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See, there comes a time in everyone’s life when they find themselves becoming full-fledged adults. It often happens without warning: One day you’re closing down a pub at sunrise, and the next you’re swapping tips with your pals about the ideal way to keep your dishwasher clean.
My personal reckoning came when I found myself unable to stop praising silicone baking mats. I can’t recommend it enough, so I’m starting to accept that I’m no longer in my prime.
Mats are available in one-pack and two-pack as well as in a variety of sizes and colors.
Once you start using silicone baking mats, you’ll wonder how you ever cooked without them.
These mats come in many different brands, colors, shapes, and sizes, but the orange MMmat Silicone Baking Mat is the one I’ve been using for the past two years.I fold them in half with my cutting board, guess I’ll use them At least five times a week.
So what’s so great about these fragile little things? I’d say their biggest plus is that they make disposable tinfoil and parchment nearly useless. Before using these mats, I would tear off a new piece of aluminum foil almost every time I put something in the oven. From leftover pizza to raw salmon to cookie dough to veggies drizzled with olive oil, every meal is separated from the baking sheet with a fresh sheet of foil.
While I’m sure bakeware should be cleaned regularly, that’s not what happens in my house. Our sheets were covered in burnt stains and sometimes with oily residue even after washing in the dishwasher. Cooking with the silicone baking mat – hailed for its great functionality – is dishwasher safe, giving me confidence that nothing I make will be contaminated by what’s left on the griddle. I’m also sure the mat keeps the bakeware itself from getting dirty.
Silicone sheets can withstand oven temperatures up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and are also safe in the freezer. They are truly non-stick and very easy to wipe clean. I haven’t tried this move yet, but some reviewers say they use sheets to line the fridge – they will definitely stay in place – to keep everything spotless.
When it comes to practicing sustainability, buying new is rarely the best option. But I believe, these are worth buying as they greatly reduce the need for disposable sheet liners.
Like I mentioned before, mine are two years old and I think they will last longer. One way to ensure they are durable is to avoid cutting directly on them, as a sharp knife may cut into the silicone and end up tearing a hole.
While throwing away aluminum foil isn’t the biggest environmental infraction we do in the kitchen (in fact, aluminum foil is recyclable in many cities if you do it right), these reusable sheets are in our book is a win as it required some small changes to reduce our waste.