Caramel Tools: Rulers, Cutters & Transfer Sheets

[Kerry Beal]

Do as Kerry suggested and save loads of money.  I got caramel rulers cut out of 'hairline' stainless steel, really shiny, well polished steel bars that are the perfect size and weight.  Can't live without those things.

Also, you could get a machine shop to weld up 4 bars for you to make a ganache frame, but make sure they have a sander large enough to be able to sand the whole assembly nice and flat, or you'll get wobbly frames that require shrinkwrapping on one side when spreading ganache.  Guess how I know?   

←

"Guess how I know?" I got a good chuckle from that. I would be willing to guess there would be, ah, one or two persons that have found things out the same way. I am looking thru the yellow pages to get some info. on steel shops. I have the hubby thinking about it also.

←

We have some places called the Metal Supermarket where you can get the stainless.

[tammylc]

What width should the stainless steel be for caramel rulers?

[David J.]

What width should the stainless steel be for caramel rulers?

←

I've seen widths advertised from 11/16" to 1" and thicknesses 1/8”, 3/16”, 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8".

To me the key would be to have the width enough greater than the height so it doesn't tip over when you scrape over it.

I found a Metal Supermarket quite near my house. In fact I pass by it to go to my fencing lesson, but that's on a Sunday and they would likely be closed. I'm thinking of getting a quote from them for stainless bars. If I do buy from them I'd be happy to shop for you as well if you want to wait until I get to Ann Arbor the next weekend.

[tammylc]

I found a Metal Supermarket quite near my house.  In fact I pass by it to go to my fencing lesson, but that's on a Sunday and they would likely be closed.  I'm thinking of getting a quote from them for stainless bars.  If I do buy from them I'd be happy to shop for you as well if you want to wait until I get to Ann Arbor the next weekend.

←

If you do get a quote, please let me know - I'd definitely be interested. I just called a metal place near me, but he doesn't have what I need in stock, although it could be ordered. The price he gave me off the top of his head seemed quite high, though, so I'd be interested in seeing what you get quoted.

[David J.]

What width should the stainless steel be for caramel rulers?

I've seen widths advertised from 11/16" to 1" and thicknesses 1/8”, 3/16”, 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8".

To me the key would be to have the width enough greater than the height so it doesn't tip over when you scrape over it.

I found a Metal Supermarket quite near my house. In fact I pass by it to go to my fencing lesson, but that's on a Sunday and they would likely be closed. I'm thinking of getting a quote from them for stainless bars. If I do buy from them I'd be happy to shop for you as well if you want to wait until I get to Ann Arbor the next weekend.

Ok, for 3/4 inch wide and 3/8 inch high rectangular stock:

Stainless T-304 is $8.77 for a foot from onlinemetals.com or $28.05 for a 4' length if you want to cut it yourself. The steel bar is 0.9686 pounds per foot.

If you want to go with 6061-T6 aluminum it drops to $1.81 for a foot or $5.77 for a 4' length. That's one third the weight at 0.3308 pounds per foot.

The Metal Supermarkert is probably a bit more due to lower volume, but you wouldn't have to add postage.

If you are willing to go with aluminum you could outfit yourself quite cheaply.

[Anna N]

. . .

If you are willing to go with aluminum you could outfit yourself quite cheaply.

←

The problem I see with aluminum (and I have used it!) is that it tends to shift when you pour in something as heavy as caramel. You might want to consider paying the extra for the heavier stainless.

[SugarGirl]

Thanks so much for the link to onlinemetals.com, David! I just ordered a few sets of stainless steel bars. Can't wait to get them!

Edited March 16, 2007 by SugarGirl (log)

[tammylc]

. . .

If you are willing to go with aluminum you could outfit yourself quite cheaply.

←

The problem I see with aluminum (and I have used it!) is that it tends to shift when you pour in something as heavy as caramel. You might want to consider paying the extra for the heavier stainless.

←

You said it shifts with caramel - have you used for ganache, and did that work okay? I'm thinking I could get some of the more inexpensive aluminum ones for ganache frames, where I want a variety of depths, and one set of stainless steel to use for caramel, etc.

[Anna N]

. . .

You said it shifts with caramel - have you used for ganache, and did that work okay?  I'm thinking I could get some of the more inexpensive aluminum ones for ganache frames, where I want a variety of depths, and one set of stainless steel to use for caramel, etc.

←

I have never tried with ganache. I have braced the aluminum bars with heavy brass weights but that is a bit of a pain and takes up more space than I would like.

[tammylc]

I'm happy to report that Aluminum 6061 bars work great for ganache! I put them on a Silpat to create some friction, and had no problems at all.

I called up my local metal supplier yesterday, and they had 3/8 inch by 3/4 inch bars in stock. The cheapest way to buy it was in a 12 foot length, then I paid them to cut it up. Because you have to allow 1/4 inch for cuts, I asked for 12 11-inch bars, which should have left me with 9 inches extra. Well, somehow I ended up with 13 bars, one of which is longer than the others. But that's okay, because that one acted as a good scraper for leveling off the top. Once the bars are put together I get about a 10 inch by 10 inch opening, which is plenty big for me.

Total cost, $38 for enough bars for three frames.

[Tweety69bird]

I'm happy to report that Aluminum 6061 bars work great for ganache!  I put them on a Silpat to create some friction, and had no problems at all.

