10 ustensile necesare unui cofetar
Imi amintesc ca acum 6-7 ani cand am inceput eu sa fac prajituri nu aveam mai nimic din ceea ce acum consider ustensile extrem de folositoare cofetarului. Ba mai mult, nici nu se gasea mare lucru pe piata din Romania – nu tu inele de inox, nu tu rame, fara forme de silicon ori termometre. Totul era de domeniul fantasticului cumva. Imi doream sa le am, evident, dar m-am descurcat o vreme si fara, improvizand mult. Si cumva, uitandu-ma inapoi, imi dau acum seama ca aceasta lipsa m-a impins sa fiu mai creativa, sa gasesc solutii, sa gandesc in afara cutiei cum ar veni. In plus, m-a fortat ca acum sa ma gandesc bine inainte de a cumpara lucruri pentru meseria mea – asa incat mereu imi pun intrebarea daca chiar voi folosi ceea ce vreau sa cumpar, daca e versatil ori are mai multe intrebuintari. Caci nu vrea sa imi umplu casa cu lucruri inutile (am facut-o deja as zice :))) E tentant sa cumperi ceva pentru ca e dragut, ca iti place culoarea, ca forma aceea nu o ai… dar de cele mai multe ori acel lucru isi gaseste un loc pe raftul de acasa si cam atat. Asa ca prefer sa investesc bani in ingrediente mai mult decat in ustensile. Si tocmai din acest motiv m-am gandit ca o astfel de lista ar fi utila. Am incercat sa delimitez un top 10, desi in mod cert mai aveam minim 3-4 ustensile de adaugat. Acestea sunt insa cele pe care le folosesc cel mai des si fara de care cofetaria ar fi mult mai dificila.. dar, atentie, nu imposibila!
- Cantar de bucatarie
Cofetaria nu e chiar farmacie, insa daca in reteta scrie o cantitate, incercam sa o respectam. Si acest lucru se poate face doar cu un cantar de bucatarie. Doar asa putem obtine precizia produsului si o calitate constanta. Poate 5g de zahar in plus la 3kg faina nu conteaza, dar la 100g faina in mod cert va avea un impact. In plus, sunt ingrediente unde cateva grame in plus pot duce chiar la dezastru. Asa ca achizitionati-va un cantar cu incredere!
2. Termometru de bucatarie
Termometrul este unul dinttre cei mai buni prieteni in laborator. De la creme la glazuri ori ciocolata, isi gaseste utilitatea in multe produse. Atentie insa ca si termometrele vin sub diverse variante:
- Termometru cu sonda – este cel general valabil, cel mai usor de folosit si in orice conditii caci sonda lui este capabila sa masoare temperatura in interiorul produsului indiferent ca e vorba de paine, ciocolata sau creme anglaise ori sirop de zahar.
- Termometru cu infrarosu – spre deosebire de cel cu sonda, acesta masoara temperatura doar la exterior. De asemenea, raza de citire trece prin produsele transparente si este blocata de produsele opace, asa incat nu se preteaza la orice aplicatie. Personal, il folosesc cu precadere la ciocolata unde temperatura este mereu uniforma. In rest, cel cu sonda este alegerea nr 1.
- Termometru pentru zahar – spre deosebire de celelalte doua, acest termometru este gandit pentru siropurile de zahar, acolo unde temperaturile de lucru sunt mereu ridicate. Din acest motiv, temperatura minima de la care porneste este in jur de 60C. Din acest motiv el nu se preteaza la ciocolata de exemplu. Se foloseste insa la siropuri, gemuri, dulceata.
3. Spatule de silicon
Stiu ca e distractiv sa lingi bolul, dar in laboratorul de cofetarie nu facem asta! Folosind insa spatulele de silicon, luam toata crema de pe bol. Prefer spatule care sunt moi si cu marginile subtiri ca sa aibe aderenta cat mai buna pe forma bolului.
