Aluminum Foil Debate

Tyrna · January 2012

DH and I were talking about the difference between lining pans with foil before cooking really difficult to clean food or having to scrub and soak and scrub again to get all the gunk off. I was thinking the soaking and bit of scrubbing would still be greener than having to throw out the dirty foil since you can't recycle it with all the foodstuff on it.

Thoughts?

sunshine_day_dreams · January 2012

I agree that soaking/scrubbing is a better practice. The production of aluminum has a fairly significant impact on the environment, from mining of the aluminum compounds in the earth to refining in factories that expel greenhouse gases. So long as you're not using hugely excessive amounts of water, soaking/scrubbing is fairly EF.

One thing I would recommend are pan scrapers like these. They are so simple and cheap, but work wonders with stuck on food and have drastically reduced the water use/number of soak cycles in our kitchen.

http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=241&words=nylon

CDMay2006 · January 2012

sunshine_day_dreams:
One thing I would recommend are pan scrapers like these. They are so simple and cheap, but work wonders with stuck on food and have drastically reduced the water use/number of soak cycles in our kitchen.
http://www.pamperedchef.com/ordering/prod_details.tpc?prodId=241&words=nylon

I second this -- a pot scraper is key! Whatever type you get, be sure it isn't the kind with a ridge b/c then it's a hassle to clean anything with taller sides than a frying pan.

Baking soda is also really helpful when cleaning really stuck-on junk from cookware.

junebride060306 · January 2012

what about silpat? are those a safe yet reusable alternative?

amberlynnr7 · February 2012

I agree with you. We rarely ever use aluminum foil. We have it in the house, but I think we might have used it once...

Tyrna · April 2012

Good info. I also wonder about the silpat, since I have 2 from many yrs ago. I have wondered what the process is when manufacturing them, as well as if there are any studies on chemicals or side effects of using them.

Aluminum Foil Debate

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