Foiled Again

The emergence of tin as a viable metal dates back to about 3500 B.C. with the discovery of bronze, an alloy of tin and copper. Skipping ahead about a “bazillion” years, pure tin became more widespread, leading to the eventual invention of tin foil. Hammering tin into thin sheets started in the late 18th century. By the mid-19th century, tin foil was commercially produced and used as a wrapping material. One major concern for foods wrapped in tin foil was the 'tin taste" that was sometimes present. The early uses of tin foil were not limited to food preservation. Due to its reflective properties, it was also utilized in various scientific experiments and early photography.

A shift from tin to aluminum started due to aluminum's non-corrosive properties, lower cost, and better performance. The breakthrough moment was in 1910 when the first aluminium foil rolling plant, Dr. Lauber, Neher & Cie, was opened in Emmishofen, Switzerland. In 1911, Bern-based Tobler began wrapping its chocolate bars in aluminium foil, including the unique triangular chocolate bar, Toblerone. The first use of foil in the United States was in 1913 for wrapping Life Savers, candy bars, and gum.

Reynolds Metals Company—acquired by Alcoa in 2000—has a long history in the aluminum industry, dating back to Richard S. Reynolds, who founded the U.S. Foil Company in 1919 in Louisville, Kentucky. Initially, the company produced tin foil for cigarette packaging, but it switched to aluminum foil in the 1920s when the price of aluminum dropped. In 1926, Reynolds began using aluminum foil as a packaging material for the first time. The company expanded into various aluminum products, including aluminum siding, which it pioneered in 1945.

Note: Aluminum Foil is shiny on one side when two sheets of aluminum foil are passed through the rollers during the final rolling process. The side in contact with the highly polished steel rollers results in a shiny surface, while the other side produces a matte finish. Despite the "old wives tales," it makes no difference whether you wrap or cover food while baking with the shiny side up. Today, approximately three-quarters of aluminum foil is used for packaging of foods, cosmetics, and chemical products, and the remaining quarter is used for industrial applications such as thermal insulation and electrical cables.

The above advertisement is from the early 1950s