I called up my local metal supplier yesterday, and they had 3/8 inch by 3/4 inch bars in stock.  The cheapest way to buy it was in a 12 foot length, then I paid them to cut it up.  Because you have to allow 1/4 inch for cuts, I asked for 12 11-inch bars, which should have left me with 9 inches extra.  Well, somehow I ended up with 13 bars, one of which is longer than the others.  But that's okay, because that one acted as a good scraper for leveling off the top.  Once the bars are put together I get about a 10 inch by 10 inch opening, which is plenty big for me.

Total cost, $38 for enough bars for three frames.

←

Thanks for reporting back Tammy, it sounds like a great deal compared to the $100 or so I spent on the 4 bars of 1 x 5/8 x 22 that I bought from ChefRubber.

[alanamoana]

i love chefrubber, but i feel a bit trapped when ordering from them...

1) they have items i can't always get somewhere else

2) they tend to be a bit more expensive than other places

3) they charge a $5 'handling fee' for every order

4) their shipping charges are a bit high

can anyone else say 'hostage'?

[tammylc]

i love chefrubber, but i feel a bit trapped when ordering from them...

1) they have items i can't always get somewhere else

2) they tend to be a bit more expensive than other places

3) they charge a $5 'handling fee' for every order

4) their shipping charges are a bit high

can anyone else say 'hostage'?

←

My other problem (not with Chef Rubber in particular) is that no one store has everything that I want. So I end up having to order things from 3 or 4 places and pay shipping for all of them. That gets frustrating. Tomric is the only place that carries chocolate cutters. Chef Rubber has the best selection of colored cocoa butters. DR has cool molds and cheap transfer sheets. Etc.

I want one-stop shopping!

[sote23]

i love chefrubber, but i feel a bit trapped when ordering from them...

1) they have items i can't always get somewhere else

2) they tend to be a bit more expensive than other places

3) they charge a $5 'handling fee' for every order

4) their shipping charges are a bit high

can anyone else say 'hostage'?

←

My other problem (not with Chef Rubber in particular) is that no one store has everything that I want. So I end up having to order things from 3 or 4 places and pay shipping for all of them. That gets frustrating. Tomric is the only place that carries chocolate cutters. Chef Rubber has the best selection of colored cocoa butters. DR has cool molds and cheap transfer sheets. Etc.

I want one-stop shopping!

←

i hear ya. I have to do the same thing. something from one place, something from another etc. lol lol

Luis

[alanamoana]

I just ordered some metal bars from onlinemetals.com

Very fast service and from what I can tell, very reasonable prices. While I think the aluminum bars are fine (and MUCH cheaper), I really like the weight of the stainless steel bars better. I bought 0.375" (3/8") square bars in both aluminum and stainless to compare.

0.375" Stainless steel annealed square at 16" long = 13.60USD

0.375" Aluminum 6061 T6 bare square at 16" long = 2.24USD

So you can see the difference in price.

Shipping was +/- $10.00

Still a lot cheaper than buying from chefrubber, I think.

[Desiderio]

Alana , thank you for reporting your purchase

I will go an check them out, since I am looking for a frame as well.I have ordered an alluminum frame from Tomric but is way to big for my actual prodution ( 15 by 15 ) darn inches always trick me

[Desiderio]

I went to the site and check it out, you can make custom cut , wich is nice.

Edited April 6, 2007 by Desiderio (log)

[tammylc]

I just ordered some metal bars from onlinemetals.com

Very fast service and from what I can tell, very reasonable prices.  While I think the aluminum bars are fine (and MUCH cheaper), I really like the weight of the stainless steel bars better.  I bought 0.375" (3/8") square bars in both aluminum and stainless to compare.

←

In order to give some extra weight to the aluminum bars, I went with a rectangular rather than square cross section - 3/8 by 3/4. Many of the commercial caramel rulers have a rectangular cross section as well, so this isn't unusual.

[tammylc]

Alana , thank you for reporting your purchase 

I will go an check them out, since I am looking for a frame as well.I have ordered an alluminum frame from Tomric but is way to big for my actual prodution ( 15 by 15 ) darn inches always trick me

←

That's the best thing about the bars, Vanessa - the size is totally variable. And you can adjust it on the fly if you discover that you made your opening too large. Just nudge the bars over a little bit until you get the size you need.

They've made my life so much easier, I can't believe I went so long without using them!

I think I'm going to make some caramel this weekend, so I'll have a chance to see how well the aluminum bars will work for that. (Although I think my 3/8 inch height will probably be too short.)

[Rhubarb]

Wrapping caramels is definitely a drag, but cutting them is no picnic either. It seems like I was seeing these rolling cutters on all my regular sites a few months ago, but now that I've decided I need one...they turn out to be scarce. Anyone recommend a source? Thanks!

[Ke Kau]

Check out Savage Bros. I got mine from them. It's a nice, heavy cutter with super sharp stainless steel blades. I believe it was around $550 standard. They will customize one for you as well.

[mrose]

Check out Savage Bros.  I got mine from them. It's a nice, heavy cutter with super sharp stainless steel blades.  I believe it was around $550 standard.  They will customize one for you as well.

←

You can get 1 at Pastry Chef for $249.

[lebowits]

I've been looking for 1/4" caramel rulers but cannot seem to find them from any of my usual sources. I've found 3/16" and 3/8" but not 1/4". Does anyone have a source?

Steve Lebowitz

umctg@yahoo.com

[Kerry Beal]

Got mine cut at The Metal Supermarket.

[gfron1]

Steve - Welcome to the forum! With a request that specific, we expect some great posts from you