Shiny side or dull side?

[Cheryl J]

^

I had to stop and think about this. Pretty much the only time I use tin foil is to tent meat that I've just taken off the grill to let it rest and stay warm while I prepare veggies. I don't think I've ever really thought about shiny/dull side, until now.

 

[JustJoel]

Sorry Joel, some subjects just lean towards comedy!

Curses, foiled again!!

Oh! All this was comedy? I thought you were all dead serious!
Nah, laughing right along with y’all (while I search the web for those hats!).

 

[JustJoel]

^

I had to stop and think about this. Pretty much the only time I use tin foil is to tent meat that I've just taken off the grill to let it rest and stay warm while I prepare veggies. I don't think I've ever really thought about shiny/dull side, until now.

If bread is browning too quickly, it too can be tented. And I’ve nearly every lid to every saucepan I have, so foil comes in handy when I need to cover a stew, say. Also good for warming bread without toasting it or drying it out.

And of course there’s those hats!

 

[Mad Cook]

I've read that it does matter and I've read that it doesn't. I've watched various chefs and cooks on TV and none of them seem to be bothered. Most people use foil shiny side out (probably because it looks right).

T'internet says:-

"CulinaryLore.com › All CulinaryLore Categories › Food Science
19 Oct 2016 - You can place either side in either direction whether cooking or freezing food with aluminum foil. ... Aluminum foil has a shiny side and a dull side. Many people believe that it matters which side is used up or down. The truth is that it makes no difference at all.......For example, Robert L. Wolke in "What Einstein Told His Cook" and "America's Test Kitchen" say that it makes no difference at all in cooking. You can place either side in either direction whether cooking or freezing food with aluminum foil.


"You pays your money and you takes your chance" as an old English saying goes.

 

[RPCookin]

^

I had to stop and think about this. Pretty much the only time I use tin foil is to tent meat that I've just taken off the grill to let it rest and stay warm while I prepare veggies. I don't think I've ever really thought about shiny/dull side, until now.

We use a LOT of aluminum foil. We almost always line a sheet pan with foil before cooking almost anything in the oven - makes it so much easier to clean up. Same with the oven broiler pan - line it with foil and cut slits for the grease to escape. Nothing gets burned on to the pan that way. I much prefer wadding up the mess and tossing it in the recycle bin to scouring the pan each time I use it.

Foil is recyclable, so I don't even feel guilty about it. We buy Reynold's Wrap in 250 foot rolls for about $7 per roll and a roll lasts for more than a year, even as much as we use.

 

[dragnlaw]

Thanks RP - I did not know that foil was recyclable!

Where my son is, just about everything goes into the bin, bones, milk products, paper towels, etc. Here we are we are not allowed foods into the bin - only paper, cans etc. and nothing fouled with food. Maybe one day ours will handle it but not at the moment.

Even for my compost I do not put bones or fat. Have enough problems with varmints on the farm without enticing them with a banquet.

 

[GotGarlic]

Thanks RP - I did not know that foil was recyclable!

It depends on whether the system your location uses can handle it. Not all of them can.

 

[buckytom]

We use a lot of foil, and recycle it much like Rick does. I've read that people should try to recycle aluminum as much as possible since it takes a lot more energy and creates a lot more toxic waste producing new aluminum.

We also re-use ours in hats, of course.

The plastics recycling business is about to take a big hit since China is greatly reducing the amount of plastic waste that it imports to be recycled into much of the crap we in turn buy back from them.

 

[JustJoel]

We use a lot of foil, and recycle it much like Rick does. I've read that people should try to recycle aluminum as much as possible since it takes a lot more energy and creates a lot more toxic waste producing new aluminum.

We also re-use ours in hats, of course.

The plastics recycling business is about to take a big hit since China is greatly reducing the amount of plastic waste that it imports to be recycled into much of the crap we in turn buy back from them.

I’ve always been hesitant to recycle used foil; somewhere I read that you shouldn’t put it in the recycle receptacle if it’s got burned on food, or grease, or any other food particles attached to it. I like to think I’m making my contribution, but washing my foil before I recycle it is a bit farther than I’m willing to go!

Any one else have insight into this?

PS to my main query,
I’ve pretty much decided, thanks to all your input, that I’m just gonna not worry about it, except for making our hats.

 

[taxlady]

People used to worry that one side of the foil was toxic, I kid you not. It isn't. OTOH, I suspect that putting the shiny side inward would keep something hot longer. I'm fairly sure that the amount is negligible and probably requires fancy equipment to measure such a small amount.

 

[Addie]

The shiny side, dull side is just a by-product of the production process. It is not that way intentionally.

I used to wonder if there was a "correct" way to use foil, but in years of informal experimentation, I certainly haven't noticed any.

Maybe the author of that bread recipe knows something I don't (gasp), so you could follow his/her instructions, or be a rebel and do just the opposite.

CD

Same advice from my Reynolds Engineer landlord in Texas.
And that was some 40 odd years ago. Since then I stopped worrying about it. Suggest the same.