Saturday, January 5, 2008
parchment versus waxed paper
Is there any difference between parchment and waxed paper? Briefly, yes: Parchment has been coated with silicon so it can be used at high temperatures and virtually eliminates the need for greasing a pan. Waxed paper will smoke at high temperatures, and is therefore less versatile.
So… how high of a temperature are we talking? 350° ?
I wouldn’t use it in the oven, period. Though the paraffin coating is deemed safe by the FDA (and paraffin is often used in foods like chocolate coatings to make them more shelf stable) I can’t imagine knowingly adding it to food. I can’t find an exact max temperature but there is a lot of good information in this article.
When out of parchment, I’ve always used waxed paper to line my pans. So far, and as long as the paper is properly greased and floured, or whatever the instructions ask for, I’ve obtained successful results.