Article: Paper towels update old cooking technique

When is a paper towel more than a paper towel? In microwave cooking - the paper towel can be the utensil used for preparing an entire entree. Microwaving meals in paper towels may sound novel, but the practice of cooking in paper, "en papillote" in French, dates back to the early 1800s.

The theory behind cooking in paper really is a simple one. The material used in traditional en papillote preparations is a thin, fibrous paper known as parchment. It is the same kind of paper that bakers use to line cake pans and cookie sheets. When food is enclosed in the parchment and heated, the steam produced inside circulates rapidly, forming a miniature pressure cooker that locks in all the ...

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