Are disposable pans a "Jewish" thing?

centurion

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 12:30 am

I prefer non-disposable pans because they conduct heat better but it's difficult to buy three sets of pans for milchig, fleishig, and parve so I supplement with aluminum. I also find it useful for freezer storage when cooking in bulk for yom tov. Both are very jewish reasons for disposables.

Raisin

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 5:35 am

Yes definitely. Almost impossible to find here except at xmas time. (for turkeys, and not cheap) Or from catering supply shops. Or I can order online from a frum shop in another country.

I use them only for cooking for yom tov or for the freezer. (I've had unhappy results trying to freeze pyrex pans. Sad

) I guard my supply and get pretty annoyed when they get used for silly things. I don't get why people use them for things like challah. At one pan per challah that adds up pretty quickly!! I line my pans with parchment paper and no washing up is needed. Metal pans stack pretty easily.

I prefer not to use to much disposables for enviromental reasons as well as the fact that I pay a ton of money for rubbish removal.

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 6:04 am

amother wrote:

I grew up non-religious. I never, ever recall using plastic or paper goods other than at parties or picnics. Aluminum pans were completely unheard of.

Somehow, the sinks were always miraculously empty, though I did have to rinse my cup out after use, and was only allowed one a day to minimize the dishes (that I never saw accumulate; guess that's easy when you only have two kids who only eat supper at home).

When I moved to Brooklyn I worked in a group home and grocery shopping was a huge mystery to me. I had to learn what these conveniences were. I also had to get used to the fact that groceries were delivered! Who ever heard of THAT?! Most we ever had was a store worker bring the groceries to the curb...

Same here. To my mother, the word 'disposables' was a highly dirty and offensible word.

Personally I don't use disposables ever except a few days before Pesach but I do use plastic cups for a few things in food preparation (and those I only stared to buy about 3-4 years ago. The first time I bought it I vividly felt I really had gone off the derech of Good Housekeeping, that I had mentally crossed a line into the land of "lazy spoiled women who cannot be bothered to wash up a glass but she needs disposables".

moonstone

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 6:18 am

While many countries are trying to reduce the use of disposables (eg a friend went to Germany and said they were hard to find and very expensive), in Israel its a huge industry. There are many stores that sell only disposables. The selection is really impressive-- really nice plates with matching bowls, "silverware", napkin holders, etc, and it all looks like the real thing. Beautiful patterns. Disposable pans in every shape and size.

My family never used disposable anything when I was growing up (except for picnics), but I do admit to cooking in foil pans for shabbat. But I'm starting to move back to real pans since I'm sick of having to buy foil pans. I think the food cooks better in the real thing. Oh, and we only use disposable dishes on pesach. I wouldn't want to use them every day, that would feel weird (and wasteful).

But yeah, I think it is a Jewish thing.

pesek zman

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 6:52 am

Yes. And I hardly ever use them despite growing up this way. My mom swears by the I think Food tastes better cooked in real (I love Pyrex) and is sturdier going in and out of the Oven. Pyrex stores easier in the fridge. It also can be used as serve wear (whereas I wouldn't bring an aluminum pan to the table I think Pyrex is fine, even on Shabbos, even with guests)

I do have a dishwasher, Pyrex cleans beautifully in it

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 7:30 am

pesek zman wrote:

Baking results are IMO much better in real dishes.

etky

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 8:03 am

I rarely actually bake in the aluminum pans. I don't like how the food comes out.
Their advantage to me is their stackability and their thinness; they allow me to store more food in the fridge, especially important for chagim and they heat up fast on the platta.
When I do want to bake in a disposable pan, more often than not it will be paper. Even cakes come out pretty well. I think the heat distribution is better than with the foil pans.They are also more environmentally friendly and probably healthier to bake in than the foil pans.

amother

Floralwhite

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 8:34 am

I don’t really think it’s a purely Jewish thing. I’m black and grew up non-Jewish. We used them all the time growing up and I use them now, as does every black person I know lol. Plastic forks and other utensils as well. The stores in my old neighborhood sell them, even the little bodegas LOL

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 8:38 am

etky wrote:

Not to mention the cost of them! If somebody uses them on a steady basis this come to a lot of money in the end.

ShishKabob

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 10:43 am

I know that it's not healthy, however, as a working mother of a large family, I have no other option. It's a huge help so prepare supper in a 9 x 13 and then throw it out. There are still other dishes to wash believe it or not.

ima_anon

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 10:47 am

I grew up not religious. Foil pans were for the Thanksgiving turkey and the occasional cake for a friend’s birthday or a pot luck. Everything else you had real dishes. Now I have a stack of foil pans I’m embarrassed to let my mother see.

mha3484

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 10:53 am

It is totally a frum thing. I grew up in a non frum home with a mother who was an excellent cook and cooked dinner most nights of the week. I remember paper goods and foil pans were used very sparingly. Usually for a party or something outdoors. She had a dishwasher and a small family so doing the dishes was not this huge time consuming task. I have the same amount of kids for now but no dish washer and I use paper plates pretty often and foil pans for freezing food or reheating food I cooked and want to keep warm until we eat the shabbos meal. I find that lining a real metal baking sheet with parchment paper makes for better tasting food with little mess.

I really dont like to put hot food on plastic plates so I usually stick to paper when possible.

gamanit

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 2:02 pm

I think another reason it's more popular by yidden is because if you have a small kitchen with milchig sink and fleishige sink there's no room for a dishwasher. A non-jew only needs one sink and one dishwasher. I do agree though that one major reason is because it's more common for most of the food to be home made. The non jewish families in my neighborhood that have working mothers have take out very frequently.

PinkFridge

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 2:55 pm

amother wrote:

Why? This is a random question I have been wondering about. I can't imagine my life without disposable aluminum pans. I use them for most things I stick in the oven. But for some reason, I find they are only available (at least in bulk, and cheaply) in Jewish stores. Target, Costco, etc. usually just have (very expensive) packs of a few 9x13 pans. Why is this convenience a Jewish thing? We have larger families? We cook more frequently? They're more environmentally conscious? I'd love to hear other opinions.

Last time I was in Costco - maybe a year ago? - they had reasonably priced 30 packs of 9x13 pans. But yeah, that was about it.

PinkFridge

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 2:57 pm

amother wrote:

I honestly don't feel guilty for a second Smile

Maybe it's not the best for the environment (or my pocket), but I am a big user of disposables. It's just very important for my sanity. I already have more than enough to do.

Re the environment: many of us live in smaller houses per person per square foot than many people do. Many of us do a lot of second hand shopping, whether clothes, furniture, etc. I don't feel guilty for the pans and disposable dishes. I do use non-disposable pans, etc., quite a lot, and what I do feel guilty for is not using more parchment paper, though I do it fairly often.

Raisin

Wed, Jun 27 2018, 4:49 pm

gamanit wrote:

I see many people with huge kitchens and 2 sinks and dishwashers who still use a ton of papergoods and foil pans. I have even heard of people who don't have a set of real dishes, or think its unhygenic to drink from a real cup they are so used to drinking from plastic or paper. I think frum people use lots of papergoods for a few reasons but the fact that its so cheap and easily available is a big one.

I cook a lot in bulk and in advance so its hard to avoid using foil pans. I also like getting the compostible plates when I can.