Parchment vs Wax paper

[stefanyb]

A few hours ago after seeing this thread, I brought some water to a boil and let some wax paper (Cut-Rite) into it and pulled it out after 15-20 seconds. Then I put the pot with water in the woodshed to cool and checked the paper. Wax on the paper pretty well gone. Just checked the water after cooling - wax floating on surface and caked up on sides of pan. Anal? Yes, but I just had to find out.

Damn, why didn't I ever think of that. This is worth the price of today's log on all by itself. You are our lab guy from now.

Knowledge I have from working with wax in the studio tells me that boiling the wax paper in water and baking it buttered at the bottom of a cake pan are two entirely different things. Wax reacts to fat, or oil, in one way and to water in another. A painter cannot mix wax with water-based paints but it will work well with oils.

Maybe Nick should try his experiment with oil. The wax will still firm up in the shed faster than the oil will.

[Nick]

Maybe Nick should try his experiment with oil.  The wax will still firm up in the shed faster than the oil will.

Stefany, I've done my part. You carry on in our quest for greater scientific understanding.

Edited December 8, 2002 by Nickn (log)

[LaurieA-B]

Can I use Reynolds® Cut-Rite® Wax Paper in the oven?

Cut-Rite® Wax Paper may be used as a liner in baking cakes, quick breads, muffins or any baked food in which the batter completely covers the wax paper lining. Wax paper should never be directly exposed to the heat of an oven.

We didn't have parchment paper in the house when I was a kid, and when my mom baked Cornish pasties she always lined the cookie sheets with wax paper. The edges of the wax paper were directly exposed to heat, thus my smell memory of pasties involves burned wax paper. (One of my pasty assistant jobs was peeling bits of burnt paper off the bottom of the pasties. It always came off and never left a waxy residue.) When Matthew and I get around to making pasties ourselves, I think we'll use parchment.

The Reynolds parchment paper is a great product--not too expensive, and wide (15 inches).

nightscotsman, I am puzzled about the usefulness of the new nonstick aluminum foil. I don't recall ever having a problem with foil sticking to food. How do you use it for "baking or cooling stuff on cookie sheets"?

[Suvir Saran]

Ok, I heated oil, in which I put a cutting of wax paper.

I allowed it to stay in heated oil, not cooking, since I did not want to do that just yet. Removed the sheet 5 minutes later. Trashed it. Cooled the oil, and it did not show any trace of wax.

Then I took some oil, heated it, added the paper, removed the paper after 5 minutes, taking a risk, I sprinkled 1 teaspoon of water into the oil. It sizzled, it was not the right thing to do. But this time around, when I cooled the oil, it did have wax floating on the surface.

So, I am sure wax is added into whatever you cook lined with wax paper. Some gets transferred into the item being cooked and some remains on the sheet.

If one has parchment, why would one want to use wax paper? Not sure.

And yes I tried using wax paper whilst making meringue earlier this year, and the paper would not come off and would break the meringue. Steve Klc helped me understand that I could not use wax paper instead of parchment, and when I followed the same recipe using parchment instead, it worked perfectly and the meringues became a treat to make.

Parchment also works well when poaching fruit. Wax paper does not work. You will have wax floating on the surface of the poaching liquid when cooled. Not a good thing to see. Makes you wonder what flavor has been added as well.

But I know family members of some friends that have only ever used wax paper. And they bake a lot and well.

[Nick]

Suvir, You certainly took my earlier experiment with boiling water to a higher level. That was a great piece of work in our quest to understand wax paper. Really, it was great.

I just got out a box of Cut-rite (by Reynolds) and found a number of things on the box.

"Tops for microwave."

"Easy to remove.. Won't stick to food or dishes like some plastic wraps can."

"Line countertops when mixing, measuring, grating, or breading."

"Separate meats for freezing with wax paper."

No mention or suggestion that it should be used around heat other than microwave.

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks Nickn!

I grew up in a country that out of Gandhian principles (at least then, was very conscious about recycling) did not afford even the very rich any such excesses as (wax paper, aluminum foil and zip loc bags). Paper (without bleach) ruled and were cleverly used in many recipes. Natural parchment was readily available and was used often after washing, if I remember correctly.

Brown paper that we used to cover books with was recycled after passing from one grade to another. It was used Inside Out for the second year. And if was not torn, it was used by sticking a new label on the surface for the third year.

Students that made their own note books using paper left over from note books of previous years were given special smiles and respect from teachers. I remember my mother taught me how to make my own note books. Since I did not find it un-cool to use these home made notebooks, I would use left over unused pages from note books of friends and family and make all of mine from it. But I was alone in that in my class. It was not fashionable to do this. My own siblings never understood how I could take moms advice so literally.

We had wax paper in India, but it was never used in cooking. I remember we used it as lining when one worked on surfaces that would need protection from water. But hardly to cook.

But Muslin (yes fabric) was used for several things where wax paper or parchment could be used. And brown paper was used to cover books, line baking vessels and also to use as storage.

Most of these rolls are new to me. And I am like kid in a candy store when I am in American grocery stores. I buy so much rubbish, as if to make up for all those years of not having access to them. But, recently, I have found myself again going back to those Gandhian principles, and see a trend at least amongst the cognoscenti to follow those old principles. But India, is going the American way and losing that respect for recycling and all things biodegradable.

[Nick]

Ah Suvir, You've brought back memories of my childhood in the country (NH). My mother, even though we were not poor, would cut up the brown paper bags from the store and use the paper for baking, draining the doughnuts, and covering schoolbooks. But, the doughnuts! That's what brought back the memories of what you just said. Draining on the brown paper and they were so good. I couldn't have a doughnut just as they came out, but I could eat the holes. I loved the holes.

Wax paper was for covering the counter (especially for flouring), wrapping some things for the fridge, and wrapping my sandwich for school. Which brings me to the bean sandwiches my mother would make on Mondays and Tuesdays from the beans she'd baked on Saturday. Man those were good. And her sandwiches made with leftover meatloaf!

Now, see where a simple discussion of wax paper can go?

[stefanyb]

Very interesting experiments Suvir. Thanks for the research. I now probaby know anything I could have wanted to know about my question.

Edited December 24, 2002 by stefanyb (log)