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Original poster

do you reuse your foil?

63 replies

Crumpetdisappointment · 06/10/2023 07:00

my dh keeps the foil but i keep throwing it away,
should i reuse it,
yesterday for example i cover a dish with foil to reheat
the foil is now sitting, next to the bin while i decide

OP posts:
Jammymare · 06/10/2023 07:52

Nope, but we have a foil recycling bin in the supermarket car park so it does lurk on the side for ages as we inevitably forget to take it weekly.

Original poster
Crumpetdisappointment · 06/10/2023 07:53

i guess covering a joint of meat is not quite the same and is unsafe but covering a cooked dish/cake is ok

OP posts:
cushioncovers · 06/10/2023 07:53

No

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Home improvement
Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 06/10/2023 07:53

DH chucks it. I lovingly sneak it away, wash and dry and reuse . Recycling isn’t saving the planet, it still uses energy in transport and processing.

Im going to investigate the silicone covers though, thanks.

ChesapeakeBay · 06/10/2023 07:54

What is everyone using foil so regularly on?!

Lottie4 · 06/10/2023 07:56

Forgot to say, we don't have a foil recycling facility nearby, so re-use when we can to be more environmentally friendly, also to save money.

Original poster
Crumpetdisappointment · 06/10/2023 07:57

@ChesapeakeBay
i made a moussaka, and reheated in the oven with the foil on
dh makes soup and covers it in the fridge
dh uses it for cake baking
he suggests using it to cook sausages on in the oven and I say No

OP posts:
ohtowinthelottery · 06/10/2023 07:58

We don't reuse it but it doesn't go in the bin. It can go in with the recycling here.

Gingerkittykat · 06/10/2023 08:03

No, I've never saved used foil to use again.

I use foil to line my Ninja air fryer pot so that it is easier to clean and it will get several uses till it is changed.

AlisonDonut · 06/10/2023 08:04

I can't reuse what I don't buy in the first place.

If I am reheating in the oven it goes on low and doesn't dry out.

I cover things in the fridge with waxed cloth

If I need to use something in the oven I use greaseproof paper which then goes into the compost bin.

MendedDrum · 06/10/2023 08:05

I don't understand why you'd cover soup in the fridge with foil - why not use a lidded container, or just cover the bowl/pan with a plate?

I reuse foil unless it's covered in grease/burned on food, but then I also don't use foil very often.

CurlewKate · 06/10/2023 08:06

I reuse it. So did my mother.

PinkRoses1245 · 06/10/2023 08:06

I rarely use foil? Maybe buy one a year, if that. Just never think to need it

PinkRoses1245 · 06/10/2023 08:07

For soup in the fridge put it in a Tupperware or in a bowl with small plate on top.

CurlewKate · 06/10/2023 08:12

@WitchyFingers "Bin it, there isn't a war on"

Well, there kind of is!

MendedDrum · 06/10/2023 08:14

Just trying to think what I use foil for. Cooking en papillote if I've run out of baking paper. Covering the turkey at Christmas. Struggling to think of anything else...

TeaAndStrumpets · 06/10/2023 08:16

For cooking sausages etc in the oven we use a lidded Denby shallow dish. We don't use foil for fridge storage at all. There are so many reusable containers you could use. I agree just get the really good stuff for eg a joint , but wash and recycle.

ChesapeakeBay · 06/10/2023 08:17

Gingerkittykat · 06/10/2023 08:03

No, I've never saved used foil to use again.

I use foil to line my Ninja air fryer pot so that it is easier to clean and it will get several uses till it is changed.

Doesn't that defeat the entire point of an airfryer?!

TeaAndStrumpets · 06/10/2023 08:20

Also why reheat food with foil on? Nothing bad will happen if you don't!

00100001 · 06/10/2023 08:20

ChesapeakeBay · 06/10/2023 08:17

Doesn't that defeat the entire point of an airfryer?!

Show quote history

Indeed it does! It stops the airflow.

BelBabe · 06/10/2023 08:22

This is fascinating I honestly thought all the responses would be bin.

I rarely use foil but say you've used it to wrap around chicken to cook in the oven, would you reuse that?

BettyBunMaker · 06/10/2023 08:22

No. I didn't even know this was a thing. I rarely use foil though and when I do it goes in recycling after.

00100001 · 06/10/2023 08:23

whatisforteamum · 06/10/2023 07:46

As a chef I'm shocked at this.Why risk cross contamination and food poisoning for a couple of quid.
I say this as someone who lives on a budget.

As a chef you'll know that what needs to happen in a commercial kitchen is different to a home kitchen... I'm sure you don't follow all the procedures of your work kitchen at home.

also, why would you be cross contaminating stuff if a piece of foil covering a salad bowl was removed, washed, dried and used again to wrap a burrito?

Downtherivers · 06/10/2023 08:24

It has never crossed my mind to reuse it and I am genuinely shocked at people saying they do

00100001 · 06/10/2023 08:24

BelBabe · 06/10/2023 08:22

This is fascinating I honestly thought all the responses would be bin.

I rarely use foil but say you've used it to wrap around chicken to cook in the oven, would you reuse that?

Depends how crinkly and goody it got.

If it's ok to wash and reuse a metal knife that cut that same chicken when it was raw, why wouldn't it be ok to wash and reuse a thin sheet metal that was on top of the cooked chicken?