Parchment paper, or vegetable parchment, is a

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...

-based composite that has been processed to give it additional properties like non-stickiness, grease resistance, and resistance to humidity. It is commonly used in

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

as a disposable non-stick, grease resistant surface. It should not be confused with

waxed paper Waxed paper (also wax paper, waxpaper, or paraffin paper) is paper that has been made moisture-proof and grease-proof through the application of wax. The practice of oiling parchment or paper in order to make it semi-translucent or moisture-pro ...

, which is paper that has been coated in wax.

Parchmentization of paper

Vegetable parchment paper is made by running sheets of

paper pulp Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw mate ...

through a bath of

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

(a method similar to the way

tracing paper Tracing paper is paper made to have low opacity, allowing light to pass through. It was originally developed for architects and design engineers to create drawings that could be copied precisely using the diazo copy process; it then found ma ...

is made) or sometimes

zinc chloride Zinc chloride is the name of inorganic chemical compounds with the formula ZnCl2 and its hydrates. Zinc chlorides, of which nine crystalline forms are known, are colorless or white, and are highly soluble in water. This salt is hygroscopic and ev ...

. This process partially dissolves or gelatinizes the paper. This treatment forms a sulfurized

cross-linked In chemistry and biology a cross-link is a bond or a short sequence of bonds that links one polymer chain to another. These links may take the form of covalent bonds or ionic bonds and the polymers can be either synthetic polymers or natural ...

material, with high density, stability, heat resistance, grease resistance, water resistance, no loose fibers as well as low

surface energy In surface science, surface free energy (also interfacial free energy or surface energy) quantifies the disruption of intermolecular bonds that occurs when a surface is created. In solid-state physics, surfaces must be intrinsically less energe ...

— thereby imparting good non-stick or release properties. The treated paper has an appearance similar to that of

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...

and, because of its strength, is sometimes used in legal documents for which parchment was traditionally used. (However, parchment paper is manufactured with acid, and has a low pH, making it inappropriate for archival documents where

acid-free paper Acid-free paper is paper that, if infused in water, yields a neutral or basic (chemistry), basic pH (7 or slightly greater). It can be made from any cellulose fiber as long as the active acid pulp is eliminated during processing. It is also lign ...

is the better choice.)

Applications in cooking and baking

Chocolate chip cookies on parchment paper, August 2009

A common use is to eliminate the need to grease

sheet pan Sheet or Sheets may refer to: * Bed sheet, a rectangular piece of cloth used as bedding * Sheet of paper, a flat, very thin piece of paper * Sheet metal, a flat thin piece of metal * Sheet (sailing), a line, cable or chain used to control the cle ...

s and the like, allowing very rapid turn-around of batches of baked goods with minimal clean up. Parchment paper is also used to cook ''

en papillote ''En papillote'' (; French for "enveloped in paper"), or ''al cartoccio'' in Italian, is a method of cooking in which the food is put into a folded pouch or parcel and then baked. This method is most often used to cook fish or vegetables, but lamb ...

'', a technique where food is

steamed Steaming is a method of cooking using steam. This is often done with a food steamer, a kitchen appliance made specifically to cook food with steam, but food can also be steamed in a wok. In the American southwest, steam pits used for cooking have ...

or cooked within closed pouches made from parchment paper. Parchment paper can be used in most applications that call for

wax paper Waxed paper (also wax paper, waxpaper, or paraffin paper) is paper that has been made moisture-proof and grease-proof through the application of wax. The practice of oiling parchment or paper in order to make it semi-translucent or moisture-pro ...

as a non-stick surface. The reverse is not true, as using wax paper would cause smoke in the oven and would adversely affect flavor.

Other bakery release papers

The non-stick properties can be also achieved by employing a

coated paper Coated paper (also known as enamel paper, gloss paper, and thin paper) is paper that has been coated by a mixture of materials or a polymer to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness, or reduced ink absor ...

, for which a suitable

release agent A release agent (also mold release agent, release coating, or mold release coating) is a chemical used to prevent other materials from bonding to surfaces. It can provide a solution in processes involving mold release, die-cast release, plastic r ...

—a coating with a low surface energy and capability to withstand the temperatures involved in the

roasting Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization ...

process—is deposited onto the paper's surface;

silicone A silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer made up of siloxane (−R2Si−O−SiR2−, where R = organic group). They are typically colorless oils or rubber-like substances. Silicones are used in sealants, adhesives, lubricants, medicine, cooking ...

(cured with a suitable

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

) is frequently used.

Other applications

Parchment paper also has relevant properties for other industries. In the textile tube industry, an outer layer of parchment confers the necessary resistance to abrasion, heat and oil. In other industries, parchment is used as a processing aid due to its release properties, whether for furniture laminate manufacturing and rubber vulcanization.

Disposal

Parchment paper is composed of cellulosic fibers and therefore is considered compostable both in an industrial setting (EN13432) and at home.

References