Did YOU know?
We are a sucker for a good life hack here at Herfamily.ie, and this week, our minds were blown to find out we may just have been
using tin foil wrong this whole flipping time.
On an episode of his BBC Two show Fresh Start, TV chef Tom Kerridge was cooking fish when he dropped this little nugget of information many of us had never once heard of before: There is a reason tin foil comes with one shiny side, and one mat, and actually, it matters greatly which side you have facing up or down when you're cooking.
On the programme, where Kerridge helps families change their lifestyles by cooking healthier meals, he explained:
‘There are two sides to tin foil, there's the shiny side and the not so shiny side.
‘Always remember dull side up, shiny side down, it's the reflective side – that's going to reflect as much heat back as possible.
‘Just cooks a little bit more efficiently.’
Are you as shook as we were? You are not alone.
Many viewers across the UK took to social media to share just how eye-opening Kerridge's revelation had been:
Twitter user Sally Ardenne said:
'Well! You learn something new EVERY day. Today’s is that shiny side on tin foil goes towards food and dull side goes up. Thanks @ChefTomKerridge Not sure how I’ve got to 52 without knowing #FreshStart.’
Twitter user Riona, agreed, tweeting:
‘@ChefTomKerridge tinfoil shiny side down been doing it wrong my whole life #tinfoil.’
Others, however, weren't all that shocked, claiming they always thought this was common knowledge.
‘Thought it was obvious that it was shining side down....’
Another Twitter follower agreed:
‘The foil i buy every week has this printed on the box so its not new news im afraid :).’
After the conversation had exploded on Twitter, Kerridge was invited onto This Morning, to further explain his statements on the proper use of tin foil.
Phillip Schofield, one of the hosts of the show, admitted he had never given the sides much thought before now, but reckoned he had been doing it wrong.
'I’ve always used it shiny side up, have I been doing it wrong all these years?’
Co-host, Holly Willoughby, added: ‘Yes, it makes perfect sense.’
To this, Kerridge, who is a Michelin Star winner, explained:
‘Well it does, it makes perfect sense to me and it’s the way I’ve always been taught that shiny side goes down – that reflects – it’s reflective, it’s the most reflective surely so it works more economically, reflecting heat, cooking in a more even way.’
