Wax And Parchment Papers - A Comparison

Wax or Waxed Paper

• Wax paper is coated with food-grade paraffin wax to make it waterproof. Though, edible, this type of paraffin is indigestible, which means the body does not break it down but will excrete it out.
• In British english, kerosene is referred to as paraffin or paraffin oil while the solid waxy form of paraffin is called paraffin wax.
• Wax paper is also called greaseproof paper.
• Wax paper can only be used to line the side or bottom of a cake pan where the paper will be covered by the batter. It must not be used to line a cookie sheet and start to smoke and burn.

Parchment paper

• Parchment was once obtained from the skin of animals like sheep, goats and cows, now
  it is made by treating paper from cellulose fibers with sulfuric (sulphuric) acid so as to make it greasproof and is commonly used as diplomas, awards and certficates. The coating of silicone makes the parchment non-stick.

• Good quality parchment paper used for cooking and baking is coated with silicone and not with quilon, a substance that contains chrome, a heavy metal that becomes toxic when incinerated.
• Parchement paper is also known as baking parchment or silicone paper.
• Parchment paper can withstand a very hot oven temperature to as high as 450°F (232-240°C) and it is can also be used in the freezer and microwave.
• Choose baking papers that are unbleached because they are environmently friendly. The use of bleach creates dioxin, a toxic by-product of paper bleaching, which pollutes and accumulates in the environment. Dioxin has already landed on our dinner plates from the polluted fishes, meat and diary foodstuffs we buy. Nursing mothers can also passed on dioxin to her baby with her breast milk.
• Parchment paper is strong and waterproof - wetting it on both sides allows it to act as a cover and makes it easier to shape into casseroles or molds.
• Cooking en Papillote means cooking in parchment in French and Cartoccio in Italian where food wrapped securely with parchment paper can be baked or steamed.
• Glad Bake paper from Australia is the equivalent for siliconized parchment paper.

Both wax and parchment papers

• These special-treated papers are simply non-stick papers that allowing foods to come right off without sticking to a cake pan or a cookie sheet (which is called a baking tray in British English). Both sides of the paper are coated.
• Parchement and wax papers are food grade approved which means food in contact with these papers is safe for consumption.
• Always lightly oil the cake pan before lining it with baking papers. This is to keep the paper in place and even if the batter runs under the paper, the oil will prevent adhesion.
• Never place wax or parchment near naked flames or heating elements of a grill, broiler or conventional oven.

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