Ever wondered why one side of your tin foil is shiny? The answer may surprise you

It’s a household product you’ve probably used more times than you’ve had hot dinners, and in that time you’ve probably noticed that one side of it is different to the other.

Tin foil, in case you haven’t noticed, is shiny on one side and dull on the other.

It doesn’t make any odds when you’re wrapping it over a pot of tuna mayo, or swaddling a sandwich in it before sticking it in your kid’s lunchbox, but after a moment’s considering you might imagine there’s a good reason for the two sides of tin foil.

Pulling out some tin foil - Grace Cary via Getty Images

But tin foil is two-faced for no good reason.

No practical reason, anyway.

Both sides of the tin foil will do the same job. The slightly more reflective side might be better at bouncing heat back up onto whatever’s sat atop it in the oven, but ultimately it doesn’t matter.

The reason for the difference is all to do with how tin foil is manufactured.

Mike Mazza, marketing director at Reynolds Wrap in the US told Today.com: "Regardless of the side, both sides do the same job cooking, freezing and storing food. It makes no difference which side of the foil you use unless you're using Reynolds Wrap Non-Stick Aluminum Foil.

"The difference in appearance between dull and shiny is due to the foil manufacturing process.

"In the final rolling step, two layers of foil are passed through the rolling mill at the same time. The side coming in contact with the mill's highly polished steel rollers becomes shiny. The other side, not coming in contact with the heavy rollers, comes out with a dull or matte finish.

Tin foil can be used for all kinds of things - Matt Carr via Getty Images

“The ‘shiny’ side is the side milled without being in contact with another sheet of metal. The performance of the foil is the same, whichever side you use.”

So there you have it: sometimes the hack is that there is no hack. Both sides of the foil work in the same way.

Whether you prefer a shiny or dull pack of wrapped sandwiches is up to you.

That said, as Mazza plugged to Today.com, some manufacturers produce non-stick varieties of tin foil. If you purchase some, it’s likely only one side will be non-stick, so be sure to read the instructions and do as they recommend.