Pastry Tip Storage

[Wendy DeBord]

Lord, how I hate fishing thru my tips to find just the right one. I currently have a metal box I store my tips loosely in. I used to have one of those Wilton boxes where the tips stored up right so you could easily view them.........but that cheap thing broke right away, besides it not being big enough....and who needs 4 tip holders all broken and rubber banded together. I've also seen those fishing tackle box styled sorter they sell too. And of course theres those wire racks your supposed to dry your bags and tips on....... Oh and then we have those little drawer cabinets, but you have to memorize which tip is behind which drawer and who in the world takes the time to put them back in the right drawer all day long.

NOTHING seems to work well when it comes to storing my pastry tips. Have any of you figured out a good system you'd be willing to share?

[fiftydollars]

I use an empty Acco pastry tip box I purchased at Smart and Final. They, of course, also sell one full of tips, but the one I got was empty.

Only my cake-sized tips fit, though. The larger tips I store in a messy tackle box along with fondant tools, scrapers, and junk.

[andiesenji]

I don't do much cake decorating now, because of arthritis in my hands. However when I was doing a lot I had all my tips on a thread rack or spool rack, similar to this.

However I made my own using an odd cutting board that someone had given me and had a handle on one end with a hole drilled for hanging. I just drilled holes in it at an angle (using a drill guide set to a 45 degree angle) and cut a dowel into 3 inch lengths, sanded one end into a blunt point with a power sander, then dipped the other end into wood glue and stuck them in the holes. I added a wire easel back so it would stand on a counter when I had to take them along with me on a job.

It held up for 20 years and is probably still in good condition somewhere in my storage building.

The tips are easily identified and it will hold all sizes.

Edited January 14, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[K8memphis]

Wull, I just stuck toothpicks into a piece of styrofoam and that into a drawer/cabinet. It's not sexy but it's a beautiful thing to open that drawer & wa-a-a-la your tips at a glance. I also had mine set onto a short little lazy susan that fit into a drawer.

[chiantiglace]

Oh man, i know what you are going through, but i found a great solution

The tackle box idea is ok but i went to office depot, or office max, does matter. I bought one of those mini plastic drawer cases in which has like 30+ little 3 x 2 inch drawers and categorized my tips in each drawer with labels. So now i know exactly where each one is before i start the search, all i have to do is look a the picture i drew on the front and take it out. Works very well and sits in the corner against the wall out of my way.

You can also find them in a hardware store, they use them to sort differentkinds of nails and screws, etc.

[FistFullaRoux]

If you use the metal ones, you can try a magnetic sheet. Not sure if they will stick to the magnet, so your mileage may vary...

And the styrofoam bit is good as well. If you get the flower foam they sell at Michael's or something similar, you can avoid the toothpicks all together and just jam the wide end into the foam. They should hold in place, at least well enough for a drawer, and the end with the shape on it is facing up, so you can see what you are grabbing.

[HeatherM]

I ended up using a tackle box like this one: Click!

I had originally bought it for sewing supplies, but now I use one stowaway container for tips & couplers, one for food colour (powder & gel) and one for misc. bits and pieces. The storage area at the top of the tackle box is good for bigger things like my spatulas and a roll of disposable piping bags.

I can take the box with me if I need to, but it's also fairly easy to throw into storage if I know I won't be using it for a while, since I don't have a lot of room in my apartment.

[chefpeon]

Right now I have all my pastry tips semi-sorted by category in my tackle box style toolbox, which is also probably the worlds heaviest toolbox.....geez! Lugging that thing around is a major pain in the butt.

I think the BEST pastry tip organizing system I ever experienced was similar to what andiesenji described above. A cake shop I worked in had a large board with 2-3 inch dowels stuck in it at an angle. It was mounted on the wall next to where we hung our pastry bags. The dowels were a size that every tip could fit on them, from the tiny tips to the huge cake covering tips. Every tip was right there in plain sight, and best of all, you didn't really have to worry about putting them in the same place afterward....you just put them where there was an empty dowel. It was so easy to spot the tip I needed, no matter where it was. It was so cool, that I made a mental note

to have my husband build me one when he has spare time. Problem is, he never HAS spare time.....so I think I'll make it a birthday request. It'll get him off the hook and he won't have to go shopping....

[Wendy DeBord]

I do like the dowel idea................I might have to work on that. I know I'd have to bolt it down in a couple places or I'd knock the whole thing off the wall at some point. BUT it also exposes my property to everyone in the kitchen..........(which wouldn't be a hassle if they returned things to where they got them, but they don't).

I'm such a clutz that any container or compartmentized items gets spilled about once a month and then I have to re-sort my tips. That's how I wound up with one box of tips floating loose.....

[andiesenji]

My tips are put away someplace that I can't find at the moment. I was going to take a picture so you could see my solution to "wandering" tips.

I put a stripe of paint - made specifically to bond to metal and also non-toxic, around the tips about 1/2 inch from the base.

I found a bright neon blue that is visible in drawers and across a room.

I did this about 15 years ago and except for a few minor scratches from the things being tossed around in the little box cage that went into the dishwasher, the stripes are still bright.

The place where the board used to be on the wall in my kitchen has an "L" hook for the hole at the top and at the bottom I had two deep mirror mounts which I could just twist over the bottom edge to keep it in place.

When I had to go on outside jobs, I had one of the extra heavy plastic pillow covers that zipped at one end and I had cut a hole for the handle in the opposite end.

I just slipped it over the board, zipped it up and it hung on a hook on the inside of my van with a bungee cord over the middle to keep it from swinging.

