I have two problems with my kitchen, these days. One, I started using a pour-over coffee maker with a reusable filter and two, I have tried to cut out paper towels . These things may seem like good steps to take to be more sustainable, but there are times when you need a paper towel , and instead, I have a bunch of leftover coffee filters. That's why a brilliant hack shared by @progressive_hedonist (aka Dana Cowin, former editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine) on Instagram is exactly what I needed to see.
According to Cowin, she's gone the route of "no paper towels," which is a movement that many people are joining in an effort to limit their paper consumption. She also ran into the same problem I've found, though—sometimes only a paper towel will do the job. Enter coffee filters.
Related: The Supersmart Kitchen Sponge Trick We Wish We’d Known About Sooner
How to Use Coffee Filters Instead of Paper Towels
"For the rare times that I need something that absorbs like a paper towel, and a kitchen towel won’t do... unbleached paper coffee filters," Dana wrote in the caption to her Instagram post. She said she tried it on steak and "I dare say the coffee filters worked BETTER than paper towels. Anyone else want to test it out?"
Me! I do! And so I did. I do have a ton of coffee filters just sitting around, so when I made some fried chicken I used a coffee filter to blot the chicken dry before coating it, just like you would with a paper towel, and it did work really well. It seemed to absorb more and it didn't stick to the chicken at all.
"Love it! Those unbleached coffee filters are good for lots of needs...," someone commented on the Instagram post. We are thinking of more possibilities, now!
"I switched out my paper filters for a gold filter AND removed paper towels in the house. I not only help the planet, but what a huge savings!" another person commented, and I totally agree with this. Still, it's nice to have something to do with those leftover coffee filters and I love having a solution for those times a paper towel is just necessary.
"I do this. Not because I think I’m a genius, but because I don’t wanna spend extra money on paper towels," another person joked. We'd argue that saving money is a genius move!
Up Next:
Related: The Clever Ziploc Bag Trick We Wish We’d Known About Sooner
Local News
