When you think of paper tools in the kitchen, you mostly think of parchment paper or wax paper. These two are the most common tools used in baking or wrapping food to be stored in the refrigerator. But, there is another kind of paper that most people might not know about and it is freezer paper.
Freezer paper is used to wrap cuts of meat before storing them in the freezer. It has a plastic coating on one side which is the side that touches the meat. The other side is a paper coat.
However, freezer paper is not just used as a kitchen tool. In this article, we will be talking about what freezer paper is and its other uses aside from being a kitchen tool. Make sure to read until the end to find out about other ways you can use freezer paper.
What Is Freezer Paper?
Freezer paper is commonly used to wrap foods such as meat and then is stored in the freezer. It is made of bleached paper and has a polyethylene coating, making it ideal for moist environments.
The plastic coating on the freezer paper is just on one side, and the other is a regular white paper coat. The side where the plastic coating is the side you wrap the food in to prevent loss of moisture and freezer burn. Since one side is paper coated, you can easily label the paper accordingly.
Freezer paper is usually sold in grocery stores or supermarkets and can be found in the aisle where the parchment and wax paper is located.
What Is Freezer Paper Good For?
Freezer paper is used to wrap meat, chicken, steak, cheese, or fish before storing the food in the freezer. Since it has a plastic coating on one side, it is a heavy-duty type of paper and is not easily torn or punctured. This prevents the juices of the meat from leaking, especially when defrosting.
Freezer paper is also used to wrap deli products, sandwiches, noodles, and pasta. Using freezer paper to wrap different meat or chicken cuts will also prevent the packaging from sticking to other food items in your freezer. Since it can prevent leaking during the freezing process, it can also prevent cross-contamination from happening.
Freezer paper sometimes gets mistaken for parchment or wax paper but these three are different from each other.
Parchment Paper vs. Freezer Paper
As we said earlier, freezer paper has a plastic coating on one side and a paper coating on the other. A parchment paper, on the other hand, has a silicone coating on both sides which makes it heat-resistant, nonstick, and grease-proof.
Parchment paper usually comes in a brown or white color and both can be used for baking. The white parchment paper is chemically treated with bleach while the brown parchment paper is not.
Unlike parchment paper, freezer paper cannot be used in an oven as it has a plastic-coated side. The plastic coating will melt in the oven and will ruin your food and mess up your oven. Aside from the oven, parchment paper can also be used in the air fryer and in the microwave.
Both freezer paper and parchment paper are sold in rolls or already come pre-cut. Most parchment papers that are pre-cut are cut to fit a standard half-baking sheet. You can also cut freezer paper depending on the size you need.
Wax Paper vs Freezer Paper
Wax paper, as the name implies, is a paper that has a thin paraffin wax coating. The coating makes it non-stick resistant to water but not to heat. Both freezer paper and wax paper are not to be used in the oven or air-fryer as the paper will melt due to the heat.
However, according to the USDA, wax paper can be used to line cake pans when baking cakes as the wax paper is not directly exposed and is covered by the cake batter. In this case, the USDA said that the wax paper will not smoke. According to the USDA, wax paper can also be used in the microwave.
If you are hesitant in using wax paper in the oven or microwave, you can always use parchment paper just to be safe. If you are using wax paper, make sure not to use it to bake cookies as the wax paper will be directly exposed to the heat.
When wax paper is used for baking-related tasks, it does not often involve heat. Wax paper is usually used as a surface to roll out dough or handle dry baking ingredients.
Like freezer paper, wax paper can also be used to wrap foods. Cheese and butter are commonly wrapped in wax paper as they do not often stick to the paper unlike when they are wrapped in foil or plastic.
How To Thaw Meat Wrapped In Freezer Paper
Separating the meat into portions before wrapping them in freezer paper will make the defrosting process easier and safer as you only need to thaw out the portion that you need. Thawing the meat wrapped in freezer paper in the refrigerator overnight is the safest way to defrost frozen meat and other food items.
If you are in a hurry, you can defrost frozen meat in a bowl of cold water if the meat is in a sealed plastic freezer bag. If your food item is still wrapped in freezer paper, defrosting it in water will soak the meat as the water will seep through the freezer paper.
It is best to plan ahead when thawing food to make the defrosting process safer.
What Is A Substitute For Freezer Paper
There are other alternatives for freezer paper in the kitchen. You can use aluminum foil, freezer bags, plastic wraps, or butcher paper to wrap your food. If you have an airtight container, that can also work well as an alternative to storing your food. Airtight containers can also be reused and can reduce plastic waste in your home. Only use plastic containers if they are freezer-safe.
Other Uses For Freezer Paper
Aside from wrapping meats or other food items, freezer paper can also be used outside of its function in the kitchen.
Freezer paper is actually also used a lot in the arts and crafts industry. A lot of people use freezer paper for a lot of DIY crafting projects and are also used as a stencil to transfer images to fabrics.
Aside from using freezer paper in arts and crafts, it is also sometimes used in sewing. Sewing patterns can be printed on freezer paper. It can also be used to trace sewing patterns as it is a semi-transparent paper. Freezer papers can also be used as a guide for needle turning when quilting or for appliqué patterns that can be ironed to fabrics.
Freezer paper is a versatile piece of paper that is not only used in the kitchen but can also be used for DIY crafts and sewing.
Wrap Up
Freezer paper is a versatile paper and it can be used to wrap meat before storing it in a freezer. This is to prevent freezer burn or loss of moisture in the meat in the process of freezing food. Aside from being a handy kitchen tool, freezer paper can also be used to do arts and crafts or to make paper pattern guides used for sewing.
If you’ve only been using parchment or wax paper, it might be a good time to try using freezer paper for your frozen food items or just for doing artsy projects at home.
If you have any other questions about freezer paper, let us know via the contact form on our website!
