Question for Mom

What’s the difference between parchment paper and wax paper?  Celeste N.

Both are used in baking, but parchment paper is more expensive.  If money is no object, always use parchment paper.  Here are the differences.

Parchment Paper: It is coated with silicone to keep food from sticking to it.  The coating is what makes it more expensive, but it also makes it more versatile.  I use parchment paper when heat is involved. Last night I laid a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and baked crab cakes on it.  They slid right off, and I didn’t have to wash the cookie sheet.  

I also use it to line cookie sheets when baking cookies, Portobello mushrooms, fish or anything else that's not runny.  Parchment paper (cut to the appropriate shape) is good for lining cake pans before adding the batter and baking.  The cakes will come out of the pan easily this way.

Wax Paper: It has a light coating of wax, which makes it particularly useful if you are making your own piecrust.  I put a piece of wax paper on the counter, place the piecrust dough on it and then top with another piece of wax paper.  I roll out the dough between the two pieces of wax paper, pull off and discard the top piece, then lift the bottom piece with the dough attached and lay it across the pie pan.  Then I carefully peel off the wax paper.  Clean-up is easy.

Use wax paper to wrap sandwiches.  If you want to make chocolate-covered strawberries, place the hot dipped strawberries on a plate lined with wax paper and store in the fridge until the chocolate hardens.  The chocolate covering would stick to the plate, but it won’t stick to the wax paper.

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