The Shower Cap Hack To Keep Food Covered When You're Out Of Plastic Wrap

Plastic wrap is useful for covering odd-shaped containers of leftovers that you don't have lids for before refrigerating. But, if you've run out of the stuff, we've got an ingenious hack to keep your food covered while it's chilling: Use a clean shower cap to create an elastic seal around your containers.

Shower caps mimic the features of disposable elastic food covers, which stretch over the mouths of open containers. The stretchy elastic that runs along the circumference of a shower cap forms a snug seal around bowls, cups, casserole dishes, baking tins, and pans that don't have lids. This means you can pop them over any shape or size of container to stop the food inside from drying out, becoming stale, or absorbing odors while in the fridge.

Unlike plastic lids that have a fixed shape, shower caps are flexible and can be used as a dome over bowls that are overflowing with heaping chunks of fruit or chopped veggies. This technique is also perfect for bread doughs that need a slow rise in the fridge overnight since you can put the shower cap directly over the bowl you've already used to knead the dough in, leaving the bread plenty of space to double in size.

Freshly made shortcrust pastry will develop an unwanted film on the surface if you leave it uncovered while it chills. Luckily, a shower cap will save the day when you've run out of plastic wrap but are craving the buttery crust of a homemade quiche lorraine. The key is to place your pastry inside the cap and fold one side of the elastic over the other to create a little hood that covers its entirety. Then place the whole thing seam-side down in the fridge to prevent any air from getting inside.

Alternatively, if you're refrigerating a slow-rising dough, like focaccia or pizza dough that you're saving for later, give it some extra space to rise. Put the dough on a plate or in a bowl and simply place the shower cap on top or tuck it under the circumference of the dish to create a little bubble for the dough to safely do its thing. Unlike plastic wrap that you'll likely discard after a single use, your shower cap can be reused as many times as you need. Simply wash and dry the cap between uses the same way you'd wash a reusable beeswax food wrap. It's convenient and better for the environment, too.