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Seamless Piping Bags?


Jim D.

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I use piping bags for depositing ganaches in chocolate shells and am looking for a better bag. I assume there has to be a seam of some sort in the manufacture of the bags, but sometimes the seam is so pronounced that the opening becomes an oval that cannot be made round. Working in very small quarters (such as the nooks and crannies of a mold) can make a round opening quite desirable. I have used Thermohauser (a pronounced seam) and Kee-seal (better). I saw recommendations for Hygo, which advertises "no flange seam," but I've never seen one in person. In her videos pastry chef Kirsten Tibballs appears to be using a bag that has a truly round opening, but I cannot be sure. I know this perhaps seems an odd quest, and I can certainly carry on with what I am currently using, but if what I want exists, I would like to find it, and I am at the point where I need to reorder bags.

 

Do those who work in chocolate have favorite piping bags?

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If your bags have a big seam, then you can cut it: first you cut the hole for piping, then you cut the seam diagonally. You start cutting from the hole, leaving as little seam as you can (1 mm), then go up diagonally.

If you need a perfectly round hole, then the only way is using a piping nozzle (which leads to some troubles with the last few grams of ganache).

Another thing to add: if you want to avoid the "pointing tips" (don't know how they are called in English, the tips pointing up that remains after piping) then you need to make a curly move. After piping the desired amount of ganache almost all people raise the bag with a vertical move (that's what comes natural for everyone). If you stop squeezing, then move the tip of the bag making a horizontal curl, then you "cut" the point and end up with an almost flat surface. Difficult to explain with words, much easier with the direct example, unfortunately.

 

 

 

Teo

 

Teo

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2 hours ago, teonzo said:

Another thing to add: if you want to avoid the "pointing tips" (don't know how they are called in English, the tips pointing up that remains after piping) then you need to make a curly move. After piping the desired amount of ganache almost all people raise the bag with a vertical move (that's what comes natural for everyone). If you stop squeezing, then move the tip of the bag making a horizontal curl, then you "cut" the point and end up with an almost flat surface. Difficult to explain with words, much easier with the direct example, unfortunately.

 

Teo

 

 

Thanks, that's a great idea. I will start practicing. I guess I assumed the points were just a fact of piping life. I love fillings that are "self-leveling," but those are few and far between.

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That's one of the various little "secrets" that is taught on the job and is not explained in books.

I don't know if I was able to explain what to do. If you look for some videos explaining how to make macaron shells then you should be able to see how this technique is done.

 

 

 

Teo

 

Teo

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If you can find bags that are colored blue, then it would be the best choice. When you cut the bags it's possible that a piece of plastic falls unnoticed in a food preparation. If the plastic is blue then it's much easier to notice it.

 

 

 

Teo

 

Teo

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5 hours ago, teonzo said:

If you can find bags that are colored blue, then it would be the best choice. When you cut the bags it's possible that a piece of plastic falls unnoticed in a food preparation. If the plastic is blue then it's much easier to notice it.

 

Teo

 

That's a very good idea, especially because I have had that happen! Fortunately I discovered it before the chocolates went to others. It tends to occur especially when I have to trim the bag a second time, and the trimming is very small. Another cause is when a ganache is crystallizing at lightning speed, and I rush to get it into the cavities. In her videos KIrsten Tibballs makes a point of warning about this issue.

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On 8/25/2019 at 6:53 AM, teonzo said:

Another thing to add: if you want to avoid the "pointing tips" (don't know how they are called in English, the tips pointing up that remains after piping) then you need to make a curly move. After piping the desired amount of ganache almost all people raise the bag with a vertical move (that's what comes natural for everyone). If you stop squeezing, then move the tip of the bag making a horizontal curl, then you "cut" the point and end up with an almost flat surface. Difficult to explain with words, much easier with the direct example, unfortunately.

 

 

 

Teo

 

 

 

When I am training someone new to using a piping bag, I tell them to think of writing a cursive lowercase "e' and that helps give them the idea of how to "cut" the finish and not have a point.  Other times I've heard people say "swish and flick" from the Harry Potter franchise in describing the motion but honestly, *that* I don't get at all!
 

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12 hours ago, JeanneCake said:

 

 

When I am training someone new to using a piping bag, I tell them to think of writing a cursive lowercase "e' and that helps give them the idea of how to "cut" the finish and not have a point.  Other times I've heard people say "swish and flick" from the Harry Potter franchise in describing the motion but honestly, *that* I don't get at all!
 

Of course those same folks might not understand cursive!

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12 hours ago, JeanneCake said:

Other times I've heard people say "swish and flick" from the Harry Potter franchise in describing the motion but honestly, *that* I don't get at all!

 

Seems like you and I are the only 2 people on Earth who never read/watched anything about Harry Potter. But I saw Barry Potter playing on TV.

 

 

 

Teo

 

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Teo

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