Heritage Hints From Mama: Uses For Waxed Paper
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I’m excited to have my Mama with us today! She has a lot of wisdom to share. Be sure and click on some of her other posts at the bottom after you read this one 🙂
Gratefully,
Christy
Hello Everyone!
My name is Janice, better known as Mama. You are welcome to adopt me as your go to Mama and I’ll attempt to answer any of your questions. I will be here to pass on my years of learning by trial and error. Today I thought I would pass on some of the many uses for wax paper.
Now some of you young people may not have a roll of wax paper in your kitchen but I am from a different generation who used it to wrap sandwiches. You see we did not have all sizes of zipper bags: snack size, sandwich size and now even large sizes for storing bedspreads and the like. We used wax paper primarily to wrap sandwiches for our lunches. Over the years, I have found a few different uses for wax paper.
One of my favorite uses is to put it under batters to catch the drips. I use a batter bowl to mix up pancake batter. The bowl has a lip on it so that you can pour the batter into the pan. After you pour the batter, there is always a little that drips from the lip onto the counter. If you wait to wipe it up, it becomes similar to concrete and takes a lot of scrubbing to get it up. Just put a small piece of wax paper on the counter underneath the bowl and you don’t have to worry about the drips. Just wad it up and throw it away when you clean up.
I also slice tomatoes and potatoes over a piece of wax paper and then just gather it up with the peelings still on it and throw it away. It saves having to mess up a bowl or messing up the counter with the peelings (Those thin plastic grocery store bags are good for this as well).
If you are icing a cake, cut three small pieces and slide them underneath the edges. After you finish icing the cake, slowly pull them out and the cake plate will be clean as a whistle. (By the way, who knows how clean a whistle is? I’ve always wondered about that!)
I have another wonderful use of wax paper that saves having to get up on a stool or ladder to clean the tops of your cabinets. If your cabinets do not go all the way to the ceiling, cut a long piece of wax paper to lay on the top of the cabinets. My cabinets are a little narrower than the wax paper. I just cut the length and then fold about an inch under and lay it on top of the cabinets. If you want to display things on top of the cabinets, just set them on top of the wax paper. When you get ready to clean the top of your cabinets, just roll the wax paper up, throw it away and cut another piece to fit. It sure cuts down the time that you would usually spend cleaning the greasy cabinet tops! Ideally, you should probably change the wax paper every three months or so but I promise I will not drop in to see if you want to do it once a year. No one will know but you.
Now, in closing, I’ll leave you with a tip that most of you probably know. I just discovered it last year and it has made a real difference! Most rolls of wax paper, aluminum foil and plastic wrap have a tab on each end of the box that you can push in. It keeps the roll from falling out of the box when you are rolling the product out to cut it. I guess if I had time to read the boxes, I would have known this sooner. Oh well, at least I found out about it before I turned seventy! You see there is a bright side to everything!
Let me know if you have other uses for wax paper or if you discover a time saver for the home. We’re all here to learn together. I’m sure everyone would love a few timesavers and shortcuts.
In the meantime, I need your help. Is there anything in particular you’d like me to write about? I enjoy visiting with y’all but I want to share useful information that you’ll enjoy so your ideas are welcome! Please share them in the comments along with any other great ideas for waxed paper uses. We’d love to hear them!
Take care and remember Mama loves you!
~Mama
You can some read other Heritage Hints From Mama By visiting the links below:
My momma taught me to roll out biscuit, dumplin or butter roll dough on flowered wax paper. I also use it when I get a batch of homemade sausage to place between layers as I pat them out to freeze. Then I just remove how many I want to cook. Also separate layers of cookies when storing / transporting in Tupperware boxes.
Thanks mama for your neat idea about the kitchen cabinet tops. I have been scrubbing myself to death for years on that project! My mother always used waxed paper for just about everything. My sandwiches for lunch at school was always wrapped in a piece of waxed paper. Love your sense of humor, too! “Clean as a whistle” was about as clean as you could get anything. I never did understand what that had to do with a whistle though, except for maybe the sleek style of a whistle. Go figure! Love ya, mama!!
I do have a question about wax paper. Has it changed? It seems like it had an actual layer of wax on it, sometimes only on one side. Now it seems more like a waterproof paper. Is it just my memory or has ‘wax paper’ changed over the past 50+ years?
I have a question….gonna seem dumb to some.
It’s about measuring cups and spoons. I read somewhere that you shouldn’t use the same utensils for measuring. That a measurement of dry ingredients is not the same as liquid. Is this true? If it is, what is the proper measuring utensil for each!
Thanks
There is never a dumb question. I was taught, back in Home Economics Class in the 50’s. Use the glass Pyrex or Anchor Hocking measuring cups with the handles for wet measures. Use the stacking cups out of metal, plastic or glass for dry measures. Now to confuse the issue, my Nana used a coffee cup or her eyes to measure everything and her homemade doughnuts were from heaven. Sure hope this helps and was clear, keep asking questions, they brighten the world.
Hi Mama! I’m so glad to see you on here today! I enjoyed reading your article and I am looking forward to hearing from you more. I put a little salt on my baking potatoes, wrap them with wax paper, and bake in the microwave until they are done. I can squeeze the potatoes more easily to check if their done with the wax paper on without getting my hands too hot. I would love to hear stories about your childhood. I always enjoy listening to others talk about “when they were little”. I learn so much about what life was like a few years back. Thank you!
I put wax paper between the strips of bacon before freezing. It’s great for times when you only need a couple of strips for a recipe or a small breakfast.
On a related note, my grandmother (who grew up in the Dust Bowl & let nothing go to waste) taught us to keep the wax paper wrappers from sticks of butter in the freezer & use them whenever you need to butter a baking dish. There’s usually just enough butter – and perhaps a little wax – left to do the job.
I’ve been using shelf liner to place on top of my cabinets, then when I clean I throw it away & replace with new. I like your idea, Janice, of using wax paper. It’s more economical than using shelf liner, I’m going to try it next time. Thanks for the tip.
I use wax paper for most of the other ideas listed here & in cooking I use it when making anything chocolate (peanut butter balls, cherry nougats, etc), or for freezing hamburger patties, cookies, etc. & then packing them for the freezer.