Wax Paper

[Arey]

I don't think a day goes by that I don't use it in the kitchen.

[andiesenji]

I have it and use it and for some things it is just so automatic that I reach for it that I don't even think about. 

I use it to line cookie tins and separate layers of cookies and I wad it up to keep pies from shifting in the pie carrier - it's cheaper than parchment and crunches easier.

I use it when making sausage patties and freezing them.

I use it for mashing my fruit/nut mixtures into slabs before cutting into squares so I can form them into balls (sugarplums).  And with the slabs wrapped in wax paper I can stack them on a tray to slide into the fridge to chill prior to working the stuff. 

 

I put sheets down to catch any "spillage" when I make spun sugar stuff. 

I used to make cotton candy (gave the machine away a few years ago) and wax paper was the only thing that could be wrapped around it and not pull it apart when unwrapping.  Ditto caramel apples & etc.

[heidih]

i knew I was repeating myself....  http://forums.egullet.org/topic/136712-wax-paper/

[cyalexa]

In addition to the uses upthread:

 

covering things in the microwave

on top of the scale; weigh, remove and set aside until needed

to make a clean surface on the counter, especially for grating cheese or repeated sifting

[ElainaA]

I use it daily for many of the already mentioned functions. But also - when breading meat or vegetables I put both the flour and the breadcrumbs on sheets of wax paper. Why wash a plate? 

Elaina

[Kerry Beal]

Wrapping sandwiches.  I buy parchment in boxes of 1000 sheets in the full sheet and 3/4 sheet pans - use it for just about everything.   But sandwiches need to be wrapped in waxed paper!

[Lindacakes]

I love wax paper.  I use it for many of the reasons already stated above.

 

One that was not mentioned is wrapping cookies.  I learned this from Maida Heatter:  You take two cookies and put their flat sides together.  Then you wrap the pair in a piece of wax paper.  You can keep them like this, but it's especially good for mailing cookies.  I mail a lot of cookies and I always do this.  I actually cut the wax paper into squares and fold it neatly and tape it shut.  

 

It makes the food taste better.  

 

My mother made the best fudge, so good I can't really eat any others.  And she cut her fudge in nice thick squares and wrapped each piece in a perfect square of wax paper.  When my brother got married, he insisted that his wife do the same because it was such a central experience for him.

 

I never sift anything without doing it over wax paper.  The flour glides off of it into whatever you are pouring it into.  

 

Like many other people, I only use parchment for lining baking sheets.

[LindaK]

I didn't grow up with wax paper but it's become a staple in my kitchen for all the good reasons already mentioned.

 

I'd add that it's especially convenient whenever I grate hard cheeses or chocolate.  Not only does a sheet catch all the stray bits that inevitably fly away, but you can then easily pick up the whole thing and move it to a scale if needed.  Likewise sifting flours or sugars.

 

Also, I always use it to wrap pastry doughs for their rest in the fridge before rolling out.  Better than plastic wrap, which can cling too much to delicate doughs.

 

[lindag]

I always keep a roll in the kitchen for wrapping corn, etc. in the m/w.  Also put a sheet on the bottom of the m/w to contain spillage; and to cover items in the m/w.  I also buy the folded sheets of wax paper that's sold at Costco.  I like to use those as spoon rests; nothing to wash up, just throw away when done.

[Norm Matthews]

I use it for many of the things already mentioned but one use I didn't notice is when I make Irish butter, I put it on wax paper, lay the top over it, place a ruler or kitchen scraper on top and pull the bottom of the sheet. It makes a perfect round log. I twist the ends and let it set up in the refrigerator.  I suppose you could do the same with refrigerator cookies. Putting a folded layer between things in the freezer, like hamburger patties, helps separating them when cooking one or two. 

Edited October 5, 2014 by Norm Matthews (log)

[weinoo]

Me too - always have a roll handy.

[Edward J]

^{Because wax paper is translucent and very smooth, I like to use it for chocolate work or piping out icings--slip a pattern underneath and pipe away.  Parchment has a very "rough" surface to it when you do chocolate work  on it, which may be a good thing if that's the effect you want.}

[Martin Fisher]

I use it all the time.

I have about 15 rolls on-hand...liquidated when a local store went out of business.

[Jaymes]

I use it all the time - I love wax paper. 

 

Great for wrapping sandwiches too. Just nicer in every way than plastic wrap.

Plus, when it's time to eat your sandwich, you can unwrap it and use the wax paper as a plate.

Certainly can't do that with cling wrap.

[annabelle]

I like it for wrapping sandwiches since cling wrap tends to stick to itself and make a mess.  The waxed paper is sturdier and cushions the sandwiches as well as providing a placemat when unwrapped.  It's good for wrapping slices of snackcake or even pieces of pie.  If you have a lunch bandit at work, they will pass your lunch by as they can't see it through the wrap or steal your plastic containers that you aren't taking anymore.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Oooh, ooh, me!  I use it.  Parchment is nearly unavailable in my country.

 

I line cake pans with it, daily - it makes turning out the big 18" squares and rounds and absolute dream, even with batters that are otherwise hellishly sticky.  It goes on the bottom of my springform cheesecake pans, to make it easy to float the cakes off the bases.  I wrap large empanadas in it.  I wrap caramels in it.

