Reynolds Kitchens Unbleached Parchment Paper | Compostable Baking Paper | Pack of 1 Roll, 304mm x 13.7m

Product Information

You have probably noticed that I line my baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper instead of cooking directly on the surface or lining them with aluminum foil. And if I want to roast a head of garlic, I always wrap it first in unbleached parchment paper and then aluminum foil. Since I have been fielding a lot of questions about this practice recently from some newbies in my cooking classes, I thought I would shed some light on it here. Since ditching unbleached parchment paper several years ago, I’ve been baking the old-fashioned way. Parchment paper is made from paper, and even though it is entirely safe for you to place your food items on it, you certainly cannot eat it. Of course, when you bake with it or reheat your food with it, it will not release any form of toxins into the food.

Parchment is a writing paper that has been in existence for a very long time. It is made from animal skin. However, the parchment paper that we use for cooking and baking activities isn’t. Parchment paper is simply paper lined with a layer of silicone. We all know that paper is made from trees, and silicone is made from processed sand. Both materials are biodegradable, which means that they will break down if microorganisms descend on them. Silicone is not something I want in my body even in the tiniest amounts given that it is a persistent toxin in the environment. In addition, silicone, aka siloxanes, can cause uterine tumors and reproductive issues, possibly even leading to infertility. (7)

If you are a baking or cooking enthusiast, then you must be quite familiar with parchment paper and butter paper. These two baking materials are quite similar; however, they have a couple of differences.

You can compost unbleached parchment paper because it has no chemicals in it, however, you cannot say the same for the bleached ones. Keep them away from your compost pit.After knowing how to use it, some doubts usually make it happen when using this parchment paper for cooking or baking. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a long time will remember that I used to use it to cover my aluminum bakeware to protect the food from heavy metal exposure. While manufacturers insist that silicone is safe and inert, I beg to differ. Silicone Leaches into Food Now that we have all agreed that they are important and we use them regularly, then we can begin to ask questions like how do we dispose of them? Certainly, we cannot use them forever, even though some of them can be reused multiple times. However, you can use lay it between your table and bread dough, or any other food item that can leave a mess. You can also use it when you want to cool your freshly baked foods, wrap foods and place them in the fridge and any other function that does not involve a strong heat source.