Why a kitchen drawer needs five long skinny boxes of stuff to keep things fresh seems to be beyond most guys understanding. But, I’ve been told each of these boxes does serve a purpose; and you don’t need to be Alton Brown to understand how to use them. Here’s 411 on what each box is and what each box does.
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Aluminum Foil. Street Name: Tin Foil. This tube of shiny on the top and flat on the back is best for when your woman sticks something on the grill next to all that beautiful slab o’ meat you’re grilling. Otherwise, it pretty much sits in the drawer. Occasionally, she’ll use it for something in the oven, but the days when mom’s would totally depend on Reynolds Wrap are long gone.
Wax Paper: Another old schooler. This guy was king of the kitchen until someone ruined his gig by inventng the fold top sandwich bag. While you can use it safely in the microwave, this roll may be seen most when you are baking. Beware: Like a drug kingpin with a team of good lawyers, nothing sticks to wax paper.
Parchment Paper: This sheet is the darling of the Food Channel. I grew up thinking that parchment was the thing that the Declaration of Independence was printed on. Now, it’s a fancy paper they shove in the bottom of a pan your cookies and cakes don’t burn. Who knew? Give me Liberty or give me another Chocolate Chip.
Cling Wrap: Another recent innovation; it’s as if wax paper and plastic film had a baby. Using cling wrap means you lost the lid to the Tupperware container and have to resort to something drastic before you can move on. It wants to be like Plastic Film, but isn’t as clear about its motives. Right now, only one company makes cling wrap, which means someone owns a patent on it.
Plastic Film: Street names: Glad Wrap or Saran Wrap. With a cutting blade on the box out of a Wes Craven Horror Movie, this stuff was the wrap before cling wrap was around. Once you cut a piece, if you don’t handle with care, you will have a clear ball of nothing that won’t come apart for love nor money. It is still the best when you need to cover something to nuke it and don’t want for it to explode all over the walls. You can also totally encase some food stuffs with it and just stick that ball of leftover in the refrigerator until the day after trash day when you get around to cleaning your fridge out.