[Shel_B]

I read that there are environmental issues concerned with wax paper. Though it is biodegradable, synthetic additives such as petroleum mean that it is inadvisable to do so. Wax paper also cannot be recycled.  Comments?

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Shel_B- I see what you are saying, but the alternatives: plastic wrap and foil are even more environmentally unfriendly. This comes from a person who has one small bag of trash weekly, mostly styrofoam meat trays, egg cartons, used tissues and other stuff, and yes, waxed paper, that our local recycling program won't accept. The recycle bin, about 70 gallons is full to the brim every other week.

 

I miss the days of cardboard egg cartons. You can still get them at Trader Joe's. I know you are a fan of their franchises, but I can't always get there when I need eggs.

 

ETA: The bit about cardboard egg cartons.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Thanks for the Crepes (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I use waxed paper in my kitchen for many of the things that have already been mentioned in this thread, but something I find it indispensable for is nuking already made and assembled breakfast sandwiches.

 

I can't stand nuked leftover pizza, and always spend the money to heat the oven because it comes out crispier. (Yes I'm aware of the covered skillet/griddle method from Serious Eats, too).

 

Ham or sausage or bacon, egg and cheese biscuits seem to reheat and steam beautifully in the micro when wrapped in waxed paper, and  I trust it a lot more than I do plastic wrap, even the ones that claim they're microwave safe. It's good for nuking burritos I send in my husband's lunch too. It keeps the bread component from becoming unappealingly tough. I do overwrap in plastic though for transport and storage with instructions to remove plastic before nuking, because it's a lot better at keeping moisture in the food and ambient moisture OUT of it from the condensation effect of the ice packs in his lunch box. 

[Lindacakes]

I want to know more about these folded sheets from Costco . . . 

 

When I was a kid, my mother had this amazing waxed sandwich paper leftover from her own mother/childhood that she used on my sandwiches.  The paper was white, with printed pattern, and waxed.  It made beautiful sandwiches and I still dream of it.

[Kerry Beal]

I want to know more about these folded sheets from Costco . . . 

 

When I was a kid, my mother had this amazing waxed sandwich paper leftover from her own mother/childhood that she used on my sandwiches.  The paper was white, with printed pattern, and waxed.  It made beautiful sandwiches and I still dream of it.

I've seen the printed waxed pieces at GT French which is a paper supplier for food service.  

[IndyRob]

I often use it in lieu of a cutting board when the cutting will be minimal, or not involve the surface.  For instance, if I have some chicken breasts I want to cut pockets into.  I can work on the wax paper and them just throw the paper out rather than cleaning a counter or board.

 

It's also good for when I make meatloaf - which is usually a sort of roulade in which something like spinach, cheese and mushrooms are rolled up.  I can start with a long piece and mash out the meat mixture between two folded layers, then I can roll it up and transfer to a pan without my hands ever touching the meat.

 

And I like it for rolling up around breakfast burritos for storage and eventual nuking.

 

The American Wax Paper Council *is* sponsoring this topic, isn't it?

[IndyRob]

Oh, I forgot.  The best use of wax paper I've ever had was with chocolate.  One year, for my wife's birthday, I decided that I'd come home from work early and make her a personalized art cake.

 

I had written some computer software that could do color separations like those you'd need for silk screen printing.  One color per layer that all composited into an image.  I took an existing photo of a couple of our cats and reduced it down to a grayscale image which I then reduced into five levels of color.  With the separations printed on separate pages of paper and five shades of chocolate ranging from dark chocolate to white chocolate, I was ready to go.

 

Sheet pan, first paper template, and then a sheet of wax paper.  I piped (from an improvised wax paper piping bag) the first layer of color (dark chocolate), using the wax paper as tracing paper.  Then I carefully lifted off the wax paper and replaced the first paper template underneath with the second.  I put the wax paper back, carefully aligned it, and piped in the next color.  Repeat for all five shades.

 

I let the chocolate cool while I made a cake.  Then I peeled off the wax paper and inverted the chocolate layer with the image onto the top of the cake, glued with some ganache.

 

Okay, the idea of putting a hard chocolate shell on top of a cake turned out to be an incredibly stupid idea for reasons I'm sure you all can imagine.  But, the initial effect of the image on top of the cake created an impression that earned me a lot of husband points. 

 

And when it did prove, after my wife reluctantly relented to the notion of destroying the image, to be the structural failure that it was unwittingly designed to be, it was all a pile of mushed up and cracked chocolate.  But, how bad could that be, really?

Edited October 10, 2014 by IndyRob (log)

[David Ross]

I still buy it, but rarely use it.  For me it's a nostalgic thing.  My Mother used to wrap our sandwiches in wax paper for our school lunches.  So on occasion when I take a sandwich to work for lunch, I'll wrap it in wax paper just for the memories.  And when I remember, I wrap cheese in wax paper. 

[Paul Bacino]

I use it to wrap burritos in. They then go in a plastic bag in the freezer. To thaw I just pop them still wrapped in the microwave...don't notice any excess wax. Also us to grate cheese on to.

 

This is what I use it for..but we put our enchiladas  not burrito's