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How to Use, Clean, and Store Reusable Food Wraps

By Chase Brightwell Published

It’s hard to match the convenience of plastic wrap, but we have a few tips to help you get the most out of your reusable food wraps.

How to Fold  

When using them to store food, we recommend folding them over the food and storing them seam side down to keep them from unsticking and unraveling over time. We found that warming up the wraps in our hands made most of them—including our winner—stickier, more pliable, and easier to seal.

How to Clean 

For cleaning, we had the best results when we laid the wraps flat in the bottom of a clean sink and scrubbed them with the soft side of a sponge and a bit of soap and lukewarm water. During our tests, we wondered if the wraps would retain strong odors, so we used them to cover and store halved onions for three days. Even after rigorous washing, we found that the onion smell lingered on the wraps. We tried applying a paste of baking soda and water and then letting the wraps sit for 15 minutes and rinsing them. This method removed odors somewhat, but not completely. However, the odors mostly faded after three to five more days. If you're worried about your wraps retaining odors for a short period of time, we recommend not using them with smellier foods. 

How to Store 

To store them, we recommend either folding the wraps and storing them flat in a drawer or rolling them and storing them upright in a jar. 

Equipment Review Reusable Food Wraps

Food wraps coated with beeswax and other natural ingredients are marketed as environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic wrap. How well do they work?

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JC
JOHN C.
16 days

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too. I've done this using a rimmed sheet pan instead of a skillet and put veggies and potatoes around the chicken for a one-pan meal. Broccoli gets nicely browned and yummy!

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too.

MD
MILES D.
JOHN C.
9 days

Amazed this recipe works out as well as it does. Would not have thought that the amount of time under the broiler would have produced a very juicy and favorable chicken with a very crispy crust. Used my 12" Lodge Cast Iron skillet (which can withstand 1000 degree temps to respond to those who wondered if it would work) and it turned out great. A "make again" as my family rates things. This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make it again. My butcher gladly butterflied the chicken for me, therefore I found it to be a fast and easy prep. I used my cast iron skillet- marvellous!

CM
CHARLES M.
11 days

John, wasn't it just amazing chicken? So much better than your typical oven baked chicken and on par if not better than gas or even charcoal grilled. It gets that smokey charcoal tasted and overnight koshering definitely helps, something I do when time permits. First-time I've pierced a whole chicken minus the times I make jerk chicken on the grill. Yup, the cast iron was not an issue.