The proper use of a pastry bag
Ever used a pastry bag? Handy, isn't it, but unfortunately not very easy to fill. In fact, to be comfortable with this tool, you'd need 3 or 4 arms, which isn't very common.
Does that mean it's a goner? No, of course not. Here are 2 or 3 tips to help you get comfortable with it.
Does that mean it's a goner? No, of course not. Here are 2 or 3 tips to help you get comfortable with it.
8,646 4.7/5 (19 reviews)
Keywords for this post:PastryPastry bagPastry tipUtensilMethodLast modified on: December 5th 2020
The proper use of a pastry bag
What is a pastry bag?
Quite simply, it's a kind of large cone-shaped plastic bag (the pouch), in the bottom of which we place an outlet, usually made of very hard plastic, polycarbonate (the socket).
The bag is filled with the chosen preparation - cream, paste, mousse, etc. - then closed, and the contents squeezed out through the nozzle.
This gives you complete control over the output (flow) and shape of the cream/paste, thanks to the nozzle.
It's the favorite, indispensable tool of pastry chefs, who use it time and time again. In fact, they use the term "pocher", which in this context doesn't mean cooking, but dressing with a pastry bag.
In fact, bakers love to gently mock pastry chefs by saying that they "can't do anything without a pastry bag".
Useful at home?
Oh yes, indispensable even for an incredible number of preparations of all kinds. It's virtually impossible, for example, to make anything aesthetically pleasing in choux pastry without "poaching".
Difficult?
It's hardly complicated in principle, you just press on the bag and the mixture comes out, after which it's much harder to control the effort and precision of the gesture, but that comes with time.
Poaching regular macaroons, for example, is not at all easy, especially at first.
The first difficulty is filling the pouch, which sounds a bit odd when you say it like that, but if you're alone in the kitchen, it can quickly become a real pain: you have to spread the pouch, pour in the cream (sometimes in several stages), push it to the bottom, scrape out the rest, be careful that what's in the pouch starts to come out through the nozzle when the filling isn't finished, close the pouch, avoid air bubbles and leaks, and that's where the 3 or 4 arms I mentioned almost come into their own...
How do you do it?
1) If your preparation is rather liquid, such as mousse, cream, etc., pinch the tip of the bag with a frozen food clip, a large clothespin or even a rubber band to prevent leakage during filling.
2) Place the empty, pinched pouch in a container with a high rim (like a graduated liter), spread the edges apart and place in front of you.
3) Slowly pour the mixture into the bag, then scrape it all down with a maryse (no spillage).
4) Close the pouch by twisting the plastic (to avoid air bubbles) and remove it from the high-sided container. You can leave it to stand for a while, so your preparation is protected from the air.
5) When you're ready to poach, place the pouch with the tip upwards, remove the tongs, turn downwards and poach!
That's it, you know it all, but I'd like to finish by pointing out that, at first, it can be a bit disastrous, as you have very little control over the flow of the pouch and the shaping, but don't lose hope, you'll see with time and experience, it'll come...
Tosum up: to fill a pouch properly, pinch the end if the preparation is rather liquid, then fill with the pouch placed in a high-sided container, not held in the hand.
Lasts posts
Oven height
When we put a dish or cake in the oven, we naturally tend to put it on the middle shelf, and that's what we usually do. But in some cases, this position and height can be a little tricky, so let's find out why.October 8th 20251,6495
The importance of sieving
In recipes that use a fine powder (flour, powdered sugar, etc.), you'll often see the advice to sift before using it. To sift is to pass the powder in question through a sieve (a very fine strainer) before incorporating it into your recipe. It's often advice, but is it really useful?September 3rd 20256,9793
The grease spray
As soon as you have something in a recipe that sticks to the mold, the question always arises as to how difficult it is to remove from the mold. There's nothing more frustrating than breaking your cake when unmolding it, because part of it has stuck in the mold. The classic way to avoid this is...August 26th 20256,4365
Cake moulds
When we make a cake, or a cake of the same rectangular shape, we usually take out our usual mould and tell ourselves that the recipe is anyway "for a cake", but is it really that simple?August 25th 20256,5305
Thinning out herbs
If you need to add a long-stemmed herb (tarragon, mint, verbena, thyme, etc.) to a recipe, you'll probably only need the leaves and not the stem, so you'll need to remove the leaves. Leaf removal means keeping only the beautiful leaves, and eliminating the ugly stems and leaves, but how do you do...August 8th 20254,6565
Other pages you may also like
Half milk, half cream
In a multitude of recipes, savoury or sweet, milk is used as the main ingredient, or at least as the main liquid ingredient. Milk is used instead of water, for example, because milk contains a proportion of fat, which adds roundness and softness to the recipe. This mellowness is very pleasant on...February 27th 20249,1895
The taste of raw tomatoes
Let's take a look at tomatoes, which are still in full bloom at the end of summer (as I write these lines), and which make for delicious salads. I had already talked to you about the interest of peeling tomatoes, which gives them an extraordinary sweetness in the mouth, but let's talk about the...September 8th 201815 K4.9
The perfect boiled egg
Making boiled eggs is always a delight and it pleases the young and old alike. This little transgenerational side puts them on the list of "things to do on Sunday evening when you don't know what to do" in many families (including mine)... That said, it's not that simple, you have to pay...January 30th 202117 K4.7
How to break eggs properly?
It is a very common gesture in pastry, bakery and of course cooking: breaking eggs to incorporate them into a recipe. You have eggs (which professionals call "shell eggs" to differentiate them from liquid eggs in cartons or cans), and you must break them to incorporate the contents into your...June 26th 202114 K4.8
Maillard reactions
This subject cropped up recently in a discussion with my three charming nieces; do you know what Maillard reactions are? With a name like that, they could well be some principle in mechanics, but in fact the term applies to something much closer to all of us: it's what gives food more flavour...January 28th 201538 K4
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.