Zero Waste Plastic Wrap Swaps
No need for plastic wrap- just cover pre-rise dough with a tea towel and a touch of flour
Light-weight plastic wrap has a pretty marginal environmental impact compared to other environmental woes in the kitchen (hello, food waste - definitely not pleased to meet you). Nevertheless, decreasing plastic waste is a noble goal, no matter how small you start. In this post, I'll tell you all about that best swaps for the most common uses of plastic wrap in the kitchen.
Covering bowls of leftovers
Covering leftover foods is probably the most common role of plastic wrap in the kitchen. Instead of reaching for the plastic wrap next time you have leftover stir fry, consider using silicone bowl covers. These bowl covers are basically just floppy lids that can stretch to cover bowls. I've been using bowl covers for a few years now and my only complaint is that stretching them around bowls can be difficult, especially if the bowl’s size doesn’t align perfectly with the size of the bowl cover. If you don’t want to deal with finicky bowl covers, putting leftovers in good ol’ fashioned lidded glass bowls is another great option. This is a sustainable swap because glass, unlike plastic, can be infinitely recycled and doesn't contain uber harmful chemicals, like BPA and its friends.
Swap: Silicone bowl covers or lidded glass containers
Covering Large Platters
If you're covering a large platter, like a cookie plate or charcuterie board, silicone bowl covers probably won't be large enough to cover your food. In this case, Bees Wrap is my go-to. If you're not familiar, Bees Wrap is a brand that sells sheets of cotton coated in beeswax. To use, simply wrap a sheet around your food and use heat from your hands to melt the beeswax and seal it to itself. Bees Wrap brand sells "bread"-sized sheets that are 17 inches by 23 inches, which are the perfect size for covering large platters. If your platter is extra big, simply meld together two sheets of Bees Wrap and you're good to go. Alternatively, if you’re bringing a food platter to an event, you could bring your platter ingredients in a lidded glass container and then assemble the platter on-site. This is a great option if you don't already own Bees Wrap or if the foods on your platter are easy to assemble.
Swap: Bees Wrap, or lidded glass container + platter assembly on-site
Saving cut produce or snacks
So let's say you ate half an apple or only used half an avo. Your jerk reaction might be to reach for plastic wrap to save those last bites for later. The benefit of plastic wrap, in this case, is that its air-tight seal will prevent food from spoiling quickly. This same air-tight seal can be created by stretching small silicone bowl covers over the cut-ends of produce. This works especially well for round fruits and veggies. For non-circular fruits and vegetables, silicone zip-top bags are probably your best bet. You can squeeze out the air in these bags to create a similar seal to plastic wrap (or zip-top plastic bags for that matter).
Swap: Silicone bowl covers or silicone zip-top bags
Letting dough rise
Some recipes call for covering bowls tightly in plastic wrap before letting dough rise, but I've found that draping a clean, damp tea towel over the bowl will do just fine for most doughs. The moisture in the towel keeps the bread from drying out and it rises just as well. If you fear that the dough will rise to the top of the bowl and stick to the towel, simply sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough before covering it with the towel. If you'd rather have a new and trendy swap, large silicone bowl covers work perfectly here too. They seal tightly to keep in moisture, just like plastic wrap!
Swap: Moist tea towel or silicone bowl covers
Chilling pie dough
Chilling pie dough is kind of a tricky one. Most recipes call for covering dough in a copious amount of plastic wrap before chilling or freezing in order to hold in moisture, help the dough keep its shape and peel away cleanly after it has chilled. A large, tightly wrapped tea towel works great for short chilling. However, if the dough needs to be chilled for more than a few hours, wrapping the dough in only a towel could lead it to dry out. Bees Wrap is another great option here, but it doesn't seal as tightly as plastic wrap (especially when cold), so it's also best for short chillings. Wrapping dough in a few layers of Bees Wrap before freezing could potentially create a tight enough seal to prevent moisture loss, but I haven't personally tried this. Let me know in the comments if you give it a try...