Green Product Review: Compostable Parchment Paper
Green Product Review: Compostable Parchment Paper
The last few years, I’ve been really into baking my own bread using this super easy recipe on Girl vs Dough for making no-knead bread in a dutch oven. It’s delicious, but it uses parchment paper, which is not compostable.
(FYI, I used to think all parchment paper was compostable, for some reason I thought it was made from rice, but it turns out that most parchment paper is coated in silicone. So I don’t want that in my compost pile.)
Now technically, most of the stuff I use parchment paper for, I could probably bake without it, but it sure does make things easier. For instance, it allows me to lift the bread out of the super-hot dutch oven without touching the sides, and it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Anyway, I recently found this If You Care brand of unbleached, chlorine-free parchment paper that is compostable. I saw it at Whole Foods, but it looks like they sell it at Target as well and you can buy it online on the If You Care website. It works just as well as regular parchment paper, and I can throw it into my compost bin after use.
[ Related: Top 10 Things NOT to Compost ]
Note about compostability: Whenever buying any product like cups, plates, cutlery or parchment paper that claims to be compostable, be aware that usually means that they are “compostable in a commercial composting facility.” If you check the fine print, you will usually see something along those lines. This means that, sure, technically this item can break down and be composted if it’s treated at a facility where they can expose it to high heat for an extended period of time. But in your backyard compost bin? It might sit there for years.
So be aware of that and check the fine print. Just because something says it is “compostable” doesn’t mean it is necessarily compostable in your home bin. This particular brand of parchment specifically says that it is backyard compostable, and I haven’t had any issues with it. It costs slightly more than regular parchment paper, but it’s also a longer roll, so it balances out to being a fairly comparable price.
