Bryan Sumner
So you have stumbled upon the wonderful world of cookie baking and decorating. You’ve acquired some great Cookie Cutters, and your collection is only getting bigger. Naturally you’re going to want to take proper care of these cutters. Many of our customers have inquired about caring for their cookie cutters. For this, we have decided to post some information that we hope will be helpful. Cookie cutters can be a great investment that will serve as great tools for you to make hundreds or even thousands of wonderful decorated cookies.
Generally, all cookie cutters should be hand washed. Here are a few suggestions and more specific information about each of the most commonly used cookie cutters:
Tin Cookie Cutters
Tin is the most common material for cookie cutters today. Tin is a relatively cheap material, and thus these cookie cutters are typically very accessible as far as cost goes. Tin is typically very bendable. Some may look at this as a downside to tin, but there are also some good points. For example, if you want to adjust the shape of your cookie cutter, this is done. Imagine wanting a surf board shaped cookie cutter in a hurry. Naturally you don’t have one, but you do have a football one. You can simply flatten the shape out until you’ve got your board. Hang Ten!
Also if a cookie cutter is bent in an undesirable way, it’s usually simple to fix it. When altering or fixing the form of a tin cookie cutter, use extra caution near the soldered joints so you do not damage them.
Tin cookie cutters need to be gently hand washed (avoiding abrasives), and dried quickly to avoid rust. If you are in a high-humidity area, it is even suggested that they be dried using a hairdryer, or they can be placed on a cookie sheet and dried in a slightly warm over (oven should be heated to a low temperature and then turned off before putting cookie cutters in.) Basically you’re just needing to get them dried quickly, and completely.
Avoid having the cookie cutters contact anything acidic, as the tinplate can wear down. As said before, tin cutters will bend easily, so store them with care. You can hang them on hooks, or store them loosely in drawers or bins. If you place them in any container like this, be careful when sorting through them or putting them away not to force the cookie cutters, as this can cause bending. Also, as the cookie cutters hit against each other they can damage the tinplate and thus cause rusting.
Copper Cookie Cutters
Copper Cookie Cutters are typically more expensive than any other cutter, just because copper is a more expensive material, but people love them for many reasons. First off they are often viewed as not just tools, but decorations or collectibles. Even if someone doesn’t decorate cookies, if they collect cow trinkets, they’re going to love showing off a classy cow copper cookie cutter. Also, when they are used as tools, they are significantly more strong than tin, and will keep their form much better. Finally, although copper does tarnish, it will not rust as easily as tin can.
Copper cookie cutters should also be hand washed and dried quickly and thoroughly. It is common for copper to tarnish and lose its luster after time. Some people actually prefer that look. If you want that luster restored, you can restore that new shiney look with things you probably have already in the house. Dip the cookie cutters briefly in a very diluted acid such as vinegar with baking soda or lemon juice, and rub off the tarnish with a rag. Rinse with warm water, wipe dry and your copper cookie cutters should be back to their original luster. If necessary, you can even polish with a very fine (#00 or #000) steel wool, but please be very mindful of anything you use to polish or clean with, as copper can scratch easily.
There are also a number of commercial products that clean and polish copper very effectively.
Copper cutters should be stored like tin cutters, either hung up or stored loosely in a drawer or bin.
Plastic Cookie Cutters
Plastic cookie cutters are easy to find, and usually the cheapest to buy. They’ll maintain their form well, and make for a wonderful all-around tool. You won’t be able to adjust the form at all, and you likely won’t be purchasing these as a decoration or keepsake. But for getting some cookies cut out and not worrying much about the storing, cleaning, and caring, they’re perfect.
As with the other cutters, plastic cookie cutters can be hand washed, but of course it’s not going to hurt to toss them in the dish washer. It is not as important to dry them right away because, naturally, they will not rust or tarnish. Keeping them away from a high heat source is critical so that they will not melt or warp. Keep this in mind when using a dish washer as smaller cutters can fall through the rack and end up on the heating element of your dish washer.
Plastic cookie cutters can be stored just about any way you want. Yes, they can warp and be damaged, but most of the time it’s pretty simple to keep them in great shape.
We hope this information has been helpful and that you will enjoy your cookie cutters for years to come.
About The Author:
This article was writen by Mike Summers of Karen’s Cookies. Mike and Karen have been working in the Cookie Decorating field for many years. Visit www.KarensCookies.net to learn more about cookie cutters and cookie decorating, including tutorials, videos, ideas, and links to many other cookie decorating resources.
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Tags: Cookie Cutters
Posted in Baking · August 10th, 2010 · Comments (0)
Blending frosting colors is an art. It takes practice plus a central comprehension of color. You will discover simply three main colors: red, blue and yellow. Secondary colors are mixtures of any 2 of the primaries. Green is a secondary color, that is yellow and blue mixed together, orange is red plus yellow mixed together and violet is red and blue. After which you’ll find tertiary colors. Which is a mixture of a secondary color for instance green, mixed that has a primary red, to generate brown.
This appears good on paper but how does it be valid to cake decorating? Cake Decorators purchase colors from the bottle! How many times has a client come in and asked, “Will you be able to match the colour of these plates? Napkins? School Team?” Being able to “read” a color and then match it requires a small amount of time to learn. But once its mastered, you can also make your cakes distinctive to your shop.
Most cake decorators have the experience of using certified colors. Which is, they are certified by the government for use in foodstuff. They are usually listed by their number such as Red 3, or Red 40.
If your Food Color are all new, the very first thing to undertake is open them. They usually employ a seal over the mouth. Remove the top and remove the seal (cardboard or else foil) entirely. Tear off the whole seal. Should you tear off just some of the seal, you may risk parts of the seal getting into the colors & frostings later on. This too helps to keep chunks of dye from sticking to the seal, then drying, & tipping into your icing. Now that that’s complete, go rinse your hands!
For those who really need to know about the colors, get a glass of water and place a drop of color into your water. Depending on the make and type of color, you’ll see where you’re starting, and better understand how to get to wherever you want to go. Super Red, Red Red, Red, what’s the large deal? They’re red, but are they yellow reds or blue reds? The water test will let you know. Perhaps you have tried to pick the correct shade of cherry lipstick? Or matched that candy apple red paint job on your car?
Not all black food color is identical also. They vary from brand to make. Your water examination may help here also. Will the black lose color to a pink or purple-y color? Or else will it lose color to a gray blue/green? If someone needs black icing, recommend chocolate with black dye added which means you don’t need to put in so much color. Or air brush the black onto your cake rather than trying to combine it throughout the icing.
I hope that this article has assisted with your knowledge of cake decorating food colors. For further details on Cake Decorating Supplies please visit our large Oasis cake decorating website.
Tags: cake decorating designs, cake decorating supplies, cake decorations, rolled fondant, Wilton cake decorating
Posted in Baking · June 29th, 2010 · Comments (0)