Food wrappers – edible or not?<\/p>\n
A great way to use up leftovers – simply wrap it up. But there are many edible and non-edible wrappers and it’s not always obvious which is which.<\/span><\/p>\n So here’s a quick reference to get you started. Always remember to check the ‘use by date’ or ‘best before date’ for shelf life.<\/span><\/p>\n Savoury: chicken or fish with herb marinade<\/p>\n Savoury custard (see Brigid\u2019s Steaming <\/em>book)<\/p>\n Sweet: Black coconut rice with fresh mango.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n (This is not la trau,<\/em> the variety typically chewed with areca or betel nuts that stains teeth with red juice.)<\/td>\n Top leaves with smoked trout, horseradish cream, apple and salmon roe or Thai flavoured chicken or minced beef.<\/p>\n Thread small leaf parcels onto skewers & BBQ.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Pita<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Roll bread slices with rolling pin until thin before rolling around filling. Outside of roll can be sprayed with oil & baked or pan fried.<\/td>\n Peel husks far enough to remove silk threads from corn. Rewrap corn cobs in husks. Soak in water before barbecuing.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Pancakes<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Buckwheat crepes with savoury fillings.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n wrappers<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n – Dim sum<\/span><\/p>\n – Gow gee<\/span><\/p>\n – Wonton<\/span><\/p>\n – Gyoza<\/span><\/td>\n Thinner wrappers are best for dim sum or steamed dumplings. Thicker wonton wrappers are best for pan frying (eg. Japanese gyoza <\/em>dumplings) or deep frying.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n – cabbage<\/span><\/p>\n – lettuce<\/span><\/p>\n – radicchio<\/span><\/p>\n – silverbeet <\/span><\/p>\n – English spinach<\/span><\/td>\n Blanch larger leaves in hot water before using to avoid splitting leaves.<\/td>\n <\/p>\n Cannelloni tubes<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n – filo<\/span><\/p>\n – puff<\/span><\/p>\n – shortcrust<\/span><\/td>\n Various sizes.<\/td>\n Yaki nori<\/strong> (Roasted\u00a0 seaweed)<\/span><\/td>\n Use in nori rolls, hand wrapped sushi or deep fried in tempura.<\/p>\n Use to wrap fish with pickled ginger & red capsicum. Steam, bake or pan fry (see Brigid\u2019s Steaming<\/em> book for recipe).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Red leaf used for flavour & colour (eg. tea or umeboshi<\/em>, a Japanese pickled plum); green leaf used with meat, fish, sushi, onigiri, tempura, salads or as a wrapper.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Deep fried bean curd<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n Fill with sweet rice and fruit for dessert or finger food.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n Gently brush sheets with tap water to soften before use. Offers little taste.<\/td>\n Cut off stems & hard veins.<\/p>\n Fresh leaves<\/em>: Preferably pick medium size in spring. Blanch in boiling salted water for 30-60 seconds; rinse in cold water to cool. Dry with paper towel. Cut off stems & hard veins.<\/td>\n Leaves purchased already in brine or fresh leaves blanched and boiled briefly in brine (1 cup salt to 4 cups water); store for about 12 months.<\/p>\n To freeze leaves: Separate leaves with sheets freezer plastic or paper; expel air & seal; freeze for maximum 6 months.<\/p>\n Leaves softer after freezing so use up quickly after defrosting.<\/td>\n Dolmades (Greek rice parcels).<\/p>\n Small fish (eg. Whiting) wrapped in vine leaves. Leaf offers protection between delicate fish and BBQ plate or frypan.<\/p>\n Haloumi wrapped in vine leaves, pan fried and topped with caramelised peaches.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On ABC NSW radio Food wrappers – edible or not? A great way to use up leftovers – simply wrap it up. But there are many edible and non-edible wrappers and it’s not always obvious which is which. So here’s a quick reference to get you started. Always remember to check the ‘use by date’ […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91,7],"tags":[39,93,4],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cooking-tips-hints","category-radio-food-segments","tag-brigid-treloar-books","tag-food-information","tag-radio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1169,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions\/1169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\n
\n \n Wrapper<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/td>\n
