For me, planet earth is my real home. I am a citizen of the world, and I always strive to make this earth a better place. When I am traveling, buying stuff, or working in the kitchen, I make sure that my activities don’t pollute the surroundings. You will be surprised to know that a major portion of garbage comes from the kitchens. If you have a family of 4-5 adults, you will likely be producing around 5-6 liters of waste daily. And, if you bake frequently, you would be using a lot of things that are not eco-friendly. So, today, I am going to discuss some of the best sustainable baking products with you.
I use these products whenever I plan to bake something. These sustainable baking products help me keep the kitchen budget low and produce zero waste food. Trust me; you are going to love all of them. Going towards a green and eco-friendly kitchen is not only your responsibility but also the need for time.
Best Sustainable Baking Products
1. Silicone Baking Cups
Cupcakes are like the first step on the baking staircase. I always use them to say thank you to someone, as housewarming gifts, birthday treats for someone special, and for revered occasions. Apart from special occasions, I make cupcakes for my kids quite frequently. Cupcakes are loved by people of all ages alike.
If you have been using paper or foil cases for cupcakes, it’s time you consider the silicone baking cups. They can be reused and reduce the waste products drastically. The silicone cup cases are colorful, handy, and economical in the long run. You can get them in a variety of colors. These colors compliment the texture of cupcakes. For example, you can use pink cases for strawberry cupcakes, yellow for mango and orange cupcakes, and white for vanilla cupcakes.
2. Compostable Trash Bags
While working in the kitchen, you are always throwing in something in the trash can or trash bags. If you want to keep things good for your environment, use compostable trash bags. The best thing about these bags is that they are biodegradable and will compost in your composting bins. These bags are odorless and environmentally sustainable.
3. Jars
You need jars for countless things in the kitchen. Let it be storing dry ingredients, puree, jams, ketchup, jellies, butter, wedding favors, or baby foods. If you use plastic zippers, they are not environment friendly, plus they are also difficult to remove from frozen things. Jars, however, are easy to use, can be used again and again, are airtight, and can be washed in a dishwasher. We agree that jars need more space in refrigerators, cupboards, and kitchen counters, but they keep things organized in the kitchen.
4. Cotton Rags
When we are talking about making your kitchen eco-friendly, we can never ignore the use of one-time paper towels. These paper towels are not environment friendly and add to the overall waste of your home. To solve this problem, you can use cotton rags. The cotton rags are reusable after being washed with water. Some people raise questions about its use because it is washed by water. Yes, we agree that some water is wasted while washing cotton rags, but its total impact on the environment is lesser than using one-time paper towels and rags for baking and cooking.
5. Recycled Packaging
If you sell your baked items, you will need packaging. Depending upon the size of your business, you may need a lot of it. You may be using containers like cake tubs and tins, but they are not suitable for every product. Sometimes you need recyclable packing materials for your baked items.
6. Reusable Piping Bags
Piping bags are the key to creating swirls on top of cupcakes, cakes, and other baked items. Piping bags give us precision, design, and that perfect baker’s touch. However, a piping bag is like any other throw-away plastic for many of us. If you are inclined towards reducing your baking waste, consider using reusable piping bags. These bags are safe and healthy and made with food-grade materials. You get 6 different icing tips, 6 piping bags, and 6 frosting bag tips.
The reusable piping bags eliminate the need to repeatedly buy expensive one-time bags. Don’t worry about cleaning the reusable piping bags; they are easy to wash by just squeezing and washing with tap water. One of the best things about these bags is that they are easy to store when not used. The convenient hook design makes them easy to dry and hang after washing or when not being used.
7. Bee Wraps
For a real, sustainable baking and cooking experience, it is time to say goodbye to the cling film and plastic wraps. We have the perfect eco-friendly alternative for you. Beeswax-coated cotton sheets can be used to keep the food fresh and avoid dryness. The bee wraps are perfect for keeping smells and odors away from the stored food. The bee wraps can be washed and used again and again without any issues. We agree that they are a bit pricy, but you can use them repeatedly. So that covers up the high price tag issue. The wraps are made with organic cotton, sustainable beeswax, jojoba oil, and tree resin. This product is Green America certified. You can use it without any worries.
8. Silicone Bowl Covers
Another alternative for bee wraps is a silicone bowl cover. However, silicone bowl covers are not freestyle like bee wraps. They come in a circular or rectangular shape. The rectangular and round combination makes the silicone bowl covers perfect for containers such as bowls, dishes, cans, cups, glassware, small pots, squares, and rectangular containers. These covers are also perfect for half-cut fruits like watermelon, papaya, lemons, onions, pineapple, etc.
One of the best things about these covers is freezer, microwave, and dishwasher safe. The six grips points ensure that the covers don’t slip from the containers. With such a strong grip, the silicone covers keep the food fresh for way more time than the plastic wraps. All the materials used in the making are BPA-free and approved by relevant authorities.
9. Reusable Baking Mats
To make your kitchen green, it is time to say goodbye to grease-proof baking paper. It is a blessing to have grease-proof paper because it gives not sticky baking. However, when you have to use so many rolls and sheets and throw them away, you are not positively impacting the environment.
A sustainable and reusable alternative is available and is becoming famous day by day. The silicone baking mats are perfect for lining baking trays and baking pans before placing them in the oven. You can simply wash them after baking and use them again at your convenience. They are a perfect replacement for parchment paper, aluminum foil, and non-stick sprays. With the help of reusable silicone baking mats, you can effectively cut down your spending on baking sheets.
10. Recyclable Parchment Paper and Tin Foil
Some recipes exclusively call for parchment paper and tin foil. For such times, you can use silicone baking mats. Luckily for you, we have parchment paper and aluminum foil with minimum impact on the environment. The parchment paper is compostable, and aluminum foil is recyclable. You can use both of these baking products without any issues.
11. Glass and Steel Containers
It is time to say goodbye to plastic in your kitchen as well. Steel and glass containers are more user-friendly than plastic. They are easy to clean, don’t absorb odors, and don’t become a breeding ground for germs. They are perfect for storing leftover dough, frosting, fudge, cookies, and other ingredients. When you are not baking, these boxes come in handy as lunchboxes, food storage boxes, and many other purposes.
Final Words
We have listed some of the baking products a baker may use. We cannot list everything a kitchen needs. However, we can suggest to you how to keep your kitchen eco-friendly with some simple tips. It is best to go with metal things for your kitchen instead of plastic. Silicone is way better than plastic as well because it can be recycled. If you can’t find your required stuff in metal or silicone, make sure you go with food grade or recyclable plastic. Another benefit of metal is that it lasts a lot longer than plastic. Another way to reduce plastic waste in your kitchen is to buy ingredients in bulk. This is best for large households.
