What The Paper In Your Pizza Box Is And Why It's In There

Even when pizza is bad, it's still pretty good. But one difference between good pizza and great pizza comes from that thin sheet of paper you may have seen in your pizza box. Chances are you've never really paid much attention to it — there's hot pizza to be scarfed, after all — but it's got a pretty important job to do.

This paper is called dry wax paper, and it's a fairly common fixture in most commercial kitchens. It looks and feels similar to parchment paper, but the two have very different jobs to do in the kitchen. In contrast to parchment paper, dry wax paper is treated with a paraffin wax that creates a moisture barrier for foods that have a high concentration of grease, like pizza. As pizza is typically delivered in cardboard boxes, having a thin layer between the residual pizza grease and the box itself makes for a less messy presentation. While the lack of dry wax paper in your pizza box doesn't necessarily warrant a major pizza red flag, seeing it is a sure sign of a considerate pizza vendor.

There are two main classifications of wax paper: dry and wet. Wet wax paper has a noticeable coating of wax on the outside and works best for cold foods like cold-cut sandwiches and raw or deli meats. But since the wax is on the outside, it could transfer to hot products. So if you're working with something hot, like a freshly grilled hot breakfast sandwich or a pizza hot out of the oven, dry wax paper is the way to go. Manufacturers force a food-safe paraffin wax into dry wax paper. That blocks moisture without the paper adding an unwanted waxy residue to your food. When you snag a slice of pizza from the box and it peels away with no fuss, that's dry wax paper doing its job.

That's a must when considering perfect pizza composition — there's nothing quite as heartbreaking as watching all the cheese stick to the cardboard and pull your toppings back into the box. Plus, grease-saturated pizza boxes can't be recycled. All that delicious fat has a tendency to wreak havoc on the paper recycling process. Wax paper isn't perfect, but it offers protection. So the next time you're enjoying a hot slice of pizza, take a moment to show some respect to that little sheet of grease-slick paper — it's got a big job to do.