In the middle of prepping the food for a wedding we were catering in the kitchen, my mother and I sent my husband to the store in search of some plastic wrap to cover some of the trays we were getting ready. He returned with a roll of Saran Wrap and my mother and I let out a collective groan.
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” my husband asked us in bewilderment.
We proceeded to explain to him that there’s a big difference in the quality of plastic wrap and its performance in the kitchen.
Saran Wrap and other plastic wrap on the market is flimsy, difficult to unwrap if it folds over itself, and can be hard to tear off of the roll. Aluminum foil works well with wooden and plastic containers, but does not form an air-tight seal to keep out contaminants, tears easily, and is not microwaveable. Glad’s Press ‘N Seal product adheres well initially to a variety of materials but it is difficult to tell some green beans from the asparagus through the frosted film.
Enter the superhero of leftovers everywhere – Stretch-Tite plastic wrap!
The caterers in the kitchen swoon, “We’ll never use another plastic wrap product again!”
Long before Glad’s Press and Seal wrap came out this wrap offered a tight seal on whatever you wanted to wrap up or cover. Stretch-Tite plastic wrap always clings tightly to the glass containers I typically use in the kitchen. I am even able to stack lightweight items on top of bowls covered with Stretch-Tite in my fridge which allows me to cram more stuff into my fridge and use my space more efficiently. I even put it down on my countertops to wrap up items and it stays in place because it clings so well when other lesser quality plastic wraps would flutter away with a passing breeze or air currents in your home. In comparison, Saran Wrap has a very loose “cling” or grip on containers which makes spills and accidents more likely as liquids slosh around or chunks of food escape if the container is tilted.
It has some give in the material so it stretches to cover or wrap the entire area even if you’ve been known to have poor spatial visual capabilities like me and rip off the plastic wrap just a little shy of what you actually need. You can stretch it out straight over the item you want to cover or tuck it down against pudding to prevent film from forming on the top of it (or other similar items).
Stretch-Tite plastic wrap is also great because it is very sturdy – it holds up better than Saran Wrap and other brands of plastic wrap because it seems to be a little thicker or firmer. For these same reasons it also tears easily off of the roll. Saran Wrap and store brand cling wraps sometimes take a little extra effort to tear because they are flimsier and seem to have more static cling. Saran Wrap usually flutters around so the wrap gets twisted before I can actually get it on the item I’m trying to cover. Stretch-Tite flutters less and is easier to separate when it does stick to itself.
Like most super heroes – Stretch-Tite plastic wrap does have a weakness. The kryptonite of Stretch-Tite is that it can be more challenging to find in the local grocery stores for some people. It’s not that it has an alter ego, Stretch-Tite is just not as well known as some other brands are. For a while I was unable to find it at any of the various local chain grocery stores where I live. The online giant shopping store Amazon.com did carry Stretch-Tite by a private seller, but they no longer carry the item. It is typically backordered at Amazon.com too so if you do order from them, make sure you reorder far in advance of when you think you will actually need your plastic wrap. For a while when I was unable to find it anywhere locally and Amazon.com did not have it either I actually started having a friend who lived several hundred miles away and was lucky enough to have it in her local grocery store, ship me rolls of Stretch-Tite plastic wrap. The truly fortunate are able to find the wonder plastic wrap in bulk at Costco (but whether or not they carry it will depend on the buyer for your region and wharehouse stores do not carry all products on a consist basis). Lucky for us we can now order it any time directly from the company at https://www.stretchtite.com/order.htm . The best part is that Stretch-Tite wrap costs less than Saran Wrap and other plastic wrap alternatives.
Now my husband knows better — Stretch-Tite is really an essential kitchen tool.
