Shower Caps Are The Platter-Covering Life Hack Your Dinner Parties Need

When you're ready to put food out on the table before your dinner party begins, covering those plates before guests arrive is a prep step you can't skip. If you leave the food out without protection, you risk a lonely fly landing on your casserole or your blueberry pie growing stale in the open air. 

Instead of leaving your food out unprotected, you could fiddle with some plastic wrap over the plates, but this runs the risk of ruining the beautiful presentation of your dish in the process. You could always try using some sturdy plastic food containers to protect your food, but this just means more dishes. 

There are always better options out there, and we say scrap all those other ideas for this genius one: use a shower cap. That's right. Shower caps are the platter-covering life hack your dinner parties need.

Keeping food covered is essential —whether you're packing up the remnants from dinner or filling the table with appetizers. There are a million different food storage options, so what qualities are you supposed to look for when you're protecting your food? Well, there are probably a few go-to things you reach for when you want to seal up that leftover chicken.

Plastic wrap might be one of your first contenders, but it's notorious for being difficult to work with. Tin foil is another great option for keeping warm dishes warm. However, it often lacks the ability to guarantee freshness like other options with better sealing. If you don't wrap it quite right, air leaks out from gaps in the sides of your dish, so you have to give some extra time and attention to this method. Though Zip-lock bags are always in play, they might not easily fit around bigger plates. Food storage containers provide optimal sealing, but again, they require more time and dishes. Everything has a pro and con — but have you considered using your shower cap to protect your food?

It doesn't take long to realize the multi-functionality of a shower cap in the kitchen. It works much like a normal plastic bag, except it's so much easier to slip onto plates to keep food fresh. The elastic cap naturally stretches to fit the size of your dish, so you don't have to fiddle with tricky coverings like plastic wrap. And rather than having to scrounge up a plastic container for your leftovers, you can avoid the hassle of washing two dishes and just slip a shower cap over the plate. 

Functionality aside, shower caps can also save you money. For any frequent travelers out there, you can get shower caps for free anytime you stay at a hotel, then just wash and reuse them as much as you'd like. If you're not expecting a hotel stay anytime soon, shower caps are also super affordable at the store. 

Shower caps can be used to protect your appetizer on the way to a party, seal in freshness in your fridge, or help you prep for a dinner with friends. So give this easy kitchen hack a try (and check out some of our other crazy kitchen hacks that will save you time and money).