Currently, many kitchen tools have been invented to facilitate the work of the cook. In this article, we will focus on a pastry spatula, its varieties and features of choice.
Varieties
What is the difference between cooking spatulas and building analogs?
A pastry spatula or scraper is a tool that is designed to level and cut the cooking mass (dough, cream, etc.).
According to the material from which these devices are made, distinguish metal, wooden, silicone and plastic accessories.
Plastic tools can be made of soft or hard material.
Each species has its pros and cons. The strongest and most durable is considered steel spatula, but when using it to scrape off the rest of the dough from dishes or countertops, care must be taken.
Plastic and silicone tools may break if you press them hard while working. Wooden products with prolonged contact with the liquid may swell and break down when dried.
Spatula - universal accessory, they clean the dishes / table from pieces of adhering dough, level the cream layers on the cake or the dough in the form, divide the cooking mass into equal parts, etc. It is most convenient to have a separate tool for each similar operation that is optimally suited in shape and material.
For example, it is better to scrape off the adhered dough with a hard plastic spatula, and for smoothing the semi-liquid mass - cream or whipped cream - a soft plastic spatula is also suitable. For cutting dough, a stainless steel spatula is ideal - a sharp, stiff tool.
But cleaning dishes with a metal scraper is not practical: on enameled - and any other - dishes, it can leave ugly stripes, scratches and ruin the coating.
By size characteristics, the tools are divided into small, medium and large.
These accessories also differ in the nature of the cutting edge: it can be straight, wavy or with teeth, like a saw. To decorate the cake with straight grooves, it is advisable to use a notched trowel, to get a flat surface - a straight line.
The shape of the working surface can be distinguished rectangular (square), oval and semi-oval tools. There are also triangular and trapezoidal blades. Some models are equipped with handles (straight and curved) for ease of use, for example, for mixing semi-liquid dough.
For the convenience of cutting dough into identical pieces, spatulas with a dimensional ruler are also produced.
For baking thin pancakes came up with T-shaped spatula - pancake dispenser. It is a cylinder with a length of 15 to 28 cm on a long handle.
Such devices are most often made of wood and sold unassembled. But there are also plastic products.
Corner spatulas are called tools whose working surface is made with a bend. They can be used both for taking ready meals from dishes, and for decorating confectionery. For decor of sweet pastries, chocolate, marzipan or mastic are used with spatula-spatulas. The external form of such accessories is very similar to the trowel of the builder.
It should be noted that confectionery scrapers can be both unilateral (the most common option), and bilateral. There are also scraper knives.
How to choose?
First of all, the choice depends on what you need this accessory for. Of course, you can immediately purchase a whole collection of spatulas - for all occasions, and this is the best option for those who spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It is convenient and practical.
But what to do if you cannot afford such expenses, even if not very large? Or didn’t you find a set that suits your exacting taste? Or do you need one single tool for a certain operation?
There is only one way out - to determine the material, shape and type of the working edge of the product.
The most universal type of culinary spatula is considered to be a tool made of semi-soft plastic, semicircular in shape and with a smooth edge.
Well, if it is lined (with a ruler). With this product, you can clean the dishes from excess dough, and divide the culinary mass into equal parts, and smooth the surface of the dish, and after cooking - scrape off the adhered pieces from the working surface (table).
Before buying, hold the tool in your hands and figure out whether it will be convenient for you to use it. If the product did not fit your hand, look for another model.
Useful Tips
How to work with this culinary accessory?
Here is an example sequence of actions.
- Put the dough on a floured table. If it sticks strongly to your hands, fold it in half and sprinkle with flour. If the dough is suitable and non-sticky, you can do without it.
- Take a spatula in your hand. Do not squeeze it too much, it should lie comfortably in your hand, without muscle tension.
- You do not need to cut the dough at a right angle to the table, but slightly at an angle, and in the direction opposite to the bulk of the dough.
- Pressing the flour mass with a spatula should be easy, slightly increasing the pressure at the end when you cut it to the working surface of the table. Then push the cut piece to the side.
- The spatula should be in height more than a layer of dough for a couple of centimeters to cut through it immediately to the end. If the tool is smaller and does not cut through the dough completely, the dough begins to stretch and its structure is violated.
- All movements must be accurate and accurate.
- The working surface of the scraper should always be clean, otherwise dough particles will stick to it. Therefore, after each cut, inspect the tool and clean it as needed.
- After you make the pie (whites, pies, etc.), the scraper can be used to clean the countertops. The same rule applies here as when working with the test - do not apply too much force, otherwise, if you have a metal accessory, you can scratch the surface of the table, and the plastic one may simply break.
A video about the budget version of the set of a beginner confectioner and the necessary spatulas, see below.
