Strange Question About Dowels...
Decorating By cakesrock Updated 27 Oct 2009 , 11:46pm by JenniferMI
Okay, this may be a weird question, but do you/can you wash wooden dowels before you use them? I"m thinking about hygiene here. I bought some that were loose and then I transported them, cut them etc. They weren't in a package and I don't know what they were germs they exposed to. Then I'm just shoving them in a cake that people will eat?
Am I being paranoid? Should I not be using this type of dowel? I can see that plastic would be washed and there wouldn't be an issue, but what about wooden?
Thanks!
yes you can wash them, just let them dry before using them. I always wrap mine in press n seal.
You can always boil them for ten minutes and then they are sterile......I would NEVER wrap them in plastic....what if a piece comes off and a kid gets it caught in their throat...........no no no please don't do that
what if a piece comes off and a kid gets it caught in their throat...........no no no please don't do that
...a little paranoid...but nonetheless, i see your point. Ive had great luck with thick straws, bought a box of 1000 for 10 bucks, and will probably last forever! easy to cut and very strong!
I would rather be safe than sorry...........weird things happen every day......I don't like to go looking for it if ya know what I mean..........you have to be so careful.....
You can always boil them for ten minutes and then they are sterile......I would NEVER wrap them in plastic....what if a piece comes off and a kid gets it caught in their throat...........no no no please don't do that
When it comes to kids, you need to be paranoid! I was watching this show on tv about kids swallowing random things. A 1 year old baby nearly got to the point where she couldn't breath because there was a mass in her throat. They had to cut her open to remove it. Turns out it was a little pink sequin that she had swallowed several months ago. Scar tissue had built up around it and just kept growing.
My point? Something very small can become a big problem.
wow agentdorkfish..............excellent info to share.....your so right.....even older kids....I remember a kid 18 was sitting in his car opening a pack of floor mats for his car, he was at a driveinn hamburger joint, and no one was around...he bit into the plastic to open it and the plastic was sucked back across his wind pipe and he died right there..............freak things happen, thats just my point...be paranoid
Did you buy them from a cake supply store? The wooden ones I buy are loose as well, but my supplier told me they are a special type of timber that is not porous and that's why we use them for cake. I just wipe mine down with a clean towel before I use them. There has been a few threads about this before. Here is one
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=644833&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0
Wrapping in foil is going to be much more likely to leave pieces behind than wrapping plastic...
I always slip the wooden dowel inside a drinking straw (thank you McDonalds) & then cut & then insert into the cake.This way the straw,not the wood is touching the cake,but you still have the support of the wooden dowel.
I use the wooden dowels as well. Where can I find the thick straws I have seen mentioned here? And also, does anyone use regular straws, like from McDonalds? Don't they bend? Also people keep mentioning the ? SPS system. I could not find it in the How To section as someone mentioned. What is this?
There is no way of leaving any foil pcs behind using foil. I tuck the ends in/under as I roll on the rectangle pc. of foil. My thoughts on this are, plastic SLIDES.... with grease. I have been using the foil method literally for years with no problems at all.
Just my .02
Jen
Texas rose, can you tell me where you get your hollow plastic ones from? Al
so, what do you use to cut it?
Also people keep mentioning the ? SPS system. I could not find it in the How To section as someone mentioned. What is this?
Here's info about the SPS. I've never tried it, but other people swear by it. HTH!! http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-603925.html
To answer some questions above:
NO, you can NOT use regular drinking straws. Some people have found success using the bubble tea straws, which are much larger diameter and made of a much thicker plastic.
The plastic dowels can be found at any cake supply store or any store that sells Wilton products. Also available online at GSA and www.countrykitchensa.com. Just use any serrated knife to cut.
SPS (single-plate system) is pretty near fool-proof. No cutting of dowels involved. Available at GSA.
wow agentdorkfish..............excellent info to share.....your so right.....even older kids....I remember a kid 18 was sitting in his car opening a pack of floor mats for his car, he was at a driveinn hamburger joint, and no one was around...he bit into the plastic to open it and the plastic was sucked back across his wind pipe and he died right there..............freak things happen, thats just my point...be paranoid
this exact thing happened to me when I was opening a board game, I couldn't breath for like 2 minutes solid....luckily I didn't panic and wound up being able to get the plastic out but it was a VERY scary moment for myself and my mom who was an onlooker! Needless to say I go and get a pair of scissors or something to open plastic packages now!
I HIGHLY recommend using SPS (many thanks to Leahs) especially if you are transporting your cakes over any distance.
Happy to send you the instructions if you send your email address to me.
You can wipe the dowels down with a weak bleach water solution (like a tablespoon of bleach to a gallon of hot water). Immediately some will respond to this post shrieking that you can't use bleach because it will be in food (happen every time I say this), but YES you can. It's a very commonly used sanitizing agent in almost every restaurant kitchen. But I stress a WEAK solution... it shouldn't smell like the community pool in July.
YES, you CAN use regular drinking straws, and they are especially great for smaller cakes. I have been using them for years.
Ditto PP, I use plain ol' drinking straws for cakes up to 4 tiers high. They taught me that in school and it has been working for me for 6 years.
Ditto PP, I use plain ol' drinking straws for cakes up to 4 tiers high. They taught me that in school and it has been working for me for 6 years.
Rose Levy Berenbaum (author-Cake Bible) talks about how she started using plain ole straws and wishes she could have patented it. Don't know how she coulda done that....
Toba Garrett says she uses lollipop sticks. Anyone have an good/bad experience with those?
Toba Garrett says she uses lollipop sticks. Anyone have an good/bad experience with those?
That would not be something I would even think about doing.
I just did a two-tiered cake using skewers, (like for making shishkabobs) DISASTER!!! The cake fell apart! Seeing as they are about the size of a lollipop stick, I wouldn't recommend either. I had 4 in the first layer, and then one down through both layers. The cake was an 8" and 6" layer, and for some reason I found the skewers and decided to try them. OMG, never again! The cake also had several cute pumpkins made of fondant on top, I don't know if they were too heavy and pulled the cake over?? You can see the cake (before disaster) in my pictures.
If there is one thing you should NEVER skimp on, it's the support system in your cakes. Use STURDY supports.... always....always.....
Jen
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