Top 11 Uses of Aluminum Foil

Top 11 Uses of Aluminum Foil – There are so many uses for the kitchen essential, aluminum foil, it’s hard to pick the best. As I’m no slouch, I’ll tell you some uses of aluminum foil that not even our grandmothers knew. But first, I think it’s important to take care of a common question. 

Should you use aluminum foil shiny side up or down? Let’s be honest, after the most fundamental question (does the toilet paper fold over or under when you replace a roll?), it’s one of life’s most sacred mysteries. But I know the answer. It makes no difference whatsoever: dull- or shiny-side up, it conducts heat as well as insulates well either way according to one popular manufacturer. Wonder no more.

Beyond just lining your baking sheet and warding off alien mind control, you can use aluminum foil in so many clever ways, you’ll amaze friends at gathering with your arcane knowledge. And it’s all because aluminum foil is so lightweight, waterproof, reflective, flexible, durable and a fabulous conductor of heat. Let’s get started so you can begin amazing your friends. We’ll start with indoor uses and get crazy after that.

11 Amazing Uses of Aluminum Foil:

1. Scrubber. Crumple foil and use to scrub stubborn grime from the oven, grill, most metals (fireplace pokers, etc). Aluminum is fairly soft on the hardness scale for metals, so it won’t damage or scar.

2. Heating element protector. Before you spray oven cleaner, loosely wrap the heating element: cleaner residue on the sensitive coil won’t be a problem, and failing to remember to clean the coil won’t be either. (Oh. I guess that only happened to me.)

3. Furniture protector. Cats and dogs don’t like the sound or feel of aluminum. To break a beloved pet of a bad habit, spread new foil on your cushions and wrap chair legs or other problem areas to dissuade picking, chewing or lounging.

4. Sterling silver cleaner. (Please don’t use this with silver plated items.) Aluminum foil (a 10” square will do), about 1 qt hot water, 1 tablespoon baking soda and a glass dish. Mix the first three in the dish and add your sterling: watch tarnish disappear. Take care that spills are blotted up and polish your silver with a soft cloth. Any silver polish removes a very microscopically thin layer of silver from sterling – and so does this so use it sparingly. It gives off an unpleasant smell and that’s because you’re essentially creating a catalytic reaction between the two metals.

Now we come to a few really weird (good-weird) uses for aluminum…My family camps. A lot. We never leave home without a roll of aluminum foil and you’re about to see why.

5. Fishing lures. When wrapped around a bare hook, reflective side out, it makes an excellent lure for curious fish.

6. Containers. Because it’s sturdy but foldable, foil makes a terrific makeshift container for serving food, boiling water, lining a cook pit, wrapping a silver turtle. Some origami skills won’t hurt either – but practice making a box because the corners can be tricky.

7. Silver turtle. Take a hamburger, chopped carrots, onions and potatoes and a little foil – and they become something only hungry campers can fully appreciate… For each camper: one burger patty, 1 cup of a mix of chopped carrots, onions and celery, and half a potato sliced the long way (or mashed potatoes, if you have them). Take a square of aluminum foil 12”x12”, fold it into an envelope and stuff it with your ingredients before closing the “flap.” Seal it well and place directly on hot campfire coals, 5-10 mins on each side. Mmmmmm.

8. Signal strips and mirrors. If you’re lost but on the move or waiting for rescue, aluminum foil can be flattened out and smoothed to a shine to better reflect sunlight. Strips of foil can be hung on branches to mark your trail for others to follow or for you to find your way back. Squares of foil can be placed to act as a reflective mirror to guide help on the way.

9. Keep the fire burning. If you’re out in the wilds, you know that trying to keep a fire going is a worthwhile skill. A nice square sheet of foil can be folded into a cigar-shaped cone that’s about 12 inches long and closed at one end. Place plenty of tinder and a hot coal from your live fire inside the cone. Handle with care. By keeping a coal alive (smoking but not in full flame) until you move to a safer or drier spot, you can avoid having to start the fire all over again. And when you’re caught unawares in a survival situation, fire, shelter and food are what it’s all about.

10. Patch with pine sap. In a pinch, you can use aluminum foil to make a patch for bags, camp gear and even clothing by ripping the foil into the right shape and attaching it with pine sap.

11. Boredom buster. One of the phrases that is not allowed in my house is, “I’m bored.” My kids know they’ll be handed a broom. But if you’re bored, too, try sitting down together with a box of aluminum foil and your imagination. It’s a wonderful sculpting medium – and lots easier to clean up than air-dry clay.

Aluminum foil is deceptively simple, I know, but I still feel like a ninja when I open that box and see all that shiny potential coiled tightly into a tube! Oh, and don’t forget plain old food storage – aluminum foil is great for just wrapped up food for storage too!