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See why.The Best Plastic Wrap
Using plastic wrap can be an exercise in frustration. Could we find a stress-free version?
By Published June 1, 2018. Appears in Cook's Illustrated January/February 2005, Cook's Country TV Season 12: Aloha State Favorites
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What You Need To Know
We rely on plastic wrap to help store and freeze food and to perform certain kitchen tasks, such as pounding cutlets and making logs of cheese, cookie dough, or compound butter. But plastic wrap can be a pain to use: We've all cut ourselves on the dispensers' serrated blades, accidentally broken the boxes, or watched helplessly as the plastic wrap stuck to itself, preventing us from getting a neat, easy-to-use square of film.
We wanted to find a wrap that would cling tightly to different containers and also be easy to dispense and use. So we rounded up the seven top-selling plastic wraps (according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm), as well as a bulk food-service wrap that is available online. The products ranged in price from $1.30 to $4.19 per 100 square feet.
The Cling's the Thing
For many of us, the key characteristic of plastic wrap is its cling. To see how sticky the wraps were, we put 8 ounces of grapes in vessels of different materials (metal, glass, and plastic bowls and our favorite broiler-safe ceramic baking dish) and used a sheet of plastic to cover each container. Then we turned the containers upside down and shook them. All the wraps clung well to metal, glass, and ceramic. But the two products made by Saran refused to adhere to the plastic bowl, allowing grapes to spill out.
Wondering why these wraps had failed, we consulted Robert Heard, teaching professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He explained that all plastic wraps are made from one of two basic types of materials: polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene. Each wrap gets its cling not from these base materials, but rather from proprietary adhesives that manufacturers add. The composition of each adhesive determines how well the wrap sticks to specific materials, so an adhesive that clings tightly to glass might not do as well with plastic. We preferred products that clung well to all the materials we tested.
Thicker Wraps Are More Durable
We also examined how well the wraps resealed, using one sheet to seal and reseal a glass bowl of grapes 10 times, shaking the bowl after every attempt. All the wraps were capable of resealing each time—as long as there was enough material left. Upon restretching, some wraps tore at the edges, giving us less and less material to work with. Thinner wraps bent out of shape easily and sometimes ripped right down the middle as we tugged them, forming holes that allowed the grapes to escape. We had the wraps measured by an independent lab and found that those that tore more easily were less than 0.5 millimeters thick. The other wraps were more durable, resisting te...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Cling: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Wrap Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Dispenser Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
This ultraclingy wrap was the thickest in the lineup, making it strong, resilient, and nearly impossible to rip or puncture. At an unusual 15 inches wide, it was the only consumer-grade product that could cover our large cutting board with a single sheet, though it was great for smaller jobs as well. And we liked its durable dispenser, which came with both a serrated blade and a slide cutter. While the blade worked just fine, the slide cutter was a revelation: It takes just a second to attach and makes it a breeze to produce smooth, perfectly sized sheets.
Recommended
- Cling: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Wrap Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Dispenser Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
Made by the same company as our winner, this wrap was just as clingy, sticking to containers of every type with equal tenacity. It comes in a more standard 12-inch width, which was fine for most jobs, though a little less efficient for larger tasks. And it's thinner, so it isn't quite as durable as our winner. It's sold with either a serrated blade or a slide cutter. We tested both and preferred the latter, which makes the product slightly easier to use and limits the damage wrought on the dispenser.
Recommended with reservations
- Cling: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2 stars out of 3.
- Wrap Durability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Dispenser Durability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This commercial plastic wrap, purchased online, was very clingy, and because it was so wide, it excelled at larger tasks. Testers loved its slide cutter, which cleanly severed perfect sheets every time. But its top flap didn't always stay put inside the box, popping up annoyingly when we unrolled the wrap and getting a bit battered over time. And it's one of the thinnest wraps, so it stretched and tore fairly easily. Finally, buying 3,000 square feet of wrap is a commitment—both to the product itself and to the space you'll need to store it for the decade before you run out.
- Cling: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1 stars out of 3.
- Wrap Durability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Dispenser Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
This wrap clung tightly to containers of every type, and its thickness made it fairly durable; its average width meant we needed an extra pass to wrap baking sheets and cover cutting boards. Its serrated blade was located on a flimsy interior flap that bulged and strained every time we used it, making it hard to get a cleanly severed sheet. By the end of testing, the box had bent out of shape a bit. In addition, the wrap's blue shade makes it more difficult to monitor the color of food—a disconcerting issue if you're concerned about spoilage.
- Cling: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Wrap Durability: 1 stars out of 3.
- Dispenser Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
Reformulated since we last tested, our former winner was very clingy—but had little else going for it. The thinnest wrap in our lineup, it strained and tore easily, allowing grapes to fall out after we'd sealed and resealed a bowl full of them six times. It had a flap-mounted serrated blade that made it hard to dispense the wrap neatly; over time, the weak flap got slightly bent out of shape. Finally, at just 11.6 inches wide, it was one of the narrowest wraps we tested, requiring a little more product to provide adequate coverage.
Not Recommended
- Cling: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 0.5 stars out of 3.
- Wrap Durability: 3 stars out of 3.
- Dispenser Durability: 0.5 stars out of 3.
This standard-width wrap seemed thick and durable, and its one sticky side clung resolutely to containers of all types. But it left a disconcerting gluey residue on some of the surfaces it touched, and testers disliked its translucent, textured finish, which made it impossible to see the food underneath. Worst, its dispenser was the hardest to use. Mounted on a weak flap, its dull plastic serrated blade mangled the wrap instead of cutting it cleanly; after dispensing just 50 sheets, the blade had partially detached from the box, becoming nearly useless.
- Cling: 1 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Wrap Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
- Dispenser Durability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This standard-size wrap was on the thinner side, so it strained and tore readily and thus performed poorly on our resealing test. And while its serrated blade was fixed on a box edge, it was on the bottom of the box, so we had to hold the whole thing in the air to dispense a sheet—an annoying position to assume if you prefer to cover a container directly before tearing the wrap. The box also sustained a little wear and tear over the course of testing. But the biggest problem? It was one of two wraps that just wouldn't stick to our plastic bowl.
- Cling: 1 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 0.5 stars out of 3.
- Wrap Durability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Dispenser Durability: 2 stars out of 3.
This wrap was pretty thick, so it was relatively durable, resisting tears and punctures well. But the good news ends there. Its serrated blade was mounted on an interior flap, which bulged under the strain of tearing and got bent out of shape, preventing us from getting a cleanly cut sheet and creating waste. At just 11.6 inches wide, it was one of the narrowest wraps we tested, requiring a little more product to provide adequate coverage. Finally, like its less expensive sibling, this wrap refused to stick to our plastic bowl.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
Miye Bromberg
Miye is a senior editor for ATK Reviews. She covers booze, blades, and gadgets of questionable value.
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