Paper towels are an underestimated workhorse in the kitchen, capable of so much more than soaking up spilled milk and drying your hands. Draping a paper towel over broccoli to keep its crown moist is genius. Dragging a paper towel across the top of warm soup or broth to absorb excess oil is great. However, even the best kitchen intentions come with consequences, and there are some tasks that paper towels are just not cut out for. These are the three common times when reaching for a paper towel is actually a bad idea.
1. Squeezing Moisture From Grated Vegetables — As tempting as it might be to use a paper towel for the job, it’s a bad move. Once a paper towel gets wet, food clings to its softened surface and it tears under the pressure of a hard squeeze, leaving bits of papery link behind in your vegetables. Stick with a clean kitchen towel or a few stacked layers of cheesecloth instead.
2. Straining Stock, Drinks, or Infused Oils — After simmering a broth or stock to savory perfection, cooking jelly to the perfect set, steeping hot chilies into oil, or soaking cold brew coffee for smooth flavor, you need to strain the mixture. Recipes often call for lining a colander with a fine filter, but a paper towel isn’t the liner for the job. It clogs quickly, which slows the straining process to a crawl, and it disintegrates against hot liquid, tearing partway through and shedding lint into whatever you’re straining. Line your colander with cheesecloth or muslin cloth instead.
3. Lining An Air Fryer — Air fryer liners are great for easy clean-up and prevent food from sticking to the cooking surfaces. The one thing you shouldn’t use is a paper towel. All that intense hot air circulation can catch a paper towel and pull it up toward the heating element, creating a fire hazard.
