Which Side of the Foil You Should Put on the Pan

Foil is a thin sheet of soft metal: copper, gold, aluminum, or tin. Aluminum is often used in everyday life: for example, for cooking food and packaging it.

5-Minute Crafts is going to tell you how and where aluminum foil is used, and which side of the sheet you should put on the pan.

Where aluminum foil is used

Foil is really flexible. You can easily wrap it around other objects which is why it’s often used for packaging. For example:

• It’s used in packaging medications. Foil creates good protection from the factors that might have a bad influence on the quality and shelf life of medication. Foil protects them from humidity, germs, smells, oxygen, and light.
• It’s used in the food industry. It is most often used in packaging dairy products that can be stored outside the fridge for a long time. Chocolate is also packed in foil to protect it from heat, humidity, and light.
• It’s used to pack cooked food. Containers and pans made from foil are used for making pies and packing them. People use foil when they need to store food in the fridge or take it somewhere. It helps protect food from the environment and other smells.
• It’s used for insulation. Due to high heat and electric conductivity, foil is used in electric cables and some types of microphones.
• It’s used in art to decorate arts and crafts when an artist needs shiny metallic surfaces.

How foil is used in cooking

Aluminum foil is used to bake foods with a soft structure: for example, fish, bird meat, mushrooms, and vegetables. For cooking, the food is wrapped in foil and put on a pan. This helps prevent moisture loss which could lead to a change in the meal’s texture.

Foil is safe for use in the oven but don’t put it into a microwave. It might lead to a fire.

How to bake food in foil correctly

Aluminum foil is shiny on one side and matte on the other. Aluminum is put into thin sheets with metal rolls. 2 sheets are made at once, so one side becomes matte, and the other one is shiny.

This is why some people think that the shiny side of the foil should be inside, and the matte side should be outside. Otherwise, the food might not be cooked the way it should be.

But in fact, the shiny side of the foil is only a bit brighter than the matte side. Even if some heat is reflected, the difference is so tiny that it has no practical result. So, you can put the foil any way you want. The only exception is the foil with a non-stick surface that is usually only on one side. In this case, follow the instructions on the pack.