There have been times where I really wanted or needed a wider piece of wax paper than the standard size and the markets just don't sell anything other than standard. I started thinking about when I was a kid and we made Autumn leaf place mats, where the leaves are placed between two pieces of wax paper and ironed together. Voila, you can easily make wider paper with the same concept. ;-)
By Deeli from Richland, WA
I agree with "caraing" I totally had forgotten about making fall leave placemats as a child for a school project - thank you for the warm and wonderful memories of my childhood back in the 50 & 60's flowing back into my memory; perhaps now I can share those memories with my grandchildren when they come over to do crafts and a visit with their mother.
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If you are a card maker, you can save money on envelopes. You will need an envelope template or just cut it out free-handed. Grab a roll of wax paper and make your own envelopes.
Lubricate craft punches before using them by punching wax paper first.
I have many uses for wax paper. I use it as a spoon rest because I can just throw it away when I'm done cooking. I use wax paper to divide a new batch of cookies so that they don't stick together in the container.
When you use the microwave a lot, use wax paper to put on top of the food in your microwave, it helps with the splatter and mess. You can also use it when you want to roll out your dough and make sandwiches too.
I use wax paper for sandwiches and any non liquid food for my grandchildren. I tear it into the right size, use and throw away.
To keep your sink faucets shiny, rub them with a piece of wax paper after cleaning them. This will keep them shiny for about a week.
Use wax paper to line your kitchen shelves instead of buying expensive shelf liner paper. It's easy and cheap!
Wipe your curtain rod with a piece of wax paper. Your hangers will slide more easily.
Certain foods that I store in plastic containers end up tasting strange. I've found that using wax paper is an easy fix to keep the odd taste from getting into my foods.
To remove surface fats from soup and other liquids, I float pieces of wax paper on top and lift out. The fats adhere to the paper. Repeat until all fat is removed. You can do this when hot but it is best done when warm or at room temperature.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a question for our cake decorators. I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics, ETC and looked at what they charged for a roll of parchment paper. OUCH! Can I use waxed paper instead of paying the big price for parchment paper? Thank you for your answers!
I am not a cake decorator so I will leave that part up to someone else to answer.
But have I have seen parchment paper at the dollar stores. Joann's prob has a higher price than even a grocery store...unless you use one of their coupons. Ask if they have an extra ad for you to use until you can sign up to their mailing list for the coupons.
Or if you live in a city with a restaurant supply store you might check there but it would probably a huge roll.
You can purchase parchment paper at Wal-Mart for around $2.00 a roll. It is not the same as wax paper. Wax paper will melt in your oven.
NOT IN THE OVEN! It depends on what you want to do with the paper if it can be substituted. The beauty of parchment is that you can line cookie sheets or cake pans with it for baking. You can't put waxed paper in the oven.
Actually, waxed paper can be cut to fit the inside bottoms of cake pans. When I was growing up we didn't grease and flour the pans, we used wax paper in the bottom of the pans. Place the pan on the wax paper, mark around the bottom and cut with scissors. Place in the bottom of the pan and fill with cake batter. Just peel the paper off when the cake is taken out of the oven and turned upside down.
Interesting about people thinking it would burn, in all the years we used it, never burned once!
Also, if you are using it somehow to decorate a cake by rolling it as a funnel and adding a tip inside, it won't hold up. Wax paper will get soft and it just isn't as stiff as parchment paper. I too have seen parchment paper at the Dollar Tree. Even the grocery store is less than JoAnn's. Sorry, but sometimes you just can't substitute when we would like to.
No, I'm afraid you can't. Wax paper will burn in the oven. Try a grocery store instead of Joann's for parchment paper. Most any big grocery store should have it, and it will likely be cheaper there too. Or you can order it online in bulk at: www.thebakerscatalogue.com, or www.KingArthurFlour.com.
If you are using the wax paper to practice "cake decorating" techniques, then it'll work fine, but would need to be replaced more frequently. If you are using it to go under the bottom of your cake to keep frosting or icing off the cake plate, then it will work perfectly.
If you are using wax paper to line cake pans, just grease and flour the cake pan first, lay in the exact size wax paper cut to fit, then grease and flour it as well and it works just as well as parchment paper does...but so does the brown paper from large paper grocery bags...just be sure to use only the parts of the bag which are print-free, and do grease and flour the pan first, then lay in the exact size of brown paper, cut to fit the pan, and grease and flour it as well.
The brown paper was traditionally used 50-60 years ago to line pans when the wonderful old-fashioned fruitcakes were made at home, then stored for long periods of time with frequent "doses" of an alcoholic spirit added to preserve the cake and make it even better. The brown paper would hold up perfectly for at least a year...from one Thanksgiving to the next. This is the way I still make my fruitcakes. I make them the week before Thanksgiving...and begin cutting them the following Thanksgiving. They are nothing like the commercial fruitcakes at all.
When baking cookies, Parchment paper is so handy to use. You just load a sheet of paper cut to fit your cookie sheet, load the parchment lined cookie sheet, and set the pan in the oven to bake. While they're baking, fill up another sheet of parchment paper ready to go on the pan after pulling off the sheet with the baked cookies onto wire racks to cool. It speeds up cookie baking a lot, and can be used more than once during your cookie-baking day.
