes, the dishwasher will clean up the mess for you.
OK, now on to the real subject, parchment paper. It’s related to the sink/dishwasher tip, though, in that this paper is a mess-catcher as well. It’s an everyday problem-solver that professional chefs and baking companies all say we shouldn’t go without.
Most folks know to line baking sheets with it. This technique means no washing the sheets, and it protects their surfaces as well. Shiny sheets stay shiny, non-stick sheets retain their non-stick coating, and so on. But there are a few other good reasons to keep parchment paper on hand. For instance, here are some ideas from the folks at King Arthur Flour:
Transferring pizza. Wish I’d thought of topping my pizza stone with some parchment paper before I topped it with a pizza! While the stone still does its job to perfection, it’s now so grungy-looking. The use of parchment paper would have prevented that.
And how about this brilliant idea? Smart bakers know to use foil for this technique, but have you tried it with parchment paper? I have no hard facts to back this up, but I bet using parchment paper as a “lifter” is less expensive than using foil.
Then there’s baking pies on parchment-lined baking sheets. The bakers at King Arthur’s Flour always bake their pies this way. The photo shows the obvious reason why. Who hasn’t experienced burnt messes on the bottom of the oven from a pie bubbling over? (And then there’s the horrid gaggy smokiness you have the next time the oven is preheated because “someone” forgot to wipe up the aforementioned pie drips! This little trick eliminates all possibility of this ever happening again.)
But wait, there’s more. Look what I found on www.washingtonpost.com:
As a packet for cooking. The French call this method en papillote. It makes for easy cleanup and a fun presentation. You open what essentially looks like a present, and then catch the whiff of aromatic steam, and the dining experience begins. You can even let people fill their own packets for a pre-dinner activity. Tender, lean proteins such as seafood and chicken cook gently and quickly. Vegetables and herbs do well, too, and you can mix things up with the liquids — broth, wine, coconut milk. The liquids help steam the food and the herbs add flavor.
Also, pouring into a mixer. Adding ingredients to a working stand mixer is always a bit of a dance. A bowl is not ideal for accuracy or neatness, and not everyone has a flexible cutting board to do the job, either. Enter parchment paper. Use it as a funnel to pour ingredients (such as a flour mixture into creamed butter and sugar) directly into the mixer bowl without the mess.
Lastly, parchment paper can be cut to make muffin cup liners, rolled into cones to use as snack holders, and rolled into a disposable icing piper. Really, the uses for this product is limited only to our imaginations.
Another reason parchment paper is so nice: If it’s a premium, heavy-duty parchment, it can be used over and over (well, except for the pie-baking sheets—they should probably be tossed). And talk about convenience: it now comes in rounds, squares, half-sheets as well as full sheets.
When I first started using it, I stored it on the shelf under my baking sheets. And that was OK, but a little inconvenient when I needed it because of having to remove all the sheets to get to it. So here’s what I’ve come up with instead. The photo is self-explanatory. I cut the V in the envelope for easy removal of the paper, and clear package tape has held the envelope of paper to the inside of the cupboard door very nicely (for over 2 years now).
I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface as to all that can be done with parchment paper. We’d love to hear of ways you use it. Take a minute to share how YOU use this everyday problem-solver.
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OK, now on to the real subject, parchment paper. It’s related to the sink/dishwasher tip, though, in that this paper is a mess-catcher as well. It’s an everyday problem-solver that professional chefs and baking companies all say we shouldn’t go without.
Most folks know to line baking sheets with it. This technique means no washing the sheets, and it protects their surfaces as well. Shiny sheets stay shiny, non-stick sheets retain their non-stick coating, and so on. But there are a few other good reasons to keep parchment paper on hand. For instance, here are some ideas from the folks at King Arthur Flour:
Transferring pizza. Wish I’d thought of topping my pizza stone with some parchment paper before I topped it with a pizza! While the stone still does its job to perfection, it’s now so grungy-looking. The use of parchment paper would have prevented that.
And how about this brilliant idea? Smart bakers know to use foil for this technique, but have you tried it with parchment paper? I have no hard facts to back this up, but I bet using parchment paper as a “lifter” is less expensive than using foil.
Then there’s baking pies on parchment-lined baking sheets. The bakers at King Arthur’s Flour always bake their pies this way. The photo shows the obvious reason why. Who hasn’t experienced burnt messes on the bottom of the oven from a pie bubbling over? (And then there’s the horrid gaggy smokiness you have the next time the oven is preheated because “someone” forgot to wipe up the aforementioned pie drips! This little trick eliminates all possibility of this ever happening again.)
But wait, there’s more. Look what I found on www.washingtonpost.com:
As a packet for cooking. The French call this method en papillote. It makes for easy cleanup and a fun presentation. You open what essentially looks like a present, and then catch the whiff of aromatic steam, and the dining experience begins. You can even let people fill their own packets for a pre-dinner activity. Tender, lean proteins such as seafood and chicken cook gently and quickly. Vegetables and herbs do well, too, and you can mix things up with the liquids — broth, wine, coconut milk. The liquids help steam the food and the herbs add flavor.
Also, pouring into a mixer. Adding ingredients to a working stand mixer is always a bit of a dance. A bowl is not ideal for accuracy or neatness, and not everyone has a flexible cutting board to do the job, either. Enter parchment paper. Use it as a funnel to pour ingredients (such as a flour mixture into creamed butter and sugar) directly into the mixer bowl without the mess.
Lastly, parchment paper can be cut to make muffin cup liners, rolled into cones to use as snack holders, and rolled into a disposable icing piper. Really, the uses for this product is limited only to our imaginations.
Another reason parchment paper is so nice: If it’s a premium, heavy-duty parchment, it can be used over and over (well, except for the pie-baking sheets—they should probably be tossed). And talk about convenience: it now comes in rounds, squares, half-sheets as well as full sheets.
When I first started using it, I stored it on the shelf under my baking sheets. And that was OK, but a little inconvenient when I needed it because of having to remove all the sheets to get to it. So here’s what I’ve come up with instead. The photo is self-explanatory. I cut the V in the envelope for easy removal of the paper, and clear package tape has held the envelope of paper to the inside of the cupboard door very nicely (for over 2 years now).
I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface as to all that can be done with parchment paper. We’d love to hear of ways you use it. Take a minute to share how YOU use this everyday problem-solver.
Sources:
- www.kingarthurflour.com
- www.washingtonpost.com
- www.pinterest.com
- www.thepioneerwoman.com
- www.thegardeningcook.com
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