Edible<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Availability<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Preparation<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Storage (check use-by date on packet)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Cooking\/Recipe ideas<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Baking paper<\/span><\/strong><\/td>\n No<\/td>\n Various length packets from supermarkets<\/td>\n None<\/td>\n Indefinite<\/td>\n All-purpose wrapper for cooking foods en papillote<\/em>. Suitable for use in microwaves & ovens; heat resistant to 230\u00baC (450\u00baF) but for direct heat (eg. BBQ plate) lower temperature or wrap again in foil as prolonged cooking can burn paper.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Bamboo leaves<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n No but imparts a faint aroma & looks good to serve<\/td>\n Available dry from Asian grocery stores.<\/td>\n Soak in warm water before use to soften and prevent cracking.<\/td>\n Keep dry, 12 months.<\/td>\n Use softened to wrap flavoured rice or meats. Great for steaming.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Banana leaves<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n No but imparts a faint aroma & looks good to serve<\/td>\n Available fresh and sometimes frozen from Asian grocery stores; selected fruit & veg stores.<\/td>\n Remove hard spine and trim ragged edges. Blanch in boiling water for 30-60 seconds or heat on BBQ or frypan to soften. Rinse in cold water to cool & set colour.<\/td>\n Roll up & tie\/rubber band. Wrap in paper towel in plastic bag. Refrigerate 1- 2 weeks or freeze.<\/td>\n Bake, BBQ, panfry, steam, microwave.<\/p>\n \n Betel leaf<\/strong><\/span> – Wild (la lot<\/em>)<\/p>\n Yes<\/td>\n Asian grocery stores; selected fruit & veg stores.<\/td>\n Rinse, dry, wrap & eat.<\/td>\n Wrap in paper towel in plastic bag & refrigerate 5 \u2013 7 days.<\/td>\n Eat fresh, panfry, grilled, BBQ.<\/p>\n \n Bread<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Yes<\/td>\n Supermarkets<\/td>\n Pita ready to use.<\/p>\n Keep airtight. Refrigerate in hot humid weather or freeze 1 month.<\/td>\n Wraps.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n Corn husks<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/td>\n
No<\/td>\n Corn on the cob from fruit & veg stores; fresh produce markets.<\/td>\n Strip husks from corn on the cob. Soak in water for 20 minutes. Wrap food & secure with cooking twine.<\/td>\n Keep on cobs until required. Use within 5-7 days.<\/td>\n BBQ, panfry, bake, steam, microwave.<\/p>\n \n Crepes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Yes<\/td>\n Make your own. Duck pancakes available frozen from Asian grocery stores.<\/td>\n Ready to use.<\/td>\n Keep refrigerated 2 days or freeze.<\/td>\n Roll around filling (eg. crepe suzette or duck pancakes) or fold to make parcels which can be pan or deep fried.<\/p>\n \n Dumpling <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Yes<\/td>\n Wrappers available chilled or frozen, round or square. Number of wrappers in packet will vary with thickness.<\/td>\n Keep wrappers covered with a damp cloth as preparing to them prevent drying out.<\/td>\n Keep chilled or freeze.<\/td>\n Steam, boil, deep fry, pan fry.<\/p>\n \n \n Foil<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/td>\n
No<\/td>\n Various length rolls from supermarkets.<\/td>\n Ready to use.\u00a0 Wrap shiny side facing in towards food or it does not reflect heat when cooking.<\/td>\n Indefinite.<\/td>\n All purpose wrapper.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n Fresh leaves<\/span><\/h1>\n
Yes<\/td>\n Green grocery, supermarkets, fresh produce markets.<\/td>\n Small firm leaves can be used as \u2018cups\u2019 and filled.<\/p>\n 5 – 7 days, refrigerated.<\/td>\n Can be eaten raw (eg. lettuce cups for San choy bow, steamed or baked (eg. cabbage rolls).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Lotus leaves<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n No but imparts an earthy aroma<\/td>\n Dried in packets from Asian grocery stores.<\/td>\n Soak in warm water to soften before use to prevent cracking.<\/td>\n Keep dry; 12 months.<\/td>\n Use softened to wrap flavoured rice or meats. Great for steaming.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Pasta sheets<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Yes<\/td>\n Fresh or dried from supermarkets & delicatessens.<\/td>\n Fresh and dried ready to use & should be covered with sauce to cook. Soak dried sheets in warm water to soften if using as a wrapper.<\/td>\n Keep fresh chilled.<\/td>\n Use in lasagne or as a wrapper like cannelloni tubes.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n Pastry<\/span><\/h1>\n
