BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper

Subject: BS: Greaseproof Paper and Baking Parchment
From: Rasener
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 04:09 PM

how do you tell the difference between greaseproof paper and baking parchment.

My daughter has to take to school tomorrow baking Parchment.

My wife thinks she has Baking Parchment, but is concerned incase it is greaseproof paper.

Is there any way by looking at the paper to determine the difference.

We know why you use one or the other, so that is not the question.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Tig
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 04:51 PM

Erm - you mean there's enough difference that the school is going to turn picky? If so they should provide the stuff. Mine always used to!

I have a feeling parchment is slightly thicker and stands less chance of something sticking.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: CarolC
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 04:55 PM

Parchment paper doesn't have a wax coating on it - greaseproof paper does. It's very easy to tell the difference between the two by looking at and/or feeling the paper.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Rasener
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 05:08 PM

Thanks for that.

It looks like its parchment.
Les

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Rasener
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 05:11 PM

I just felt it and it definately not greaseproof

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: robomatic
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 05:48 PM

I used to make my own by rubbing melted butter into a brown paper bag. Used to cook Thanksgiving turkeys that way.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Bill D
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 05:51 PM

"greaseproof"

Is that a UK term? Is it what we would call "waxed paper"?

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 06:18 PM

The terms apparently are somewhat loosely defined, but our local commercial restaurant supply shop stocks "butcher paper" that probably is what I'd expect might be called "grease proof" elsewhere.

I'ts about the same weight as "baking parchment" but has a sort of "plastic" impregnated surface that might make it unsuitable for baking.

(It comes in 24" wide by 500 foot rolls, and is cheap enough to use for sketching/art work and works nicely for quilt "interlining," or so I'm told.)

It does have a visibly "shiny" surface that should make it easy to tell the difference - if it actually is what's meant by "greaseproof."

John

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: CarolC
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 06:39 PM

I don't live in the UK, so I can't say from experience, but when I googled "greaseproof paper" the definitions I saw said that UK "greaseproof paper" is the same as what we call "wax paper" here.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: CarolC
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 06:40 PM

( ...here in the US).

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: s&r
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 06:45 PM

My understanding:

Wax paper - used for its waterproof properties. Coated with wax
Baking parchment - non stick silicon paper
greaseproof paper - hard thin paper matt on both sides usually; made from wood fibre? translucent, good for tracing paper.

Stu UK

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: CarolC
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 06:50 PM

If some of the information above is correct, it looks to me like greaseproof paper in the UK is what we call parchment paper in the US.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: s&r
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 06:55 PM

Could well be - it looks like parchment.

Stu

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 07:41 PM

I use parchment paper when baking cookies (Canada, U. S.) and some other oven-prepared foods. In UK, it is commonly known as greaseproof paper.

'Greaseproof' in N. Am. could mean several things, including the butcher paper used to wrap meats. It is not a term in use there.

Wax(ed) paper is sold as wax paper in N. Am., can't be used with heat.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Bill D
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 07:45 PM

hmmm.. I think I'm glad I asked. Some things are not easily sorted.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 04:36 AM

Wax(ed) paper is sold as wax paper in N. Am., can't be used with heat.

Well, my granny said when the iron sticks to the shirt, you run it hot over a sheet of wax paper and it slicks it up right nicely. She quite often used an old bread wrapper. They used to be heavily waxed and could freshen an iron three or four times 'fore you wore of all the slickum.

(Granny was pre-teflon everything though.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: mouldy
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 04:58 AM

Parchment paper is the silicone stuff. I use it a lot instead of greaseproof, as it replaces the "greased greaseproof paper" in baking. I buy it by the roll, but you can also get it in ready cut cake tin sizes. (It is not the silicone mat stuff (sometimes teflon coated) which is used to line the bottom of the oven, baking trays, ot microwave turntables - that one is washable! I believe that one is also called "silpat" overseas).

Waxed paper is what they still sometimes sell bread in, and always got reused in our house for wrapping sandwiches, in the old days.

Greaseproof is the matt stuff. It's just made in such a way that it is impermeable to oil, fat etc. It gets used by butchers/delis, and has a nasty habit of sticking to meat if you leave it on too long!

Andrea - (years of baking salt dough have finally paid off)!

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Rasener
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 04:58 AM

Greaseproof paper
Made from unbleached paper, and has a wide variety of uses in the kitchen. It is ideal for wrapping food and is suitable for use in fridges, freezers, conventional and combination and microwave ovens. It can be used to line cake tins and baking trays - grease lightly before using in the oven, to wrap foods for packed lunches and picnics and to wrap fatty foods such as butter, cheese, smoked fish, cold meats and salami.

Use greaseproof paper to make jam pot covers and lids and for separating food into individual portions for freezing. Greaseproof paper sheets (250 x 38cm) are also available for baking and lining tins.


Parchment paper -- also called baking paper or baking parchment -- is a heavy-duty paper sold on rolls in boxes, like aluminum foil and plastic wrap. It is moisture-resistant and grease-resistant, and has several uses in the kitchen.

Primarily, parchment is used for lining baking pans. It eliminates greasing baking pans so there is virtually no clean-up. And parchment-lined baking pans practically guarantee that food won't stick, which is especially helpful when baking cakes and sticky cookies; they practically slide out of the pans.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper to prevent foods from sticking and make clean-up easy.

Parchment helps out in other ways too. You can literally pick up an entire batch of cookies from the baking sheet and transfer them to a wire rack to cool without fumbling with hot pans and spatulas. (No more misshapen cookies.) And parchment also holds up in microwave cooking.

Parchment also is used to make disposable pastry bags and to bake foods en papillote, a cooking method in which foods and seasonings are cooked together inside an envelope made with the parchment.

Look for parchment paper in the baking section of the supermarket or with the aluminum foil and plastic wrap. Pre-cut parchment circles for lining round cake pans are available in kitchen specialty stores.


Does that help :-)
I am even more confused :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Tig
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 06:07 PM

I now consider myself duly edificated on the subject - now just to sort out what it was that came from his mum's with no box.......

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 06:12 PM

UK and North America- separated by a common language.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: CarolC
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 06:31 PM

Do we even have an equivalent here in the US to what is called "parchment paper" in the UK (the silicone kind)? I don't think I've ever seen anything like that in stores.

Subject: RE: BS: Greaseproof paper and Parchment paper
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 08:20 PM

Parchment paper-
"Modern baking parchment ...is paper embeded with silicone."
Its safe temperature range is from -58 to 428 F....Avoid the high end temperature and avoid a high temperature grill setting in the oven or barbecue."
http://pattycake.ca/node/55 (Canadian recipe site)

"If You Care" baking products- Sells parchment paper and baking cups.
"Golden silicone 100% unbleached parchment paper and baking paper sheets." (A New Jersey U. S. company)
"The paper has been coated with silicone- a non-organic natural product- on both sides.
"Silicone-coated paper may be used several times."

Baking cups by the same company are "100% unbleached, heavy duty greaseproof paper..."
http://if you care.com/Baking%20products.htm

Reynolds Packaging is perhaps the largest maker of parchment paper in the U. S., see http://www.reynoldspkg.com/reynoldskitchens/parchment_paper/en/home.asp
Reynolds is an Alcoa company. The paper is silicone coated. They sell to stores which rebrand as well as selling under their own name.

I brought my parchment paper at Superstore (Canada); it has no 'ingredients' list, but it seems to be the same as Reynolds silicone paper.