Are you an amateur, aspiring, or professional baker? Then you'll want to read on for a hack designed to save you some money in the kitchen.
The scoop
Thanks to TikToker America's Test Kitchen (@testkitchen), we now know that parchment paper, commonly used for cooking and baking, can be used multiple times before being disposed of. According to America's Test Kitchen's video detailing the hack, as long as the parchment isn't too messy, it's good for another round in the oven.
@testkitchen Don't throw away your used parchment paper! #quicktips #kitchenhacks #howto ♬ original sound - America's Test Kitchen
"In fact, you can make at least five batches of cookies on a single sheet of parchment with no sticking," the video's presenter instructs. "Just be sure to use a cooled baking sheet every time."
When your parchment paper goes into an oven that is 425 degrees or hotter, it might become brittle, so you should skip baking on it again, the tutorial recommends. However, this brittle paper can be used to collect kitchen scraps, such as potato peels.
"Parchment's expensive," the video concludes. "Save it!"
How it's helping
America's Test Kitchen is right — parchment is expensive, selling for around $20 at retail prices. But if we save our parchment for five uses when baking something like cookies, as this video instructs, we could save 80% of the money we spend on parchment paper.
Additionally, parchment paper is treated with acid and then coated in a nonstick material like silicone during production. On top of getting food or grease stuck on it during use, these factors make it impossible to recycle. This adds to the colossal amount of garbage humans produce each year.
According to Dumpsters.com, the average American consumer generates just under five pounds of trash each day, adding up to 1,642 pounds per person annually. This waste sits in landfills and produces planet-warming pollution that contributes to the warming of our earth.
That's why hacks like these — and being conscious of how much waste we're generating — are critical to our planet's well-being.
In addition to hacks we can do ourselves, there are organizations that will help us reduce waste — and maybe even earn us some money. For example, GotSneakers will distribute your used sneakers to those in need, and ThredUp will buy and sell your old clothes secondhand.
What everyone's saying
The TikTok comments section was filled with people who praised the hack or said they were already engaging in a similar practice.
"I worked in a bakery," one person wrote. "We would reuse our parchment paper for weeks. Wipe it down turn it over. It was still good. We threw it away when it fell apart."
Another discussion in the comments involved a potential odor from overused parchment paper, but the consensus seemed to be that as long as you wipe down the paper and avoid using it at temperatures above what it's rated for (often 420 degrees Fahrenheit, as ATK said in a separate article), it should be fine.
"Great information," another individual commented. "Thank you."
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