4. Boluri termorezistente si cani inalte
Esentiale pentru a gati pe baie de aburi, bolurile termorezistente le cumpar ideal din inox alimentar caci se incalzesc mai repede si se racesc mai repede. Nu merg insa la microunde, asa incat atentie la acest aspect. Canile inalte sunt perfecte pentru cantitati mai mici de crema sau pentru simpla omogenizare a unor ingrediente.
5. Spatula unghiulara
Una dintre cele mai vechi ustensile pe care le am este cu siguranta spatula mea unghiulara (roz). E perfecta pentru a muta torturile pe platou, pentru a finisa decorul, pentru a realiza decor de ciocolata, pentru a aplica tusa finala unui tort. Procurati una de calitate si o sa va tina mult si bine!
6. Tel
Aratati-mi un cofetar care nu foloseste telul in nicio situatie! E imposibil pentru ca telul este ustensila cea mai folosita pentru a introduce aer intr-un amestec. Pana si mixerul are forma unui tel! Il folosesc la spumare, aerare, omogenizare si gatire uniforma. Ba chiar si la decorul din zahar caramelizat uneori.
7. Mixer
Nu voi zice stand mixer spre surprinderea multora caci recunosc ca ani buni eu una nu am avut asa ceva, Aveam insa un mixer cu bol rotitor care inca rezista. Si ma descurcam. Sigur, un mixer de genul acela e bine venit, dar nu puneti lipsa lui in calea dulciurilor voastre caci nu e obligatoriu sa il aveti pentru a face prajituri gustoase!
8. Blender de mana
Acum cativa ani as fi zis ca un blender de mana este inutil intr-un laborator de cofetarie, insa acum nu as mai putea sa ma descurc fara. Este ceea ce folosesc pentru omogenizarea cremelor, pentru piureuri de fructe, pentru glazuri si o emulsifiere perfecta. Bamix este ceea ce folosesc in mod obisnuit, insa sincer, orice blender e un plus in laborator sau propria voastra bucatarie.
9. Set cuttere rotunde pentru furscuri
Poate va ganditi ca nu faceti fursecuri prea des, insa un set de cuttere rotunde de fursecuri este foarte util nu doar in eventualitatea realizarii unor fursecuri, ci si cand avem nevoie sa decupam un blat, de exemplu sau atunci cand facem tarte. Asa incat le folosesc foarte des si am preferat un set ce vine in propria lui cutie, astfel incat sa nu le tin prin pungi ori alte astfel de improvizatii.
10. Posuri si duiuri/sprituri
Posurile sunt unele dintre cele mai folosite ustensile din laboratorul de cofetarie. Eu personal le prefer pe cele de unica folosinta pentru a evita dezinfectarea celor din silicon sau material. In materie de duiuri/sprituri, recomand un set de duiuri (varf rotund) de diferite marimi si unul de sprituri zimtate de diferite marimi. Restul modelelor – stea, floare etc – le folosesc extrem de rar. Duriurile si spriturile zimtate in schimb, sunt utile si la decorul unui tort dar si la posarea choux-urilor sau a blatului ori a eclerelor.
ENGLISH
I remember my first years as a pastry chef (or better said, as a complete beginner) that I lacked pretty much all essential tools for a proper preparation of desserts. But I dreamt of having all sorts of pieces of equipment and tools, I imagined having them would make my life easier. Which is true to some extent. Just that in the last couple of years, I realized that not having all these tools actually forces you to be creative, to adapt and find ways to achieve what you want without someone ever knowing what you had to improvise in order to reach your final goal. I no longer dream of tools. Instead, I ask myself – Is this really worth it, am I gonna use it a lot or am I buying it because it looks cute or it has a nice colour or it is just tempting to buy it?! More often than not, the answer is I don’t need it. So it remains on the shelf, whereas in the past I would have most likely bought it.
I learnt that good quality tools however are far more important than dozens of tools that are useless or break after one use. So if I do need something, I invest in either the original or a more expensive version. And this is an a piece of advice I keep giving to my students – less is more with pretty much anything in the pastry world, from tools to flavors and decor.
