Best Freezer Bags, Baking Paper, and Foil in Egypt: What Goes Where?

What Goes Where?

• Freezer bags: For freezing and long-term storage, saving more space than containers because they can be flattened and stacked.
• Baking paper: Under cakes, biscuits, chicken, and fish in the oven, so the food doesn't stick and the tray cleans easily.
• Foil: To cover the tray in the oven, wrap fish and potatoes, and keep food warm until served.
• Cling film: To cover plates, dough, and leftovers in the fridge.

The four are not interchangeable. Baking paper won't seal food in the freezer, and cling film cannot go in the oven.

Freezing Molokhia, Stuffed Vegetables, and Greens

• Portion for a single meal. A bag of Molokhia for a gathering and a bag for everyday home cooking is better than a huge bag you thaw and refreeze.
• Remove the air: Close the zipper to the last centimeter, press the bag from bottom to top, and then seal it completely. Air is what causes ice and odors.
• Lay the bag flat on a tray until frozen, then store it standing up like books. This thaws faster and takes up less space.
• Label the bag with a marker: what's inside and the date.
• Vine grape leaves and cabbage for stuffed vegetables: put them in the bag without pressing so they don't break while frozen.
• Peas, green beans, and okra: wash and dry them well before freezing, because extra water turns into ice and sticks the pieces together.
• Bread: freeze it in a closed bag with the air removed, and reheat it straight from the freezer.
• Do not put hot food in the bag. Let it cool first, then the fridge, then the freezer.

Slider or Zip? And What's Written on the Bag?

Slider bags are easier to open and close with wet or icy hands. Regular zip bags close well if sealed correctly, but are harder on the hands. In both cases, look for the word Freezer on the page, the size in centimeters, and the number of bags. Thin sandwich bags can tear in the freezer with ice and sharp edges.

Baking Paper: The Written Temperature Matters

• Every roll has a maximum temperature written on it, like Sanita up to 218 degrees, and other rolls up to 230. Do not run the oven higher than that number with the paper inside.
• Cut the paper to fit the tray. Edges sticking out get close to the flame or heating element and burn.
• In the air fryer, place the food directly on top of the paper, because empty paper flies around with the air toward the heating element.
• Baking paper is not waxed sandwich paper. Waxed paper must not go in the oven.

Foil and Cling Film

Foil withstands normal oven heat, covers rice baked with milk and cream (Roz Moamar) and chicken so they don't dry out, and then you remove it for the last quarter of an hour so the top browns. Regular foil is thin, and if you are grilling over charcoal or wrapping something heavy, the Heavy Duty version is heavier. Regarding foil in the microwave: check your device manual first, because most devices ban metal inside.

Cling film is for the fridge and freezer for a short time. Do not put it on hot food, and it shouldn't go in the oven. In the microwave, do not use it unless the page explicitly says it's suitable, and the 30-meter Sanita cling film page states it is not for the microwave.

Check Before You Buy

• Bags: labeled freezer, size in centimeters, and quantity.
• Baking paper: maximum temperature written, and width fitting your tray.
• Foil: width and length in meters, regular or Heavy Duty.
• Cling film: whether it is microwave-safe or not.
• Some of these products are non-returnable, like Sanita paper, so check the size before ordering.