Wrapping food before introducing it to heat is almost as ancient as cooking itself. Traditional peoples to this day surround pieces of food with all sorts of things to tenderize them and to protect them from burning. Native Americans baked fish, small animals, and birds in clay.
The wrapping you choose to work with will affect the finished food in several ways. Leaves add their own flavor to almost everythingΓÇöwhether it is the meat and rice mixture for stuffed cabbage or a whole brook trout; parchment and aluminum foil do not contribute flavor. Another consideration is the cooking method.
