Tinfoil, Shiny Side Inside or Outside?

I would say that while cooking, say, in an oven. The shiny side will reflect light, but not heat. Aluminum is an excellent conductor. Either side will conduct heat to the food.

It doesn't matter which side is out.

Mythbuster.

From that Wiki article:

Aluminium foil has a shiny side and a matte side. The shiny side is produced when the aluminium is rolled during the final pass. It is difficult to produce rollers with a gap fine enough to cope with the foil gauge, therefore, for the final pass, two sheets are rolled at the same time, doubling the thickness of the gauge at entry to the rollers. When the sheets are later separated, the inside surface is dull, and the outside surface is shiny. This difference in the finish has led to the perception that favouring a side has an effect when cooking. While many believe that the different properties keep heat out when wrapped with the matte finish facing out, and keep heat in with the matte finish facing inwards, the actual difference is imperceptible without instrumentation.

Reynolds, down in Richmond, did the test some years back. You can measure a slight difference, but the difference changes depending on whether the food is in contact with the foil.

A GA to ya!

Thanks TVP45,

It's so interesting that the answers to such simple questions that you wonder about from time to time (but never took the time to look for) are revealed through this forum.

CR4 rocks! _{(I'm 54)}

Too bad the OP hasn't been back. We have a definitive answer here!

GA. A very wise answer.

Thank you,

I was going to tell you that you should have told him to act like a man and tell her how it should be done, _{but my wife said I couldn't}.

You could just fold the tinfoil over, matt inside and shiny outside, just as it is made. Then when you wrap your food, it will be shiny inside and outside, and everyone will be happy (except for those that insist it should be matt!).

I don't think it matters when cooking, but for hats you definitely want to keep the shiny side out for maximum reflectivity and protection.

Hi, Thanks for all the inputs, Now, armed with all this info I can go to put it to bed once and for all Cheers.