Did you know that aluminum foil was first produced commercially in the US in 1913? It was used for wrapping Life Savers™, candy bars and chewing gum. In 1921, it was laminated on paperboard to produce coated folding cartons, household foil was marketed in the late 1920s, and the first heat-sealable foil was developed in 1938.
Aluminum foil is more than just a kitchen or grilling staple that most people always keep on hand. You can use it to clean cookware and prepare quick and easy foil-wrapped meals, on the grill or the kitchen oven. Aluminum foil has many uses in the kitchen and beyond, from tenting over casseroles to even cleaning grill grates. We’ve broken down several aluminum foil uses you may not know about!
Clever Cleaning Hacks
It’s easy to keep the kitchen clean with a minimal amount of effort thanks to a little help from our new secret weapon – aluminum foil – from scrubbing baked-on gunk off pots and pans to keeping a pristine stovetop.
1. Keep the bottom of the oven clean.
Cleaning the oven can be such a chore. Line the lower rack of your oven with a layer of aluminum foil to catch drips and spills that can occur when cooking and switch it out for a new sheet, as needed. Never place the foil directly on the floor of the oven where the heating element is located, because this is a fire hazard.
2. Scrub tough, cooked-on messes.
To clean your grill with foil, wad up a ball of aluminum foil, lightly douse your grill grates with water and start scrubbing.
You can also modify this cleaning tip to work on pots and pans (as long as they’re not non-stick) by sprinkling a layer of salt or baking soda onto your grimy surface and using a damp ball of foil, rather than a sponge, for extra scrubbing power.
3. Remove rust and stains from chrome faucet and appliances.
Thanks to a cool chemical reaction between aluminum foil, water, and chrome, you can use a strip of foil to keep your chrome kitchen sink faucet as shiny as new. First, clean the rusted area with soap and water. Then, fold a piece of foil into a small square with about 3 to 4 layers to prevent ripping.
Next, dip your foil square in plain water (no soap!) and scrub the area gently to avoid potentially scratching the finish. You’ll see little bits of rust start to flake off with just minimal amounts of elbow grease. Re-dip your foil in water and repeat until your chrome faucet — or other chrome kitchen appliance — is sparkling!
4. Easy stovetop cleaning.
If it’s obvious which burner on your stovetop is your favorite, then this kitchen cleaning tip is for you. As long as you don’t have a flat-top stove, you can line the burners with aluminum foil to keep drips from becoming hardened and caked onto the base of your burners themselves, an area that can feel impossible to clean once a mess does occur. Just be sure to switch out your foil liners regularly and keep a close eye on them while cooking to avoid any potential fire hazards.
5. Clean tarnished silverware.
Say goodbye to traditional silver polishing. This DIY ionizing cleaning method using aluminum foil works to clean tarnished real silver flatware in just minutes!
To try this time-saving cleaning hack at home, start by completely lining a heat-safe container with aluminum foil and filling it just a couple of inches with hot water, or enough to submerge a piece of silverware completely. Next, stir in two tablespoons of salt and two tablespoons of baking soda until dissolved. Then, add a few pieces of silverware, making sure that each piece is in direct contact with the foil.
In a few minutes, the ion exchange chemical reaction should take place and your silver will be instantly clean. Repeat as needed or increase the size of your container and double the amounts of baking soda and salt to make a bigger batch.
Aluminum Foil No No’s
There are some aluminum foil uses that are not recommended, because they’re not effective or could be dangerous. We just want to make sure you’re not guilty of these common aluminum foil fails.
1. Don’t bake cookies on foil.
When it comes to baking cookies, it’s best to reach for parchment paper over aluminum foil. That’s because aluminum is extremely conductive, meaning any part of the dough that makes direct contact with the foil will be exposed to much more concentrated heat than the rest of the dough. What you end up with is a cookie that’s over browned or even burnt on the bottom and undercooked on the top.
2. Don’t put it in the microwave.
This is really a no brainer, but a little reminder never hurts: According to the FDA, never put aluminum foil in the microwave because microwaves reflect off the aluminum, causing food to cook unevenly. Most importantly this will potentially cause sparks, flames, or even fires and then it’s goodbye microwave oven!
3. Don’t line the bottom of your oven.
Lining the very bottom of your oven with aluminum foil might sound like a good idea, but the folks at Reynolds don’t recommend it: “To avoid possible heat damage to your oven, we do not recommend using aluminum foil to line the bottom of your oven.” Instead, place a sheet on an oven rack below whatever you’re baking to catch drips. Make sure the sheet is only a few inches larger than the baking dish to allow for proper heat circulation.
4. Don’t store leftovers.
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for three to four days, but aluminum foil isn’t ideal for storing them. Foil is not airtight, meaning no matter how tightly you wrap it, some air will get in. This allows bacteria to grow faster. Store leftovers in airtight storage containers or food storage bags.
5. Don’t toss after one use.
Turns out, Grandma was right all along! Foil can certainly be reused. If it’s not too crumpled or soiled, you can wash aluminum foil by hand or in the top rack of the dishwasher to get a few extra miles out of each sheet. When you decide it’s time to retire a sheet of aluminum foil, it can be recycled.
6. Don’t bake potatoes in foil.
Think twice before wrapping your spuds in foil. Aluminum foil does trap heat, but it traps moisture, too. This means your potato will end up soggier and more steamed as opposed to baked and crisp.
In fact, the Idaho Potato Commission is adamant that baking potatoes in aluminum foil is a bad practice. Plus, storing a baked potato in the aluminum foil it was baked in gives botulinum bacteria the potential to grow. So even if you do choose to bake your potatoes in aluminum foil, be sure to remove the foil before storing it in the fridge.
7. Don’t use just the shiny side.
Unless you’re using a non-stick aluminum foil, it makes no difference which side of the foil you use. According to Reynolds, it’s fine to place food on both the dull and shiny side of aluminum foil. The difference in appearance has to do with the milling process, in which one side comes in contact with the mill’s highly polished steel rollers.
In Closing
With this simple aluminum foil refresher, you now know that it has many uses in the kitchen and beyond, from tenting over casseroles, cleaning grill grates and easy kitchen cleaning hacks. Also, just to clarify, there is no documented evidence that a tin foil hat shields the brain from electromagnetic fields, mind control, mind reading, or aliens.