Pastry Bags and such

[matt]

I have thougt about investing in some pastry bags to pipe mashed potatoes or to do some new desserts i would like to try, however, i don't know how to or what kind of bags to get. Anytips would be great.
thanks matt

[husky-fan]

You can find disposable pastry bags, which I highly recommend over the kind that are reusable. The reusable bags are too messy to clean, IMHO!

[Chefmom]

The Wilton "Featherweight" are your best, all around pastry bags. They are readily available, I think most Wal-Marts have decorating sections in their craft department these days. What ever you do, do NOT buy Wilton's vinyl bags. They are cheaper and after the first use they stiffen up so badly that they are NOT usable. Yes, I found this out the hard way.

As for tips, my favorite, all-purpose tips for piping potatoes, cookie dough, finishing desserts are professional sized tips. Not the usual little ones, but larger ones. I buy mine from Parrish's Cake Decorating Supplies. (800) 736-8443, sorry, they don't have a website. I buy there because I could see in the catalog the EXACT tip.

The ziploc bag tip is a good one, but, so many of the bags these days are so thin, that when you squeeze the bag, it sends the tip across the room. Or, you get a seam blowout. Plus zip bags aren't the cheapest thing in the world, I prefer the pastry bag.

For all purpose piping, I would buy a 14 inch. It's good enough for smaller things, and then when you are piping cookie dough, you can hold a little more. My two favorite sizes are 12 and 14 inch.

Tami

[lorilei]

I'm usually very hard on Pampered Chef products, because I have all-too-many that I bought and never use (some because they don't work). But I do love my "Easy Accent Decorator"

I use it for potatoes, whipping cream, and about a half dozen other tasks. It comes with six different tips -- not an extensive amount, but enough to do twice baked potatoes, devilled eggs, and a few different designs on cakes and pies. The unit has held up nicely over the years, and it's easy to clean.

I think they run around $18...

[chefbec]

Yes, the Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator does the trick, I agree. It's also great for filling manicotti and stuffed shells, making fancy appetizers, cake decorating, etc. It's $18.50. If you're interested and you don't have a PC rep, please e-mail me privately! Oh, and it's dishwasher safe...

[This message has been edited by chefbec (edited 04-10-2001).]

[schuh]

If you do go for the traditional pastry bags, I have to second the recommendation to buy disposable bags. I can find them at the supermarket. I have Wilton featherweight bags, and they are nice, but they really are a nuisance to clean and they stain if you are using colored icings. The disposable bags are so much easier to clean up, and really don't handle any differently than the regular bags. Good luck! I find using my pastry bags adds such a nice touch and really doesn't take much extra time.

[funnybone]

Depending on how much you really will be using them, a tip is to use a ziploc, or other plastic bag, and fill it as you would the pastry bag. Then just cut a hole at the corner. You can try this first without investing money on the real thing.

[sneezles]

Wilton products, which are mostly used for cake decorating, work well for mashed potatoes. The bags come in various sizes and the tips are not that expensive. You would need the star tip in a large size for the potatoes. I use the 16" Featherweight bag and
star tip #20 for potatoes.