Parchment paper safe??

[leahmn12]

There may be a more appropriate forum for this question, but I'll start here. So, I'm just baking some delicious organic, maple-sweetened, loaded with nuts gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, and as I'm plopping the batter onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet, I have to wonder, "What the heck IS parchment paper?" What makes it moisture and grease-proof? At close inspection, it looks like it must have some kind of plastic coating on it. A quick web search reveals nothing much more definitive than what I can observe for myself. Anybody know if this stuff is really safe to cook with?

[ollyoxenfree]

I've wondered the same thing myself. Without any research, I figured that there must be some kind of Teflon-like chemical involved, so I've reduced my use of Parchment quite a bit. 

Out of curiosity, I googled and found this: http://www.ifyoucare.com/Baking%20products.htm . It suggests that there are better parchment papers available.  

[mamadelbosque]

Thats the parchment paper I have (I also have their muffin wrappers) and it works great... but I still avoid using it unless I think its 100% neccasary. 

[cristeen]

Parchment is silicone embedded paper. I switched to silpats years ago because its less waste.

It all depends on how you feel about silicone. The subject has been discussed to death around here if you feel the need to read up on it.

[ollyoxenfree]

Originally Posted by cristeen 

Parchment is silicone embedded paper. I switched to silpats years ago because its less waste.

It all depends on how you feel about silicone. The subject has been discussed to death around here if you feel the need to read up on it.

Unfortunately, silpats don't fit in my cake tins  .  I have a couple of silpat sheets and I find strong flavours persist on them. 

According to my brief research this morning, (see the link I posted above), not all parchment paper use silicone. A lot of brands use quilon, which contains chrome, a heavy metal, and thus is a concern if it burns.