Monday, February 2, 2009

Super Bowl XLIII & Parchment Paper - Revisited

A few months ago I published a post singing the praises of parchment paper, my solution for so many small vexing problems in the kitchen.  I have recently learned a cruel lesson:   brand does matter!

For years I have been relying on Reynolds Parchment Paper.  It easily stands-up to the high heat of my pizza stone, and has been  key to my success in making buffalo chicken wings.  So as Super Bowl Sunday approached I was confident about my culinary choice - Wings !!!

On a recent visit to Bed, Bath & Beyond I purchased some non-Reynolds Parchment paper, assuming what's in a name?  Nothing.  Well, this other brand, Regency, is much thinner and is not designed to withstand high heat.  I cook frozen wings in a 450ยบ convection oven.  The Regency brand paper was so thin it stuck to the pan, stuck to the wings, and fell apart when I tried to remove it from the pan.  The wings were salvageable, but it took time to peel bits of paper off each wing.  Never again will I attempt wings with this thinner product.  I also can't imagine that it will be able to stand-up to the heat of a pizza stone.  This may be find for cakes, but otherwise, stick with Reynolds.