Aluminum foil substitutes

Silicone-coated paper that lines a pan the way foil does and releases food without greasing.

Best for

lining baking sheets and roasting pans, fish or vegetables baked in a folded packet, lining pans for bars and brownies, separating layers of food for freezing

Texture

bottoms brown a little less than on bare foil or metal

Prep

Cut it to fit inside the pan so no paper hangs over the edge, and stay at or below the temperature on the box, usually 420 to 450°F. For a packet, fold the paper over the food and crimp the open edges in small overlapping folds, then bake on a baking sheet at the recipe's temperature; 400°F is a common starting point.

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It burns under a broiler, on a grill, or where it touches an oven element or flame. It will not hold a shape on its own, so it cannot be tented over a roast or pressed around a pan rim to seal it, and a packet has to be folded shut, not scrunched.

Anything flat, metal and oven-safe that sits on top of the dish traps steam the way a foil cover does.

Best for

covering casseroles and baked pasta, braises and pot roasts, keeping a dish from over-browning, resting meat

Texture

the same

Prep

Set a rimmed baking sheet upside down over the baking dish, or use the dish's own lid or another pan of the same size inverted on top. Take it off for the last 10 to 15 minutes if the recipe uncovers the dish to brown.

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The seal is looser than crimped foil, so a long braise loses a little more liquid; check it once and top up. The cover comes out as hot as the dish, so lift it with oven mitts and tilt it away from you to let the steam out. A glass lid must be marked oven-safe.

Best for

lining baking sheets for cookies, sticky glazed or sugared foods, roasted vegetables, candy and brittle

Texture

softer, paler bottoms

Prep

Lay it flat on a rimmed baking sheet and stay within the maker's temperature limit, commonly 450 to 480°F.

It insulates the pan slightly, so roasted vegetables and cookie bottoms brown less than on foil. It cannot be cut to size, folded into a packet, used under a broiler or put on a grill, and a knife will slice through it.

A covered pot steams and roasts food in its own moisture, which is what a foil wrap does to a potato, a head of garlic or a beet.

Best for

foil-wrapped vegetables such as beets, garlic and potatoes, foil-wrapped ribs and brisket in the oven, foil-packet dinners baked in the oven, keeping food warm

Texture

softer and steamier than open roasting, the same as a foil wrap

Prep

Put the food in the pot with the seasoning and any liquid the packet called for, cover, and bake at the recipe's temperature. Allow a few minutes more than the packet time because the pot has to heat up first.

Each portion is not sealed in its own juices, so flavors mix. Baked potatoes do not need foil or a pot at all: baked bare on the rack, the skin crisps instead of steaming.

Metal cookware that goes straight on the grill grates and holds small or delicate food that foil would otherwise carry.

Best for

foil packets on the grill, small vegetables and shrimp, delicate fish, anything that would fall through the grates

Texture

drier and more browned than a steamed packet

Prep

Preheat the basket or skillet on the grates for about 5 minutes, oil the food lightly, and cook with the grill lid closed. Use a skillet with a lid or a second pan on top when the packet was meant to steam.

An open basket grills and chars; it does not steam food in its own juice the way a sealed packet does. Skillet handles get as hot as the grill. Only bare cast iron, carbon steel or stainless steel belongs over the fire, not a pan with a nonstick coating or plastic handle.

A lightly oiled metal pan cooks the food the same way.

Best for

roasting vegetables, roasting chicken and other meats, baking potatoes, broiling

Texture

the same, or slightly better browning

Prep

Rub or spray the pan with a thin film of oil. After cooking, soak the pan in hot soapy water for 15 to 20 minutes before scrubbing.

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Sugary glazes and marinades burn onto the metal and take real scrubbing. Under a broiler, this is the safe choice, since parchment and silicone are not.

For wrapping and storing food, which needs a barrier against air and not against heat.

Best for

wrapping leftovers, freezing meat and baked goods, packing sandwiches, marinating

Texture

the same

Prep

Cool the food first. Press as much air as possible out of a freezer bag before sealing it.

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For storage only. Neither goes in an oven or on a grill, and a regular storage bag or container should not hold food straight from a hot pan.

Both look like liners and neither tolerates heat.

Best for

cold storage and counter work only

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Wax paper is not oven-safe: the wax coating melts onto the food and the pan, the paper smokes, and it can catch fire. Plastic wrap melts. Use either for wrapping cold food and never in an oven, under a broiler or on a grill.