At present, many kitchen tools have been invented to facilitate the work of the cook. This article focuses on the confectionery spatula, its varieties and features of choice.
Varieties
What is the difference between culinary spatulas and building analogues?
Confectionery spatula or scraper is a tool that is intended for leveling and cutting the culinary mass (dough, cream, etc.).
According to the material from which these devices are made, there are metal, wooden, silicone and plastic accessories.
Plastic tools can be made of soft or hard material.
Each type has its pros and cons. Considered the most durable and durable steel trowel, but when applying it to scrape away residual dough from dishes or countertops, care must be taken.
Plastic and silicone tools may break if you press hard on them when working. Wood products may be swollen and split when dried for prolonged contact with liquid.
Spatula - Universal Accessorythey are cleared of the dishes / table from the stuck dough pieces, level the cream layers on the cake or dough in the form, divide the culinary mass into equal parts, etc. It is most convenient to have for each such operation a separate tool optimally suitable in form and material.
For example, it is better to scrape the sticky dough with a hard plastic spatula, and a soft plastic shovel is suitable for leveling the semi-liquid mass - cream or whipped cream. For cutting dough, a stainless steel spatula is ideal - a sharp, stiff tool.
But to clean the dishes with a metal scraper is impractical: on the enamel - and any other - it can leave ugly strips and scratches and spoil the coating.
According to the dimensional characteristics of the tools are divided into small, medium and large.
These accessories are also distinguished by the nature of the cutting edge: it can be straight, wavy or with teeth, like a saw. For decorating the cake with straight grooves, it is advisable to use a notched trowel, to get a flat surface - straight.
The shape of the working surface can be distinguished. rectangular (square), oval and semi-oval tools. There are also triangular and trapezoidal shoulder blades. Some models provide handles (straight and curved) for ease of use, for example, for mixing semi-liquid dough.
For the convenience of cutting the dough into identical pieces, spatulas with a size ruler are also produced.
For baking thin pancakes came up 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.
Angular spatulas called tools, the working surface of which is made with a bend. They can be used both for taking out ready-made dishes from dishes and for decorating pastries. For the decoration of sweet baking chocolate, marzipan or mastic use palette-knife blades. The external shape of such accessories is very similar to the builder’s trowel.
It should be noted that pastry scrapers can be either one-sided (the most common option) or bilateral. There are also knives, scrapers.
How to choose?
The first choice depends on what you need this accessory. 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 if you can not afford such expenses, even if they are not very big? Or did you not find a set on sale that suits your exacting taste? Or do you need a single tool for a specific operation?
Only one way out - to determine the material, shape and type of working edge of the product.
The most universal type of culinary spatula is considered to be a tool of semi-soft plastic, semi-circular shape and with a smooth edge.
Well, if it is lined (with a ruler). This product can be used to clean the dishes from the excess dough, and divide the cooking mass into equal shares, and flatten 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 have to hand, look for another model.
Useful tips
How to work with this culinary accessory?
Here is an approximate 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 has a suitable consistency and is non-sticky, you can do without it.
- Take the spatula in your hand. Do not squeeze it too much, it should be comfortable in the hand, without straining the muscles.
- Cutting the dough should not be at a right angle to the table, but slightly tilted, and in the direction opposite to the bulk of the dough.
- Pressing with a spatula onto the flour mass should be easy, slightly increasing the pressure at the end, when you cut it to the working surface of the table. Then move the cut piece to the side.
- The spatula should be more than a layer of dough on a couple of centimeters in height in order to cut it right through to the end. If the tool is smaller and does not cut through the dough completely, the dough begins to drag and its structure is disturbed.
- All movements must be accurate and accurate.
- The working surface of the scraper must always be clean, otherwise particles of dough will adhere to it. Therefore, after each incision, inspect the instrument and clean it as necessary.
- After you prepare the cake (belyashi, patties, etc.), the scraper can be used to clean the table top. There is the same rule as in the work with the dough - do not exert too much effort, otherwise, if you have a metal accessory, you can scratch the surface of the table, and the plastic can just break.
Video about the budget version of the novice pastry chef set and the necessary spatulas, see below.
