# Pastry bags



## nappetime92 (Oct 16, 2011)

Alright, I hate to repost, but I didn't realize this forum was on the website. I'm new, so apologies in advance if you've seen the double post.

I'm in pastry school at the moment. The start-up kit that I purchased through my school came with a huge variety of tools: a complete knife kit (however, they're Mercer knives. I was expecting something a bit higher quality. That's not the point, though), pastry cutter, a microplane zester, 12-inch tongs, offset and straight spatulas, a nice sized pastry tip kit, and tons of other stuff. Unfortunately, they only gave us these crap cheap disposable Wilton pastry bags, and, seeing as how we're on week eight of the term, I'm nearly out. Naturally, I'm looking for new bags -- reusable, this time.

My question:

What materials make the best pastry bags? I've seen nylon and plastic-coated canvas used, but I'm sure there are others out there. What brands do you all prefer? What size should I get? I want to find something that will really last me through daily use, and I'm just not sure what to buy, now that I'm faced with so many options. So, what do you prefer?


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

As a Chef who goes through pastry bags like water, I prefer the disposable kind. I like snipping off the tip and throwing the bag away. For heavy use I still cling to my heavy duty "wilton" bags. The down side of those bags is the constant washing, drying and so on takes its' toll on them after a while. Soaking in a baking soda solution only works so long.  You live in a large enough city to have stores that sell baking and pastry equipment. That would be a good place to start.

The size bag used, for me, depends on what I'm doing, so I have several different sizes available in my kit. That being said, I have never seen disposable bags in any larger sizes.


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## charlievb (Sep 7, 2011)

i use the Lakeland Easy Grip disposable bags. They are really great, Good size and are very think/durable. They are coated with some sort of extra grip material which really helps with slippage


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## nightscotsman (Sep 23, 2011)

I prefer disposable as well. You can wash and reuse them a couple times (we did this in school). Kee-seal is a good brand with a nice grippy outside coating.

I have to ask why you want reusable bags? Cost? Environment? Texture and grip? My experience with them is no matter how well you wash them, they always start smelling funky after awhile.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

See my post on the same thread and title you started under the baking session.

hope this helps


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## chocotuile (Oct 19, 2011)

I prefer the disposable kind as well. When you're working in a kitchen, you'll soon realize there's never enough time, especially enough time to wash all the tools and bakeware you just used! I was constantly hounding the dishwasher, are my cake pans washed yet? Are my baking sheets washed? I felt so sorry for the man, but I needed them NOW! So disposable is just more convenient to work with. Get the larger size. I find the smaller bags (or maybe because they're made of flimsier material) always burst at the seams.


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## rosesen (Aug 10, 2010)

I'd say it depends....

For cake decorating, I like the Ateco Wunderbag(made in Germany) the best, it's the most durable I've tried, and has great grip - it is canvas that is plastic coated on the inside. Good grip is important for prolonged detail piping. If I were to limited to one size, I'd get the 18". Do not cut the tip too large as they stretch over time. For use everyday, I would expect the bag to have a lifespan of a year or more. One bag alone is $15-20 CAD.

For pastry (whip cream, mousse, etc), I like the disposables too. The grip is not as good, terrible if the outside of the bag gets greasy. However, they do save tons of time by cutting out the washing. I've used these lots for whip cream rosettes. I find that they are $18-20 CAD for a box of 100.

I've also recently heard of silicone bags - haven't tried them yet though, sounds interesting.

I second the UnknownCook in regards to parchment cones/cornets/tubes. Disposable and great for quick detail work.


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