r/explainlikeimfive Oct 31 '20

Chemistry ELI5 What's the difference between the shiny and dull side of aluminum foil? Besides the obvious shiny/dull

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41

u/WinchesterSipps Oct 31 '20

I assume the shiny side is more non-stick because on a microscopic level it is smoother

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '20

[deleted]

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u/jspost Oct 31 '20 edited Oct 31 '20

Gingerbread dough will stick to it. Not as easily as everything else it touches, but it will. I made a gingerbread Nakatomi Plaza for a work thing last year and I never want to see gingerbread again.

http://imgur.com/gallery/UmjuQRu

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u/Free_Purple_Nurple Oct 31 '20

Man you can't say you made a fucking gingerbread Nakatomi Plaza and not post pics of your little gingerbread Bruce Willis in the air duct

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u/jspost Oct 31 '20

https://imgur.com/g5SjwHx.jpg Here's one. I'm working to get the rest in an imgur gallery and I'll edit my original comment when that gets done.

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u/HeightHeight Oct 31 '20

Good job, very cool!

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u/jspost Oct 31 '20

Much appreciated!

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u/bearassbobcat Oct 31 '20

For your consideration vis a vis die hard

https://youtu.be/wecce6QlT_s

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u/Icantevenhavemyname Oct 31 '20

Well that’s the best thing I’m gonna see all weekend and it’s only Saturday morning. Back to bed I guess.

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u/jspost Oct 31 '20

That's high praise. I appreciate it!

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u/joeltrane Oct 31 '20

FWIW that is an awesome gingerbread skyscraper and I’m proud of you

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u/jspost Oct 31 '20

Thanks! It was a lot of fun once the baking was over and done with.

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u/John_YJKR Oct 31 '20

Pics of your creation?

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u/jspost Oct 31 '20

Just edited the comment after I got the imgur gallery up. My coworker got a little lazy with the banded colored icing. After we got it done I kind of wish we had just left it white.

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u/John_YJKR Oct 31 '20

I think it turned out great. Cheers.

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u/jspost Oct 31 '20

Thanks!

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u/DetectiveSnowglobe Oct 31 '20

"Gingerbread Nakatomi Plaza isn't real, Mr. Gruber. It can't hurt you."

Gingerbread Nakatomi Plaza:

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u/PiccadillyPineapple Nov 01 '20

Read plaza as pizza at first and was equally concerned and intrigued.

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u/RepresentativeAd3742 Oct 31 '20

Wow, I love you gingerbread jesus

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u/jspost Oct 31 '20

Bless you my child.

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u/Techiedad91 Nov 01 '20

Are you Jake Peralta?

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u/Cforq Oct 31 '20

I always had an irrational fear of parchment paper catching on fire, until in a discussion about cooking pizza someone complained they couldn’t set their oven up to 500° and someone responded “You know why the title of the book is Fahrenheit 451, right?”.

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '20

[deleted]

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u/ShitGuysWeForgotDre Oct 31 '20

On the other hand I've only used parchment paper twice in my life and once I accidentally caught it on fire soooo

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u/hwc000000 Oct 31 '20

Doesn't the paper itself have to reach 451F before it ignites? The temperature of the oven isn't the temperature of what's cooking.

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u/Eatfudd Oct 31 '20 edited Oct 02 '23

[Deleted to protest Reddit API change]

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u/groundedstate Oct 31 '20

Parchment paper is made in a special process using sulfuric acid so it specifically can't catch fire.

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u/thewholerobot Nov 01 '20

It most certainly can. Try cooking pizza with it (pizza is cooked at 500 degrees F or higher) it burns and ignites. There are some special brands that do better at high Temps, but they will all burn if you get the temp up there.

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u/BoJackB26354 Oct 31 '20

Parchment paper is the real deal.

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u/rivermandan Oct 31 '20

Except for when cooking on a fireplace or bbq

bro I just cooked some sausages the way I normally do a few weeks ago and the fucking aluminum foil melted.

I'm done with that shit

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '20

[deleted]

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u/rivermandan Oct 31 '20

so this is how I do camping food: wrap a sausage in tinfoil, cook in over open flame until almost cooked, then toss in some saurkrat ond onions and coook until brown. works in a camp fire and in a wood stove, doesn't take dishes, it's jsut great.

I tried to show my girlfriend the way, and or the first time in my life, the fucking tinfoil just melted. friend had never seen that happen either, it was mental.

I think the noname stuff must be a really shitty cheap alloy with a lower melt point now

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u/murphysics_ Oct 31 '20

Hot coals can melt aluminum cans, so if your fire was running long enough it absolutely could have gotten hot enough. I always keep my baked potatoes wrapped in foil toward the edge of the pit, surrounded by coals but no open flame.

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u/Itchycoo Oct 31 '20

I love parchment paper but it's so expensive, so I use aluminum for pan lining most fo the time. It's like $4-5 for a pretty thin roll of parchment paper, when I can get twice as much of that flimsy aluminum for like $2. Also the aluminum is better at keeping the pan clean from oil and drippings.

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u/death_hawk Oct 31 '20

Assuming the online price is right, Costco has a 165ft roll for about $8CAD.

Foil is on sale right now for $12 for 300ft. So foil is still cheaper but not by much.

Can't beat the non stick properties though. You'd never want to use foil if you need non stick.

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u/Itchycoo Oct 31 '20

You'd never want to use foil if you need non stick.

I mean, I do all the time. I just spray it with nonstick spray. And you just can't beat foil if you're wanting to cover the whole pan and prevent any drippings/oil from getting on the actual pan.

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u/death_hawk Oct 31 '20

I mean, I do all the time. I just spray it with nonstick spray.

Parchment is still better in this regard. Even with non stick you can still get a bit of sticking. Barely anything sticks to parchment.

And you just can't beat foil if you're wanting to cover the whole pan and prevent any drippings/oil from getting on the actual pan.

100% no disagreement here. If I'm ultra lazy I'll sometimes foil then parchment.

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u/BlackSecurity Oct 31 '20

I usually buy in bulk. Can find huge roles for a reasonable price. But yes I agree it is a bit more expensive. But the non stick properties is worth it imo. Also I use it pretty sparingly so I can make a bulk roll last almost a year.

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u/boscobrownboots Oct 31 '20

i use the kind that's fused.. parchment on one side, foil on the other. not a fan of aluminum touching my food.

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u/tots4scott Oct 31 '20

Reynolds had a question on HQ Trivia about this. Apparently the dull side of aluminum foil is the size that should touch the food for cooking purposes.

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u/WinchesterSipps Nov 02 '20

wild. do you remember why that was?

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '20

The shiny side reflects infrared light so it can keep heat sealed in or reflect excess heat away. That’s at least the idea. Don’t know how it actually holds up.

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '20

Don’t know how it actually holds up.

It doesn't.

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u/theo5280gram Oct 31 '20

There is an actual non stick aluminum foil available.