7 Unexpected Uses for Plastic Wrap

Plastic wrap is a kitchen essential, usually utilized to keep your leftovers fresh. But it’s a little-known fact that plastic wrap has some other handy uses that will take you by surprise!

1. Controlled Ripening

Fruit rarely does what you want it to do. If you like your bananas mushy and sweet, for instance, then you have to wait forever to get them to ripen. Conversely, if you hate mushy bananas, you might find they ripen too quickly for you. This happens because fruits like bananas, apples, and cantaloupes emit an ethylene gas that quickens ripening – and ripens fruits around them as well.

To prevent your whole fruit bowl from ripening too fast because of one bunch of bananas, wrap the offending fruits in plastic wrap. For example, if you wrap the stem of bananas with plastic wrap you can slow down this ripening process! On the other hand, if you have a fruit you need to ripen quickly, place that fruit in a bowl with a fruit that gives off ethylene gas and cover with plastic wrap to trap the gas and speed up the process.

2. Uncork Wine

We have all been here. You have a beautiful bottle of wine, ready to drink…and your wine has skunked because it was re-corked. What are you to do?! Never fear, plastic wrap has been found to take out the nasty chemical Trichloroanisole (this is also called cork taint – it won’t hurt you but it will make your wine taste gross) that ruins the taste of wine. Simply put plastic wrap at the bottom of a wine pitcher and swirl. The plastic wrap will absorb the chemicals and you can enjoy your fresh-tasting wine!

3. Cut It Out

Pies look ten times prettier with those lovely decorative dough cutouts on top. But those guys are hard to make without rough, jagged lines. Those don’t look so pretty. Take some plastic wrap, lay it loosely but smoothly over your chilled dough (make sure it’s chilled or the dough will stick to the wrap) and press down gently with a cutter. You’ll find beautiful, smooth lines to decorate your dessert with!
4. Stop Freezer Burn

There is nothing worse than going into the freezer to enjoy a bowl of ice cream and finding it covered it freezer burn. Gross. If you’re keeping ice cream long enough for it to crystallize in this way, just press some plastic wrap over the surface of your sweet treat and store as usual. The plastic creates a barrier against the cold, keeping the ice cream fresher and tasting better longer.
5. Poach a Perfect Egg

I’ll be the first one to say it: poaching eggs is hard. Mine never come out looking as beautiful as they do in cooking magazines. If you’re looking for a beautiful, fully contained poached egg, turn to plastic wrap. Push some plastic wrap down into ramekin, grease with cooking spray or butter, crack the egg into the dip of the wrap and twist the sides to seal the egg inside. Then simply drop the wrapped egg into some boiling water and pull it out five minutes later to enjoy your perfectly poached egg.
6. Prevent Shampoos From Leaking

Ever open up your suitcase after traveling just to find that all your toiletries have been covered in leaked shampoo or conditioner? Say goodbye to sticky makeup with this plastic wrap trick. Place a square of plastic wrap over the opening of your products before putting the cap on, creating a barrier that will keep everything contained as you travel.
7. Keep Wet Paint Fresh

Painting the living room can become a drawn out project when every day you have to re-use your cleaned paint brushes just to wash them at the end of the day. To save time and paint, wrap your wet paint brush tightly in plastic wrap to keep the paint fresh on the brush to be used the next day.