Cookoff: Zip 'N Steam vs. Parchment Bags

I'm all about convenience that doesn't sacrifice quality - and I think I've found it in a couple of fairly new products! 

So today - it's the Cookoff between Ziploc Zip 'N Steam and PaperChef.com's Parchment Bags!

First up - the gracious folks at PaperChef provided me with a huge box of Parchment goodies - I'll be making more things from these folks in the weeks to come. (giveaway coming for you too!) I had paper, muffin cups, bags and more to sample! I started with the bags since I had salmon and veges to bake.

Cost: 10 count of bags - $3.27 (not bad!)

The competitor - everybody knows their name - Ziploc! I bought these myself...

Cost: 10 count of bags - $3.19 (wow - again - not bad!)

The nice thing about the Ziploc version is really the quickness factor and the cooking instructions are on every bag. I have to say - that helped a lot! I was making salmon & asparagus for dinner - I didn't really feel comfortable microwaving $8 worth of salmon - so I just did the asparagus in the steam bag. 

I guess to be a true cookoff - I should have tried it! I just wasn't brave enough - salmon is expensive. 

Here's the salmon in the parchment bag. I just coated it with salt, pepper, rosemary and olive oil then laid the asparagus across the top. The bag was a little awkward to get the large piece of fish into - but there was ample room. You could have easily just cooked two bags so we could have each had our own.

And the after baking of the salmon & asparagus. I have to say - it was very appetizing! The parchment paper was a little crispy on the outside and I couldn't wait to dive in! The asparagus absorbed some of the olive oil and the salmon was cooked to perfection! I used the instructions on their website for time to cook salmon - I think it was 16 minutes.

Here was the Ziploc version of asparagus - steamed nicely and bright green. It was a little dry and next time I would add a touch of butter into the bag with the veggies.

Here's a pic of my healthy and delicious dinner! Steamed asparagus, wild rice and baked salmon. Deliciousness that I will be making again!!!

So - how about the cookoff? What did I think?

Ziploc - a little cheaper and more widely available, these bags were great with the instructions printed on every bag. I do think the veggies came out a little dry but would likely be better with a little butter added. The steaming is VERY quick in these as well.

PaperChef - very affordable - basically the same price and they are available at Kroger and Hy-Vee stores (Hy-Vee is my grocery store of choice back home in IA). I have to say I trust the parchment bags a little more with meat. Most likely - if I'm making fish again - I would use these.

So there you have it - an intro to two new products and real-life experience with both! Have you tried either? What did you think?

I can't wait to try cupcakes or muffins in the parchment cups! And when I do - you'll be able to enter a giveaway!