Cling wrap has been a useful tool in the kitchen for many years for cooking and preserving foods. However, many people continue to waste the product by using it incorrectly. We’ll explore the proper use of cling wrap and highlight a simple improvement that MMP has made to their boxes of cling wrap to reduce wastage.
A Brief History of Cling Wrap
Cling wrap, in one form or another, has been around since 1911, when a Swiss chemist named Jacques Brandenberger first conceived of a clear and light plastic product that could be used to wrap things. However, it wasn’t until the creation of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene (PE) that scientists and chemists saw the possibilities for cling wrap as a hygienic way of preserving food.
One of the impressive features of the new materials is that when the scientists of the era placed a peeled onion wrapped with cling wrap next to a slice of bread in the refrigerator, the bread didn’t pick up the onion odors. The new material was approved for food packing after the end of World War II, and prior sanctioned by the Society of the Plastics Industry in 1956.
Cling Wrap’s Hygienic Properties
Cling film proved to act as a protective barrier from external elements including dust, dirt, and airborne contaminants and pollutants.
The hygienic properties of plastic wrap made it an everyday tool in restaurants and industrial food preparation and handling, like in hospitals, airlines, and schools. Cling wrap also became indispensable when the food had to be transported, as this was seen as an added risk of contamination.
In home use, this clear wrap for food is the perfect preventative measure against cross-contamination in refrigerators, where food must often share close quarters. When it’s used properly, it creates a sealed surrounding for the food and prevents the escape of odors and flavors, thus saving some delicate foods from absorbing objectionable odors and being unusable.
Cling wrap can also be used in the home when people are ill, to wrap frequently handled items, such as door knobs, and items that can’t be washed, such as TV remotes. The cling wrap can then be disposed of regularly, safeguarding the hygiene of the household. Read more about the benefits and uses of cling wrap.
Kitchen Uses for Cling Wrap
In the kitchen, one of the most popular uses for cling film is to wrap food items before heating them in a microwave oven to prevent splatters as the moisture in the food expands.
Open dishes of food are also regularly covered with cling wrap and put in the refrigerator without having to be transferred to a sealed container. Depending on the food item, the cling wrap retains moisture and freshness for up to a week.
Of course, there are many other uses for cling wrap in the kitchen:
Food container lids can become loose over time and leak a little. Simply putting a layer of cling wrap over the top of the container and then putting the lid on can tighten the seal on the container.
When grating garlic or ginger, the food can become wedged in the grater and be difficult and messy to clean. Wrapping the grater in cling wrap keeps food from building up in the grater and makes cleaning easier.
There’s no need to use all of a vegetable or piece of fruit. Wrap the exposed end of the food in cling wrap, and it will keep in the refrigerator for a few days without drying out.
Many people use a small lunchbox to transport sandwiches to work or school. Wrapping the sandwich in cling wrap first helps keep it fresher and moist and keeps the inside of the lunchbox cleaner.
Tenderizing meats or chicken can be a messy process. Putting a layer of cling wrap on the food before tenderizing eliminates the splatters and mess.
You can slow down the ripening process of bananas by wrapping the stems tightly in cling wrap where the bananas are connected.
Many people make dough for pasta, cakes, or bread in bulk. They then store what they don’t use in the freezer. The dough will stay moist and fresh much longer in the freezer if it’s wrapped in a layer of cling wrap and then stored in a sealable plastic bag.
Dos and Don’ts of Cling Wrap
Food-grade plastic cling wrap is generally safe to use in the kitchen, provided you follow a few basic rules:
When microwaving, plastic cling wrap should not touch high-fat food, like meat or cheese. The polymers of the plastics are said to be able to leach into the food, and the chemicals can, over time, be harmful.
Let a cling wrap-covered dish cool before removing it from the microwave to prevent burns.
Always poke holes in cling wrap or leave a corner of the dish uncovered before microwaving to allow the steam to escape slowly.
MMP Corporations’s Simple Cling Wrap Improvement
There’s a new way to use cling wrap. MMP Corporation's M Wrap brand cling wrap has a unique feature that is less wasteful and more efficient.
Most brands of cling wrap have a thin, serrated metal blade that runs along the edge of the box. To cut off a piece of cling wrap, you would pull and stretch it across the blade until it was cut. The stretching often caused the cling wrap to cling to itself and refuse to come undone, so another piece of cling wrap would have to be used.
MMP Corporation developed an innovation that uses a plastic rail running along the side of the box with a sliding plastic cutter. To cut off a piece of cling wrap, you simply unroll as much as you need and slide the cutter across to slice it off. There's no stretching of the cling wrap. The new improvement makes work faster and easier for people in many food service industries, including:
Restaurants
Catering companies
Airline food suppliers
Hospitals
School cafeterias
Reduce Waste with M Wrap from MMP Corporation
Pick up a box of MMP Corporation’s M Wrap. It’s available at grocery stores all over Thailand and the Asia-Pacific region. See how easy it is to reduce cling wrap waste by using M Wrap.
Comments