Of those types who leave the little foil on
Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: why do you leave the plastic film on.
I am absolutely for a world with less plastic, but if there is one thing I can understand, it is that manufacturers stretch a plastic sheet over their product to protect it from leaks and keep it fresh longer. After all, it is also a form of sustainability. And hygiene, also very important, especially now.
From ‘nice and tight’ to ‘dirty flab’
What I absolutely do not understand is that people at home (and worse: at work) pull that sheet off just before the end. To dig into the product with their knife – let's conveniently imagine a container of hummus – spread it on their bread, and then drape that previously so neatly tight plastic sheet back over the container, put the lid on, and leave it like that.
Why, tell me why?
Can someone tell me what the point of that is? Because unless it is to treat the person after you to a little game of ‘fishing plastic out of your hummus’ followed by ‘dirty fingers and a hummus smear on the table’, I really have no idea.
Yes, well, one idea: laziness. Too lazy to pull the plastic off in one go and throw it in the trash. Too lazy to realize that you are leaving that for the person after you, for whom you are making it an even dirtier and more difficult task.
Or am I missing something and does it serve a real purpose?
The Nutella struggle
Now there is one foil that I somewhat understand that you really don't want to deal with. It takes so much effort to open properly that you are just happy to get your knife (or spoon) into the jar, and the leftover foil is of no concern to you. I'm of course talking about the foil on the Nutella jar.
Their golden seal without a lip (?!) is a torture. If you don't grip it well, you only pull off the gold and a paper-like film remains. And even if you do have a good grip, it is almost impossible to pull it off in one go. Result: a battlefield full of holes and pieces of foil with Nutella schmutz.
Not fun, but fixable. How? With a sharp knife: cut neatly along the edges, as if you are using a can opener. By the way, you can also do it with your nails, but in an office/housemate/current corona setting, I wouldn't really recommend that.
Don't be lazy, throw it away
Long first-world-problem story short: don't be lazy, throw that plastic sheet away immediately. Also that of the Nutella. It takes a little more effort, but it will make the world a nicer place.
