THE RELUCTANT GOURMET COOKING COMMUNITY

[LADawg]

Do you use Aluminum Foil? I would think that “Yes.” would be the answer 98% or more from those of you who bother to answer.
Here’s the tip. If your answer was yes then don’t buy those little rolls sold in super markets. Do yourself a favor. If you belong to a Sam’s Club, or some other outlet club, buy a big roll like the ones used in restaurant or instructional food services. If you are like me and don’t belong, then get a friend that is a member to pick you up a roll. If that doesn’t work maybe you know someone who owns a restaurants or works in one to get you a roll from one of the food services companies.
Granted, the roll, depending on it’s size (they come in 500, 750 and 1,000 square foot sizes), is going to cost somewhere between $25 and $50.There are two advantages to buying these large size rolls rather than the 30 square foot sizes sold in super markets. First you can use as much always use as much as you need, and not worry about using up a little roll. Second, you are going to save a lot of coins in the long run.
Example: Let’s say that a 30 square foot roll cost $2.95. That’s a cost of 9.83¢ a square foot. If a 500 square foot roll cost $30 then the cost is only 6¢ a square foot. Almost a savings of 40%.

[ninjabut]

I don't have room to store a monster like that!

[LADawg]

[ninjabut]

I'll have to give it a try, then.

[kell]

They have the plastic wrap also in the great big rolls. I'm pretty sure that is also a substantial savings over the store size. I need to find someone to get me one of those monster foil rolls!

[LADawg]

Kell, I saw in the local Piggly Wiggly in Foley that they had some Reynolds Foil in 300 Square Foot Rolls. Maybe one of the stores in Williston has them.

[kell]

Williston is having such difficulty dealing with the influx of people and families due to the boom right now, that it's just crazy. It's not their first rodeo, but the town got burned pretty badly back in the 70s - 80s boom. All this expansion was done to create housing, more businesses, added insfrastructure ... you know the drill. Then the boom fast went bust and Williston was left holding the bag for paying off all these improvements / additions / expansions. So to say that they are a bit gunshy now is an understatement! Oh ... where was I going with this??? I remember now ... foil ... shopping ... groceries ... right! Going back to my first statement, the stores are often woefully understocked for all the folks there now. You don't want to go grocery shopping after work because it's mostly cleared out. Restaurants have even had to close around dinner time because they run out of food! I know this is a learning experience for these businesses, but it gets to be kind of a pain for everyone who lives around here. There are literally tent cities in the city's parks still, at this time of year. They won't be able to do that much more than another month, max, I'm betting. It's sad ....reminds me very much of The Grapes of Wrath. I've been in the industry for thirteen years and have never seen folks like this. They are just so grateful to get a real job that takes them hundreds of miles away from their families; never mind trying to find a home around here so these they can move their families to be with them. Anyway, I certainly digress!! One of my specialties on a Saturday afternoon, I guess. Thanks Dawg, for the advice on checking out local stores. Another issue : We have Albertsons, Economart, and WalMart for grocery stores. Plus one meat market. Not a lot of choice. DH and I like to have a couple of glasses of wine and remember that once upon a time, Williston had seven Piggly Wiggly stores (we both grew up there) plus numerous other little neighborhood groceries. Anyhew ..... hope I didn't get too off topic here to make anyone upset. It's just kind of interesting to tell how things are so different here as compared to the rest of the country. And, LADawg, my corned beef in beef broth and beer smells phenomenal! Thanks and have a beautiful rest of the weekend!! (Excuse that I didn't make paragraphs, but mostly I type like I talk :D )

[ninjabut]

My sister showed me a new use for foil!
When tearing down ugly 80s paneling, only to find uglier 70s paneling, then to find outdoor SHINGLES in our 100YO cabin, we ended up with a bit of a gap between the wall and the floor. If we were to caulk it all, we would have had to use tons and tons of caulk, so we crunched up foil to fill most of the gap, then caulked over that saving trips to the hardware store and lots of $ on caulk!
It's not a cooking tip, but the ? was different ways to use foil! NT

[LADawg]

Wow! At first I though you were going to tell us you covered the wall with it. Happy to know that you only filled in holes............... :D :D :D

[Reluctant Gourmet]

Speaking of construction tips with kitchen items.......my contractor filled in any small gaps in the basement between floors and next to any pipes with soapless Brillo pad. Says the mice can't or won't eat through it.