Yes<\/td>\n Chilled or frozen sheets from supermarkets & delicatessens.<\/td>\n Keep covered with a damp cloth during preparation to avoid pastry drying out. Brush melted butter or oil between each filo sheet before wrapping filling.<\/td>\n Keep chilled or frozen.<\/td>\n All purpose wrappers, a great way to use up leftovers.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Rice noodle wrappers<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Yes<\/td>\n Available fresh in room temperature packets from Asian grocery stores (refrigeration hardens the rice sheets so hard to separate).<\/td>\n Pour hot water over the sheets or microwave to loosen the thin oil coating before pulling the sheets apart. Cut to required size.<\/td>\n 1-2 days if not refrigerated. Once cut and wrapped around filling keep covered and refrigerated until required; 1-2 days.<\/td>\n Use rice sheets to enclose fillings and steam or completely cover with sauce and bake.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Rice paper rolls<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Yes<\/td>\n Dried in packets from Asian grocery stores & selected supermarkets.<\/p>\n Soak in warm water 1-2 minutes to soften. Pull out of water with both hands or can twist & tangle (put back into water to untangle). Once rolls made, keep covered with damp cloth to prevent drying out.<\/td>\n Keep dry & airtight.<\/td>\n Used to make fresh rolls or deep fried.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n Seaweed<\/span><\/h1>\n
Yes<\/td>\n Retails packets are sheets of 10. From Asian grocery stores, selected supermarkets & some fruit & veg stores.<\/td>\n Keep spare sheetsdry & covered during preparation as nori will absorb moisture from the air & lose its crispness & become a chewier texture.<\/td>\n Keep dry & airtight or freeze.
\nUse open packets with 1 month. Nori will start to lose colour changing from deep green to bronze colour as it loses freshness.<\/td>\nEat as is or cooked.<\/p>\n \n Shiso <\/strong>(Perilla <\/strong>or Beefsteak<\/strong> plant)<\/span><\/td>\n Yes<\/td>\n A Japanese herb related to the mint family. Available from Japanese specialty stores, some produce markets & selected nurseries to grow your own. It\u2019s an annual that dies in winter.<\/td>\n Available red or green but each quite different & different uses. Red more robust for colouring and flavouring, green more delicate leaf used as a herb.<\/td>\n Dries out quickly so keep refrigerated & wrapped or in airtight container. Use within 3-5 days.<\/td>\n Wash & pat dry with paper towel.<\/p>\n \n \n Soy – tofu<\/span><\/h1>\n
Abura-age<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/td>\n
Yes<\/td>\n Deep fried Available frozen from Asian grocery stores.<\/td>\n Thinly sliced tofu, deep fried. Pour boiling water over tofu & squeeze to remove excess oil. Gently open one side and fill or use as a wrapper.<\/td>\n Keep frozen.<\/td>\n Fill pouch or use as a wrapperfor sweet or savoury fillings.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \n Soy – tofu<\/span><\/h1>\n
S<\/strong>easoned bean curd pouches<\/span><\/h1>\n
Inari-zushi<\/span><\/h1>\n
Yes<\/td>\n Available chilled or in cans from Asian grocery stores. Size & texture varies.<\/td>\n Deep fried tofu slices simmered in sweet soy sauce so can be used for sweet or savoury fillings. Ready to use; open one side to fill or use as a wrapper.<\/td>\n Once opened keep refrigerated and use within 2-3 days or freeze.<\/td>\n Sushi pouches (filled with sushi rice).<\/p>\n \n \n Soy milk \u2018skin\u2019 –<\/span><\/h1>\n
Yuba<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/td>\n
Yes<\/td>\n Packets of dried sheets from Asian grocery stores.<\/td>\n Skin formed when soy milk is heated; dried in sheets.<\/p>\n Keep dry & airtight.<\/td>\n Fill with minced meat or vegetarian fillings. See recipe in Brigid’s book Steaming<\/em>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Spring roll wrappers <\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Yes<\/td>\n In frozen or chilled packets, various sizes<\/td>\n Thaw and wrap around filling. Keep wrappers covered with damp cloth to stop drying out.<\/td>\n Keep frozen.<\/td>\n Brush rolls with cornflour and water to seal. Deep fry spring rolls on moderate to allow to cook through.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Vine (grape) leaves<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n Yes but remove hard stems & veins.<\/td>\n Delicatessens, selected supermarkets & larger fruit & veg stores.<\/td>\n Leaves in brine<\/em>: Rinse well & dry with paper towel.<\/p>\n Keep refrigerated or frozen.<\/p>\n Bake, panfry, BBQ, steam.<\/p>\n