All About Parchment

by Diana Rosen

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This week Judi from Atlanta wants Kitchen Sleuth to investigate cooking with parchment paper and writes:
Dear Kitchen Sleuth:
I'd like to try my hand at baking fish in parchment paper but I don't know the first thing about it ...

Dear Judi:
You're in for a delicious treat! This French presentation, en papilotte (cooked and served in paper) is a wonderful way to cook vegetables, chicken or fish and, best of all, it's a technique that is low in fat but high in flavor because the food is actually steamed in the paper and needs no oils. Italians also use this technique for everything from pasta to fish as in cartoccio.

Parchment paper is a baker's dream tool, used to line pans, form funnels or disposable pastry bags, and a whole slew of other uses. For your recipe, however, choose a food-grade silicon coated parchment paper, preferably in a roll, or in boxes of pre-cut sheets, usually in half-reams or 250 sheets.

Follow the recipe you have or consider these sample ingredients:
chicken breast with rings of red onion and mixture of yellow and red peppers or a filet of white fish (sand dab, talipia, etc) layered with slices of lemon, sweet Vidalia onions and cracked pepper) or beets, potatoes, onions and carrots cut into chunks with just a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar; the roasted vegetables will caramelize on the paper, not the pan, making clean up a snap.

To prepare your en papilotte, tear off a 15" piece of paper from the roll (the carton has a serrated edge for accurate cutting), fold the paper in half and crease it in the center. Unfold the paper and place your ingredients on the one-half of the sheet nearest the crease. Season to taste.

Fold over the other half of the sheet to cover up the ingredients. Beginning at the top corner, make small overlapping folds down the length of the package to seal the edges together. Make a tight seal with the last fold by twisting the corner several times. For a nice touch, you can use a scallion as a "twine".

Repeat for the other servings, and then place the parchment packets on a large cookie sheet and bake about 20-25 minutes. Most parchment paper can withstand 400-450°F. but no more as, yes, that will cause the paper to char and burn.

To serve, use a large spatula to remove each packet and place each on a dinner plate. With a very sharp knife, cut an "X" in the top of each packet and, with the knife, lift the cut edges up slightly and slowly to avoid steam burn. Serve immediately. Your guests eat their serving directly from the opened packet; the paper is not removed because the juices are contained within. When done, just toss the packets in the trash. Parchment paper re-useable, although that is more frequently done when the paper is used for mats or for cookie liners or anything you need a clean surface to prepare foods. Shake off dry ingredients and wipe of wet ingredients with a damp cloth and it's ready to use again.

The best parchment paper is coated with sulfuric acid to provide a sleek and smooth surface impervious to grease or moisture, and with silicone to make the paper nonstick. In addition to the sheets and rolls mentioned above, it comes in beached and unbleached and is easily accessible at grocery and culinary stores and in many general goods stores from K-Mart to Costco. You'll find them wherever wax paper and aluminum foil are shelved. Avoid parchment paper made with quilon or chrome which some bakers believe can be toxic. The unbleached does contain chlorine which some people like to avoid, yet most bakers prefer the bleached because it is less brittle and you can more obviously tell if there are any burnt edges. A box of rolled parchment paper costs from $3 to $5; boxes of sheets are $10 to $15. Some brands to check are Reynolds® Parchment Paper, Wilton Parchment Paper, IF YOU CARE® Parchment Paper and online at various sites including www.greenfeet.com

*Do NOT use on grills except those with Teflon coatings which, again, helps with easy cleanup.

Other uses for parchment paper include:
* Liner for heating foods in a microwave, especially messy items like burritos or cheese pizzas
* Disposable mat for measuring and refilling salt and pepper shakers
* Lid to cover a pot of rice, stew or pot of chili to help keep it moist and avoid drying it out; just cut out a circle using the lid as a guide and place over the pot or pan; also good as a splatter shield
* Mat to roll a log of cookie dough or sushi when you don't have a bamboo mat
* Mat for rolling pie dough without the need to dust the paper with flour as the dough will not stick
* Mat for sticky items like candies or foods made with honey, or messy veggies like beets which tend to "bleed" its signature red juice that can stain some countertops
* Cutting surface for prepping chilies to avoid the fire residue on your regular board
* Liner for mailing boxes of cookies or brownies
* Collar for soufflés
* Stencil templates for dusting sugar or cocoa powder in designs on cakes
* Liner for a steaming basket
* Skimmer to remove grease from stews and soups.