To keep it from moving around on a counter, I just used that re-usable blue putty-like poster mounting stuff that you can get in any office supply or art store. I kept it in a ziploc bag and set up the holder on its easel back and stuck down the bottom edge with the blue stuff. (Must be getting senile, can't remember the name.)

In fact, before they came out with the non-slip shelf and drawer liner stuff, I always stuck down my cutting boards with the blue stuff. I kept a bag in a pocket so it was always pliable.

I also used it to anchor mixing bowls when I was using a whip in one hand and adding ingredients with another. It had enough gripping power that I could set a bowl at a slight angle and it would stay.

Sorry this has wandered O.T.

Andie

[chefpeon]

  Quote

BUT it also exposes my property to everyone in the kitchen..........(which wouldn't be a hassle if they returned things to where they got them, but they don't).

Man, so many of my problems would be solved, if people would just put things back. I'm very generous with my tools, but I probably shouldn't be because they're rarely put back, and a lot of times, lost or ruined. Co-workers can be SO inconsiderate when it comes to tools.......WHY?

Luckily that dowel board worked great in the cake shop, 'cause the only people working in there were cake people.....tips got put back.

But yeah, working along with hot-siders creates a whole new set of problems.

My husband would say something like:

"I know, I'll make one with metal dowels. We'll hook it up to a power source, and when you're gone from work, just plug it in. Anyone stealing a tip from there would get a nasty shock!"

Those things are fun to think about.

[K8memphis]

  Sinclair said:

I do like the dowel idea................I might have to work on that. I know I'd have to bolt it down in a couple places or I'd knock the whole thing off the wall at some point. BUT it also exposes my property to everyone in the kitchen..........(which wouldn't be a hassle if they returned things to where they got them, but they don't).

I'm such a clutz that any container or compartmentized items gets spilled about once a month and then I have to re-sort my tips. That's how I wound up with one box of tips floating loose.....

←

Which is why styrofoam and toothpicks/bamboo skewers is so perfect for me anyway. - They do not tip over - fits handily in a drawer - like one inch deep styro - it's easy to re-arrange - it's easy to remove & replace tips - no build up of dust or grease on seldom used tips. If you don't have a drawer, a block of styrofoam goes in & out of a cupboard perfectly.

And and and if you don't like it you can do the nice wooden one Don't be afraid of easy. Something like an inch high for a drawer or thicker if it's gonna' go in & out of the cabinet. And set a cardboard on top of it for going in & out of cabinet.

No cabinet? Set it in a pan & set the larger cake pans on top of it. Could you keep it on the top shelf of your rack on a sheet tray?????? Or or or on the bottom shelf with a sheet tray right on top so no one will see it/know it's there????

Just some thoughts. I loved mine!! I need to set up a new one in a shallow drawer.

Edited January 15, 2005 by K8memphis (log)

[andiesenji]

  chefpeon said:

  Quote

BUT it also exposes my property to everyone in the kitchen..........(which wouldn't be a hassle if they returned things to where they got them, but they don't).

Man, so many of my problems would be solved, if people would just put things back. I'm very generous with my tools, but I probably shouldn't be because they're rarely put back, and a lot of times, lost or ruined. Co-workers can be SO inconsiderate when it comes to tools.......WHY?

Luckily that dowel board worked great in the cake shop, 'cause the only people working in there were cake people.....tips got put back.

But yeah, working along with hot-siders creates a whole new set of problems.

My husband would say something like:

"I know, I'll make one with metal dowels. We'll hook it up to a power source, and when you're gone from work, just plug it in. Anyone stealing a tip from there would get a nasty shock!"

Those things are fun to think about.

←

I used to fill in occasionally in a small bakery and the owner had some of his tools in a small hanging wall cabinet sort of like a bathroom cabinet, only without the mirror on the door.

He had an electrical wire attached somewhere in the back and on the center shelf a tiny can of Mace with a little sign that advised anyone opening the door that if they removed anything from the cabinet they would get a face full of Mace.

Obviously that wouldn't really work, but apparently the workers were not smart enough to figure that out because no one ever took anything.

[andiesenji]

I came across this as I was looking for a replacement for a plate rack that someone borrowed and never returned.

It might fit your needs and is not terribly expensive. They have a stainless steel one for about twice the cost.

[tan319]

I don't know if Italco is out there, I got mine from them, special order though, I think.

Although it isn't, 'Made In France' should carry it, perhaps?

I was really satisfied with that product too.

Good Luck!

[Wendy DeBord]

  andiesenji said:

I came across this

Thanks!

I am familar with those. I knock those off the wall when I sneeze.

[SweetCaroline]

  chefpeon said:

  Quote

My husband would say something like:

"I know, I'll make one with metal dowels. We'll hook it up to a power source, and when you're gone from work, just plug it in. Anyone stealing a tip from there would get a nasty shock!"

Those things are fun to think about.

←

Edited January 23, 2005 by SweetCaroline (log)

[andiesenji]

  Sinclair said:

  andiesenji said:

I came across this

Thanks!

I am familar with those. I knock those off the wall when I sneeze.

←

You can fasten it to the wall with L-hooks at the bottom - you can fix them so that you just have to turn them a quarter turn to lift it off the screws at the top.

Or use mirror mounts, which is what I used with my wood one. Those have little springs in them to keep even pressure on the mirror and not break it. They work fine for anything of a similar thickness - and they are flat and don't collect dirt and stuff doesn't get caught on them.