Aluminum foil offer many benefits in home kitchen use:
Cooking in aluminum foil can be molded to any shape you like. It’s able to withstand high heat and extreme cold, making it perfect for everything from grilling to freezer storage. Foil can also be used to minimize cleanup by covering pots and pans to prevent splatters and baked-on messes. It’s also great for storing leftovers, as foil keeps your food deliciously moist and flavorful without a lot of extra effort or special ingredients. You can also wrap leftovers in foil to keep them fresh without having to worry about getting a dish back.
Keeps out oxygen and preserves the aroma;
Impermeable to moisture and water vapour;
Keeps out light and air;
Odourless;
Non-toxic and corrosion resistant;
Excellent conductor of heat in cooking;
Deadfold – it stays wrapped around food items without needing further sealing;
Hygiene – Unlike plastic, can be thoroughly cleaned.
Some people say that aluminum foil is a better choice for wrapping foods for freezer storage than plastic wrap, as it protects better from moisture loss (which causes freezer burn.) Many householders cover themselves by wrapping foods — especially foods that can be delicate to freeze such as fish — first in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil.
Aluminum foil’s popularity within the commercial food industry comes from its ability to block light, moisture, and therefore bacteria from reaching packaged food, which preserves the food and ensures freshness without the need for refrigeration.
Those same protective qualities make aluminum foil the perfect vessel with which to cook. When a aluminum foil bag is sealed with some type of liquid inside, the steam generated provides a gentle cooking environment that allows food to retain moisture and flavor.
Cooking with aluminum foil tips
which side of aluminum foil do you use?
One of the great myths about aluminum foil is that when baking with it, you always put the shiny surface of the aluminum foil on the inside and the dull surface on the outside. The dull side absorbed the heat into what you were cooking, and the shiny side reflected it back inside, keeping the heat in. In fact, however, aluminum foil has a dull side and a shiny side simply because of the way it’s processed. Although the two sides of aluminum foil may look different, there is no appreciable difference in heat reflection or transmission on either side.
Tin foil containers will sometimes react with highly salted or highly acidic foods, such as tomato sauces to produce aluminum salt, which is harmless, but still unsettling when your dinner guests are watching. The reaction can also create pinholes in the foil.