Butcher Paper vs. Freezer Paper – What’s The Difference?

Storing, preparing, and serving food is an art that requires us to pay attention to the details. Because if you go slightly wrong, the results can be huge. Papers are often used to serve or store food items like meat and make baked products. 

But there is no one size fits all when it comes to applying papers in the culinary world because the requirements for each purpose are slightly different from the other. And due to this reason, there are plenty of different types of papers that you can find in the market today, and when we say plenty, we mean it. You can find different types of paper in superstore aisles which include Butcher Paper, Freezer paper, Wax Paper, and Parchment paper, and these are just the top four.

With a wide range of papers in the market, it can get confusing when deciding which paper to use for what purpose. And with the inaccurate information online on articles, the problem worsens. Even though using one paper instead of the other won’t cause any catastrophic results in general situations, but there are times when the slightest change can cause big problems.

So, today we will discuss the differences between two frequently used papers; Butcher paper and Freeze paper. Keep reading to know all the differences between Butcher and Freezer Paper’s uses.

Freeze Paper

you can compare Freeze paper to wax paper more than it can be compared with Butcher paper because wax paper and Freeze Paper have a lot of similarities. Freeze paper is similar to other kinds of paper, but it has a plastic coating on one side to make it more durable and resistant to water. This application of a plastic layer ensures that the paper doesn’t break when it becomes wet.

The plastic coating is usually polyethylene, a thermoplastic polymer with a crystalline structure. Polyethylene has a wide range of purposes that depend on the type of polyethylene used. It is also the most commonly produced plastic globally.

Now back to Freeze paper. In addition to having a plastic coating, Freeze paper is also substantially thinner than Butcher paper. And the thing that differentiates Freeze paper from wax paper is that Wax paper is always coated on both sides, while Freeze paper is coated on one side only. And if we remove the coatings altogether, we will end up with parchment paper.

Freeze Paper Uses

The main use of Freeze paper is in freezing food, especially seafood and various meats. Freeze paper is made in a way (with covering on one side) that enables it to stick to the meat, and its coated side plays an important role in preventing the meat from getting damaged because of the extreme cold temperature. This is because polyethylene is a poor conductor of heat (or cold), preventing the heat from directly contacting the meat.

Another key factor about freeze paper is that it doesn’t break when it comes into contact with moisture. Freeze paper is good at holding the moisture in the meat because of the plastic coating. As only one side of the Freeze paper is coated, the other side is rough and can be written on to mark the carcass or date it.

The meat (or whatever you are freezing) can be further wrapped with a layer of tin foil or tapped to prevent the paper from falling off. One more thing to remember is that when the Freeze paper is applied to the meat, there is very little room left for air to fill, and the presence of air is directly related to freezing burns and microorganism growth.

Butcher Paper

Butcher paper is one of the most famous and commonly used papers. It is also commonly known as Kraft paper. Butcher paper was made as a tool for butchers (as its name suggests) to wrap meat in and then sell it to their customers.

The key difference between Butcher paper and Freeze paper is that Butcher paper is thicker than Freeze paper. This thickness of the paper plays an essential role in preserving the wrapped food. The paper used in making Butcher paper comes from Kraft Pulp, which produces heavy-duty and durable paper.

If you haven’t seen Butcher paper, you can imagine a brown paper bag used in grocery stores and then make it thicker and sturdier. The color of Butcher paper is usually brownish or reddish, but it can also be bleached and made white. Roll-form is the most commonly used way of selling Butcher paper to be bought in bulk and used conveniently.

Butcher Paper Uses

Butcher Paper was originally made to wrap meat, but there are tons of different purposes for this versatile paper. Butcher paper can be used to make banners, newspapers, as wrapping for deli delights, liners for tray ad tables, for the packaging of china and glass items, and for advertising purposes. You can also use butcher paper to wrap meats for smoking and Barbequing.

But one thing that you should keep in mind is always use butcher paper approved by the FDA, as some butcher papers can be harmful if they come in contact with your food. But before you start worrying about what FDA is or how to find FDA-approved Butcher paper, know that most of the butcher paper sold in the market is FDA approved, but you should look out for the FDA logo, just in case.

Butcher Paper is easily available in almost every supermarket. It is also cheaper than freeze paper, so you don’t have to worry about spending too much on it. And honestly, once you start using butcher paper in your life, there is no going back.

So What’s the Difference Between Butcher Paper and Freezer Paper?

• Freeze Paper has a plastic coating on one side, while Butcher paper has no coating.
• Butcher paper is considerably thicker than freeze paper.
• Freeze paper is usually used to wrap meat before storing it, while Butcher paper is used for a wide range of purposes, the most common being as a wrapping paper to wrap meat before selling it.

Sources

• OwnTheGrill
• TheKithenGrill
• Oren