Written by AZoMJun 13 2002
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Background
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Aluminium foil is so familiar in domestic as well as professional kitchens, where it has been a valuable ‘culinary tool’, that it hardly needs further introduction.
Because of its usefulness, aluminium foil accounts for about one third of the total household 'wraps' market - which includes all types of plastics film and paper products.
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Key Properties
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Properties that make aluminium foil so useful include:
• Heat tolerance - from freezing to baking and grilling
• Heat conductivity
• Strength
• Impermeability
• Hygiene
• Deadfold - it stays wrapped around food items without needing further sealing
• Non-toxicity and corrosion resistance
• Suitability in all types of cooking mode, fan and convection ovens, grills and barbecues. Even in microwave ovens it can be safely used as a shield and will not create ‘arcing’ provided it does not touch the oven lining or other metal components.
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Applications
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Roasting
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Perhaps the most familiar is its use in wrapping oven-roasted meat, fish and poultry during cooking in order to retain moisture and to reduce shrinkage and drying. In commercial catering, maintaining the size of the portion on the customer’s plate is an important element in providing meals which satisfy.
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Freezing
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Because aluminium foil is malleable and will fold and wrap close to the food being stored, it is an ideal material for irregularly shaped items such as the remainder of meat joints etc. The deadfold characteristic of the metal allows the foil to be sealed by folding and without the need for any tie or tape.
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Baking
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Foil saves cleaning materials and work when it is used to line cake trays and moulds. It can be used to keep pastry moist while allowing the oven heat to penetrate quickly and effectively.
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Miscellaneous Kitchen Uses
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As a lining to the grill pan or the oven, aluminium foil takes all the burnt-on juices which are so difficult to clean. Just remove the foil lining and discard.
Use it to provide a lifting strip under cakes or bread to help them out of the baking trays easily. The foil will not burn or scorch in the oven.
Picnic lunches, sandwiches, cakes and fruit stay fresh when foil-wrapped.
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Other Uses
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Use it as a light reflector for lamps or for photography.
Wrap paintbrushes overnight to keep them from drying out.
Make temporary lids for part-used pots of food, paint or other things which would otherwise dry out.
In the garden and in the garage, there are hundreds of occasions when you need an impervious, weatherproof and heat-proof thin sheet of metal.
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Source: European Aluminium Foil Association
For more information on this source please visit European Aluminium Foil Association.
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