Myths and truth about aluminium foil
For many years aluminium foil is in common use for cooking and packaging. However, there are still many rumors and guesses around its properties.
So, together with Al Farid Wood and Metal Trading Company, let’s find out whether these rumors and guesses true or just myths. As a company that sells aluminum foil not only in Dubai and Abu Dhabi but in Sharjah, Al Ain, and other emirates across the UAE, they know everything about their products and can be regarded as an authoritative expert in this issue.
Can aluminum cooking foil be dangerous?
This question often arises in the two following contexts:
- Is it possible for aluminum to transfer to the food when it is heated?
- Does the foil oxidize the food and make it harmful?
First, to tell the truth, we should admit that, as according to the laws of physics, food and bakery foil transfer their smallest particles to each other when contacting. However, this quantity is so miserable to put your health at any risk.
Second, the foil paper has an Al2O3 oxide coating that protects food from oxidizing. Still, such goods as lemon and other alkaline and acidic food destroy this coating and, then, interact. However, this interaction couldn’t be considered as dangerous. The only truth here is that this can spoil the food taste.
To put it short, we give a negative answer to the question. So, you can still buy, for example, Aluminium foil roll 75 sq ft for your cooking and packaging needs and use it with no harm to your health.
Is it better to wrap the food with a shiny side inward when baking?
First of all, let’s clarify why bakery foil has dull and shiny sides. Such a difference is just a result of its manufacturing technology peculiarities.
To get the foil as thin as we know it, manufacturers roll it through two steel shafts. However, rolling just one sheet is irrational. Therefore, they practice joint rolling. In other words, they put two sheets together and roll them simultaneously. A side that contacts steel shafts gain that gloss just because the roll acts as a polishing tool as well. On the contrary, a side that contacts another foil sheet stays dull.
Now let’s talk about the peculiarities of these two sides. Like any glossy surface, a shiny side reflects heat more intensively than a dull one. Therefore, by wrapping meat with the shiny side inward, you can facilitate the cooking process a bit.
To sum up, we give a positive answer to the question, though this difference is not as great as you would dream about.