Disposable Decorating Bags Versus Featherweight Reusable...
Decorating By PinkPetals Updated 18 Oct 2013 , 8:24am by owatto
Is the ease of clean-up worth the ongoing cost of buying disposable decorating bags? Or do you use the reusable kind and wash them out? Lately I've been so tired after decorating that it's so nice to pull out my tips and toss the bag. But I'm just curious what all of you guys do
I use disposable because I hate washing the bags. If you break the cost down per bag it really isn't that bad.
I use both, it depends on my mood I guess. I don't like washing a lot of bags, but sometimes, I don't want to deal with possible "bag blowout" either.
I like the feel and strength of featherweight, but HATE the clean up. I prefer disposable. Plus, sometimes I have trouble getting my couplers to screw together over a featherweight.
I used to try to use disposable all the time, just for ease of cleanup....but since I heard about frosting plugs I pretty much only use the washable bags.
Do a search on frosting plugs and you'll find out all about them!
I dont' even OWN any non-disposable bags anymore. In my shop, time is money so the bottom line is that disposables are cheaper for me all the way around. Plus I just think they're more sanitary. I'll be the first to admit that sounds silly, but .....! The cost-per-bag is practically pennies. I buy a box of 100 and it lasts me for weeks.
I use both, depending on what I'm doing. If I'm working with a lot of colors and tips, I use the disposable ones. If I'm only working with a couple of colors I use the featherweight ones.
Regarding my preference, I definitely prefer the featherweight bags, they just feel better and I feel like I have better control. I started out thinking I wouldn't need them since I'm just a hobby baker but I got one to use with the frosting tip and it was so comforatble in my hand that I bought several more.
For me clean-up isn't that big of a deal. I just get my water really hot, get all the frosting I can out, drizzle in a little dawn, get the sprayer and it cleans up in a flash, no residual greasy feel, no color stains. Sometimes I'd rather clean that up than mess with getting the couplers out of a disposable bag.
Haven't tried the frosting plugs yet, wish I heard about them sooner.
cakesbyjam and I found some new disposable bags at our DOS a couple of months ago and really like them. They have a rough texture on the outside so they aren't slippery. They are a little more expensive but I really like them.
If I only need a small amount of different color frostings, I just cut the corner on ziplock bags put my tip on and I'm good to go.
I use all disposable bags... not worth my time to be scrubbing out piping bags. I do keep some canvas bags on hand (I like Ateco brand best), and I actually drop the disposable bag inside the canvas one because I find the canvas easier to grip/handle, especially when it's hot.
Sometimes I'd rather clean that up than mess with getting the couplers out of a disposable bag.
Cut the bag off about an inch above the coupler. Cut a slit in the plastic bag to be able to "unwrap" the coupler. They're disposable.....cut them off and trash 'em.
Disposable all the way! I use frosting plugs and the bags last forever.
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-588591.html
Indydebi - this is me hitting myself on the head saying "duh"... Don't know why it never dawned on me to cut above the coupler, again, duh. I usually try to just cut a snip in the plastic bag and pull the coupler out. What I usually end up snipping is my finger.
my way - your way much better.
But they are still a little slippery in my hot hands. Maybe I'll put the disposable one in the featherweight bag and try that.
Thanks Indydebi and PinkZiab!
Indydebi - this is me hitting myself on the head saying "duh"... Don't know why it never dawned on me to cut above the coupler,
YOu're not alone. I've read threads where folks would just drop the tip in the bag (I do that with the BIG tips ... no coupler), and they'd anguish about having to stick their hand into the bag to get the tip out. Huh? Just cut the dang thing off and slip the tip out. They'd respond the same way .... "DUH!"
I like to use my featherweights for royal icing because they're a lot easier to clean since there's no grease. For buttercream I always stick to disposable since I can just cut off the tip and throw the bag away.
I don't like featherweight..is too soft and slippery, gets greasy outside with use..
I prefer disposable..
Edna
I agree with other posters. I will mix between the two. I like th durability of the featherweight, but hate cleaning them. I have tried the ziplock bag trick before, but I always have a blowout with them.
th only time i use disposable it when i take a repair kit with me on a delivery, otherwise its parchment 99% of the time for me. I use FW for borders and larger tips.
If Im not changing the tip, I just throw the tip in the bag without a coupler, then just cut the bag a little above the tip to get it out when Im done. If im changing tips, I use a coupler.
Fine piping RI or BC - parchment
Masses of buttercream - disposable all the way. I get them via eBay for $6 per 100. They are rough on the outside, easy to handle.
RI - either disposable or canvas depending on the thickness of the RI, and fine-ness of the tip.
i use disposables. ok it may surprise many people that i wash my disposable bags and reuse, until they are non-reusable anymore (that'll take a while to happen).
another thing, while i do have couplers, i don't really like using them. so what i do is, i stuff icing in one dispo bag (call it bag #1), then take another dispo bag (bag #2) and put the tip in bag #2.
then put bag #1 IN bag #2.
when i need to change tips, i just take bag #2 out, change the tip, and put it back on again. so less one equipment to wash : coupler. bag #2 is normally clean, so no throwing or washing needed, most of the time.
I'm curious if anyone has ever found a disposable bag smaller than 12"? I like the ease of the disposable, but when you only need to put a little icing in a bag it seems like a waste to use a 12" bag. :)
Christy
the nice thing about the parchment triangles, is when you just need a tiny bit of icing for glue or small accents you can cut the triangle in half and you have small parchment bags.
ACanvas for now, but only because I haven't gotten around to ordering more disposable ones. I prefer ateco over wilton . I would love to work more with parchment, Where can I find precut parchment triangles ? Sometimes my measurements are off and I end up with wonky triangular shapes
Quote:
Canvas for now, but only because I haven't gotten around to ordering more disposable ones. I prefer ateco over wilton . I would love to work more with parchment, Where can I find precut parchment triangles ? Sometimes my measurements are off and I end up with wonky triangular shapes
"CK Products parchment triangles 15"
I've have had the box for ages, don't remember where they came from, but I use them often.
I love featherweight bags, and don't mind disposable.
I don't like that with disposable, if your using a thick icing the bag can burst from the pressure.
So I put the icing in a disposable bag and cut off the end (a fair bit, maybe 2 to 3 cm), prepare the featherweight bag with a coupler and tip, then put the disposable bag (that's full of your icing) in the featherweight bag. Then you only have to clean a small amount of the featherweight bag and the tip and can throw the other bag out.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%