I hope this helps. Julia in Orlando, FL
This brought back so many memories. My mother also used wax paper to line her cake pans. She did it for sheet cakes and any tube pan cake she baked. I remember cutting the circles for her. She always baked from scratch and called them her "puddins". So you can use it in the oven but it would make an ineffective pastry bag. The Dollar Tree usually has Reynold's parchment paper.
I went to Dollar Tree Store and a large chain grocery store. Dollar Tree or the grocery store didn't have parchment paper in stock.
I don't need parchment paper right now, but will keep my eyes open for it.
Thank you everyone for all of your helpful feeback to my inquiry.
Marge from NY
You can use wax paper to line cake pans. Just lay the waxed paper out and set the cake pan on top of it, mark around the pan and cut the paper out. Then put it inside the pan, grease the waxed paper and sides of pan. When cake is done, just remove from pan and peel back the waxed paper and toss.
You can get a free sample of Reynold's parchment paper here. Dont know how big it is but may tide you over until you can find some.
www.alcoa.com/
Reynolds is the brand most grocery stores here sell for parchment and it appears to be less expensive than Wilton's. Most grocery stores nowadays will put in an order for something at their store that you aren't finding.
I buy my parchment paper at the Dollar Tree store.
I buy my parchment from Costco. A huge box lasts me several years! I bake cookies and use parchment over and over again by washing it, then drying each sheet once I'm done baking my cookies. I have a recipe for Italian finger cookies that you can fit nearly 80 piped cookies onto one sheet of parchment paper. For help in making each cookie the same size, I've marked the back of the parchment paper to the correct length and mark off the distance between each cookie using a sharpie marker (again, the mark is on the reverse side of the paper, yet is visible, and the marker does not make cookie taste funny). I've washed the same set of marked parchment paper for about a year now and I make these cookies every few weeks, so they get a lot of use!
If you're going to decorate a cake using parchment paper, it will always hold up under pressure better than waxed paper. You can make small or large cone shaped bags easily, then you can pop in a decorating tip of your choice and then fill the cone with butter cream frosting or whatever you want to use and that bag will hold up under pressure! (LOL, couldn't resist the pun).
I've had the same $11.99 box of parchment paper for almost five years now and I still have half the box left. The only thing is that the box is so large that I have to keep it in the linen closet in the hallway because it will not fit in my tiny kitchen. I keep my washed and dried parchment sheets in the drawer under my oven right with my cookie sheets. I always write the date, place, and cost of big splurges so that I can really try to make it last as long as possible, plus it's nice to be able to brag a bit to the DH and let him know that I'm on the ball in the budget department! ;-)
When trying to keep the Western sun window cooler in the summer, how does one use the wax paper method? The shiny-side in?
Thanks,
MP
Use bubble wrap instead, even recycled/leftover bubble wrap. Check out this web page for a great way to use bubble wrap to insulate windows. All you do is wet the window pane (inside room) with plain water, stick the 'cut to fit size' bubble wrap on the glass, and leave it. It says you can even use second hand bubble wrap from furniture, shipping, etc. I haven't had the chance to do this yet, but I'm going to make time very soon. I hope you can get to this website!
www.builditsolar.com/
Shiny side? Aren't you talking about foil? At least that is what I have always used and waxed paper doesn't have a shiny side. However, I love learning new things so let the learning begin!
This is such a great question! I am about to move to a floor level apartment in my building and the bedroom window is going to be on the public walkway side. I hate having to keep the blinds closed for privacy and not be able to get light in the room :-( I was dreading having to spend the money for the special window treatment (that gives privacy and still blocks the worst heating rays of the sun) you can buy at home stores where you place slightly soapy water on the window, apply the coverings, use a squeegee to smooth out bubbles and cut edges with an exacto knife.
Anyway, wax paper will most likely work just as well so I am going to try it using the same process! If that process won't work I'll just use clear two sided sticky tape. The only difference in applying is there will be a little more work because it won't be one large, wide sheet like the store application but it will have the same effect as the store bought ;-)
If you did mean foil, please don't do it unless you have no immediate neighbors. It's tacky and they have to look at it. As a matter of fact, it's against the law in some city's, towns, counties. If you don't have neighbors who have to look at it and not against your local codes, put it non-shiny side out ;-)
Can patty paper be used to sharpen punches, make paper dies release easier, and "lubricate" score boards? The box seems much more convenient than ripping off waxed paper, but I want to make sure it works before I buy them.
By Victoria S.
Wax paper can make a fun and unique way to gift wrap something. Make your own wax paper gift wrap to customize the next gift you need to wrap up.
To help your iron glide more easily over clothing run it over a sheet of waxed paper first. This is a page about the benefit of using waxed paper on your clothes iron.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
When your paper punches don't seem to spring back as quick as when new, use wax paper to punch designs and lubricate the paper punch. By Syd
At any Lowe's or hardware store, you can purchase tinted window film to help prevent sun from entering into your house and running the air conditioner constantly OR you can do as we have and save money.
