Covering bowls and leftovers without cling film: three solutions that work

The dinner leftovers are heading for the fridge, and out of old habit your hand reaches for the roll of cling film. But the job, keeping the food fresh and the fridge free of odours, can be done at least as well without single-use plastic. Here are three solutions, and an honest assessment of each.

Why cover the leftovers at all?

Uncovered food in the fridge dries out within a day. The air in the fridge is dry, and the fan draws moisture out of everything left open: the rice goes hard, the sauce forms a skin, and the salad wilts.

At the same time, smells travel both ways. The onion stew lends its flavour to the dessert beside it, and the fridge puts its own unmistakable taste on anything left uncovered long enough.

A lid solves both. The only question is what kind of lid, and there single-use film has been allowed to dominate for far too long.

Three solutions without cling film

In practice most people end up with a combination: boxes for soups and sauces, the plate in a hurry, and beeswax wrap for everything already sitting in a bowl or on a dish that just needs a lid.

How to cover a bowl with beeswax wrap

1. 1
   Choose a sheet larger than the bowl

   The sheet should stick out a few centimetres beyond the rim all the way round, so you have something to press down along the side.

2. 2
   Warm the sheet between your hands

   Ten to twenty seconds is enough. The warmth of your hands softens the wax, and the sheet becomes mouldable.

3. 3
   Lay the sheet over and press along the rim

   Shape it down around the side of the bowl with both hands, like a lid that follows the shape.

4. 4
   Hold for a few seconds

   As the wax cools, the sheet clings by itself and stays put until you pull it off.

A practical tip: the sheet clings best to glass, ceramic and metal. On completely smooth plastic bowls the wax gets a poorer grip, and then the plate trick or a box is better.

The habit that makes the switch stick

The reason cling film wins in everyday life is that it sits where your hand lands. Do the same with the sheets: keep them in the drawer where the film used to be, or in an open basket by the bowls. When the reusable option is just as easy to grab, the single-use plastic disappears of its own accord.

Wash the sheet cold as soon as you empty the bowl, hang it up to dry, and put it back. Then it is always ready for the next dinner, and the roll in the drawer stays untouched for the few jobs it is still best at.

Leftovers do not last forever, whatever the lid

A breathable lid does not make leftovers immortal. Chill the food as soon as the steam has settled, use the leftovers within a few days, and trust your nose and eyes: they are still the kitchen's best tools.

Cheese, by the way, has its own guide: storing cheese without plastic. And everything else the sheets can be used for, from fruit to packed lunches, is in the guide to using beeswax wraps.

When cling film is still the right choice

Raw meat and raw fish require washing in hot water afterwards, and beeswax wrap cannot take that. The same goes for marinating in the fridge and food that will sit in the freezer for many months: there, airtight boxes or film do the job better and more safely.

The point is not to go completely plastic-free overnight, but to stop using single-use plastic where a reusable sheet does the job just as well. And that is most bowls, most days. You will find more such swaps in the guide to a kitchen with less plastic.

Frequently asked questions