Here is a list with the must have tools of a pastry chef or at least the ones I consider essential:
- Kitchen scale
The reason this tool is on the first place in this list is the fact that pastry tends to be quite strict when it comes to quantities. I get a lot of questions on the blog regarding the lack of cup/tablespoons measurements, but there is a reason beyond that. I am not saying cups are wrong for a home baker – they tend to yield results that are most often ok. The trouble with them is the lack of consistency – perhaps I have a different cup than yours or a different tablespoon and so on. So even though I use the same cup recipe, my result will be different not only from your result, but also from my previous cake made using the exact same recipe. My point is that using cups makes us more susceptible to mistakes. And I am one who likes to rely on her recipes. It’s what this blog is known for at the end of the day!
2. Thermometer – knowing when that sugar syrup is done or when the chocolate is in temper might be tricky without this tool. At least as a beginner. So a thermometer is essential so you don’t miss the key moment of readiness. There’s plenty to choose from:
- probe thermometer – which is considered for general use. You can easily check the temperature of creme anglaise or chocolate. It’s easy to use and pretty straight forward. I tend to prefer the ones that have the probe attached to the electric part with a wire. I find them to me no necessarily more reliable, but lasting more due to the electric part not standing in the way of heat and steam.
- sugar thermometer – perfect for sugar syrup and other sugar work, this particular thermometer is specific to a certain use, therefore not the one I would buy as a beginner. Its temperature measurements usually start at over 60C, therefore cannot be used for chocolate or other applications under 60C.
- infrared thermometer – this is my go-to temperature measuring tool for chocolate. It is quick and reliable, but it can be used on opaque surfaces, such as chocolate or glazes.
3. Silicone spatulas
I know licking the bowl is fun, we all did it as kids, but as a professional, I know that every drop of ingredients or batter or cream matter, so there is no waste if you have a good silicone spatula to take the shape of your bowl and clean everything.
4. Heat resistant bowls
Crucial for cooking over a water bath, heat resistant bowls could be either glass or inox. I prefer metallic ones as they heat quicker and stay hot shorter. This feature is useful for most applications on a hot water bath. However, pay extra attentio when using these bowls in the microwave.
5. Angle spatulas
One of my sturdiest tools is my good old angled spatula. Great for moving cakes from a tray to their boards, great for smoothing out cream or just decorating cupcakes, amazing and useful for final touches as well or for creating chocolate decorations. It’s one of the most useful tools a pastry chef could have in their briefcase.
6. Whisk
Show me a pastry chef who can live without a whisk! It’s impossible and for good reason – the whisk is the go tool whenever you need to introduce air into a mixture, it’s the best tool for ensure proper combining of the ingredients and can even be used for sugar decorations if you trim it. Sure, it does not compare to a mixer in speed and efficiency, but hey… decades ago only whisk existed and pastry chef still managed!
7. Mixer
I would say a stand mixer definitely makes your life easier, but for a good couple of years I only had a hand mixer and I managed just fine. It is compulsory for kneading dough, for mixing quickly and efficiently all sorts of foams, for creaming and for emulsifying.
8. Hand blender
A couple of years ago I would have said a blender is pointless in the briefcase of a pastry chef, but nowadays I couldn’t live without it! It’s my go-to tool whenever I need to emulsify something or when I need to remove air bubbles in my glaze. I prefer using Bamix because it’s the safest way to a air bubble free glaze or ganache, but any hand blender would make a great addition to your tool case.
9. Round cookie cutters
Perhaps you would think you don’t need round cookie cutters as you don’t make cookies, but actually I use these for a couple of things in the pastry lab, from chocolate decorations to cutting out craquelin, as well as cutting out the sponges for my petit gateaux and so on. I prefer having a set of different sizes on hand, it’s so much easier to store and use!
10. Pastry bags and nozzles
I feel like pastry bags and nozzles are getting a little underrated these days, but they are still my best friends. I recommend buying those single use pastry bags to avoid having to sanitize them after use and in terms of nozzles, definitely buy a set of at least 3 different sizes, both plain and star nozzles.
