The shiny or matte side of aluminum foil paper can be used without difference on both sides

The shiny or matte side of aluminum foil paper can be used without difference on both sides

If aluminum foil is the most commonly used aluminum product in ordinary households, I believe everyone will not object to it. Aluminum is one of the most abundant metal elements in the earth’s crust. It has the characteristics of light weight, fast heat conduction and easy shaping. A thin piece of aluminum foil has the advantages of blocking light, oxygen, odor and moisture, and can be widely used in food And the packaging of medicines or many food applications.

Aluminum foil paper is generally called aluminum foil, and some people are accustomed to calling it tin foil (tin foil), but it is clear that aluminum and tin are two different metals. Why do they have this name? The reason may be traced back to the end of the 19th century. At that time, there was indeed an industrial product such as tin foil, which was used to pack cigarettes or candy and other products. Later, in the early 20th century, aluminum foil began to appear, but because the ductility of tin foil was worse than aluminum foil In addition, when food comes into contact with tin foil, it is easy to have the metal smell of tin, so it was gradually replaced by cheaper and durable aluminum foil. In fact, in recent decades, all people have used aluminum foil. Even so, many people still call aluminum foil paper or tin foil.

Why does aluminum foil have a matte side on one side and a shiny side on the other side? In the manufacturing process of aluminum foil paper, the large aluminum blocks that have been smelted will be repeatedly rolled and have different thicknesses according to the needs of different products, until a film of only about 0.006 to 0.2 mm is made, but for further manufacturing To produce a thinner aluminum foil, the two layers of aluminum foil will be overlapped and thickened technically, and then rolled together, so that after separating them, two thinner aluminum foil papers can be obtained. This approach can avoid aluminum. During the manufacturing process, tearing or curling occurs due to being stretched and rolled too thin. After this treatment, the side that touches the roller will produce a shiny surface, and the side of the two layers of aluminum foil that touches and rubs against each other will form a matte surface.

Bright surface light and heat have higher reflectivity than matte surface

Which side of the aluminum foil should usually be used to contact food? The aluminum foil paper has undergone high-temperature rolling and annealing treatment, and the microorganisms on the surface will be killed. In terms of hygiene, both sides of the aluminum foil paper can be used to wrap or contact food. Some people also pay attention to the fact that the light and heat reflectivity of the bright surface is higher than that of the matte surface when the food is wrapped in aluminum foil for grilling. The argument is that the matte surface can reduce the heat reflection of the aluminum foil. In this way, the grilling can be more efficient, but in fact, the radiant heat and light reflection of the shiny surface and the matte surface can also be as high as 98%. Therefore, there is no difference in which side of the aluminum foil paper is used to wrap and touch the food when grilling.

Will acidic food contact aluminum foil increase the risk of dementia?

In the past few decades, aluminum has been suspected to be related to dementia. Many people are worried about whether to use aluminum foil to wrap food and grill, especially if lemon juice, vinegar or other acidic marinades are added. The dissolution of aluminum ions affects health. In fact, after sorting out many studies on aluminum in the past, it is indeed found that some aluminum containers will dissolve aluminum ions when encountering acidic substances. As for the problem of dementia, there is currently no definite evidence that aluminum foil and paper The use of aluminum cooking utensils increases the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Although most of the aluminum intake in the diet is excreted by the kidneys, long-term accumulation of excessive aluminum still poses a potential threat to the nervous system or bones, especially for people with kidney disease. From the standpoint of reducing health risks, it is still recommended that you reduce the use of aluminum foil in direct contact with acidic condiments or food for too long, and heat it at high temperature for a long time, but it is no problem for general purposes such as wrapping food.