The Parchment Paper Tip For Super Easy Veggie Peel Clean-Up

Vegetables are an essential part of any well-rounded meal. They add plenty of nutrition and flavor, but with so many colors, they truly brighten up any dish, too. However, peeling those veggies can be time-consuming and leave you with an unexpected mess. They tend to fall everywhere, and you inevitably miss one peel that you probably find on the floor the next day. But if you have a sheet of parchment paper in your pantry, your life is about to get much easier. The next time you peel vegetables, place some parchment paper underneath.

The idea is that the parchment paper will help catch any peels that fall from your fruits or veggies. Then, once you're done peeling, all of the peels have landed on the paper — all you have to do is fold it up and throw them away. It cuts down on cleanup time and makes that one tedious aspect of veggie prep just a little easier.

The preparation leading up to a meal is sometimes more consuming than actually cooking it, so this hack is perfect if you're constantly peeling things like potatoes, carrots, or celery. And if you're concerned about waste, you can just reuse the paper for another messy kitchen prep project or simply purchase an eco-friendly version.

For safety, peel the vegetables with one end of the veggie in your hand and the other end on the parchment paper; don't peel the vegetable in your hands, or you could risk injuring yourself. If you don't have parchment paper, you can use a sheet of pretty much anything else; aluminum foil or plastic wrap would both work in this case. If you're looking for a way to reuse the aluminum foil, just place it on the bottom rack of your oven — you can leave it there to catch surprise spills.

While the veggie peeling tip comes in handy, it's not the only unexpected use for parchment paper. It's also perfect for freezing foods. If you want individual servings of something like chicken or burger patties but want to keep them all in the same freezer-safe container, just place a piece of parchment paper between them. This ensures they don't fuse together when they freeze, making it easy to grab just one serving and defrost it.

It's also a perfect base for any nonstick pan. Rather than worry about food sticking to your sheet pans, just place a layer of parchment paper on the pan, and bake the food on the parchment paper; it makes cleanup a breeze. You can use it for dough, too, such as when making pizza or homemade tortillas. The parchment paper prevents the rolling pin or tortilla press from sticking to the dough.