The juices of the meat, fish or shellfish mingle with the herbs and added vegetables for a rich burst of flavor. The cooking packets are most often individual servings. Single-serving packets cut down on cooking time, make the packets easier to handle when steamy hot and make a wonderful presentation on each serving plate. Vegetables side dishes can be cooked in individual or larger packets, making a perfect accompaniment to grilled or roasted meats or fish. The Reynolds Metals Co. recently introduced large foil cooking bags that are ready to fill, seal and cook in the oven or on the grill.
Parchment paper has a long history in the restaurant business and was once only available to chefs.
It also can be used to line baking pans and cookie sheets to aid in removing baked goods without sticking. Check your grocery store, gourmet equipment store or kitchen mail-order sources. Heavy-duty aluminum foil can be substituted for parchment in most recipes. The biggest difference is that foil packets are truly air-tight, developing more liquids inside the packet. With parchment there is some interchange of steam and moisture, causing a subtle reduction of the interior juices.