Scrapers were the most coveted freebie amongst my fellow students when I was training to be a baker.
Think of them as spatulas but much better!
Millers and other ingredient suppliers used them as marketing tools and I had a prized collection by the time I qualified. Huge ones half the size of bucket lids for scraping out industrial mixers, strong ones with perfectly square edges for smoothing royal icing, thin ones for scraping out mixing bowls almost clean enough not to need washing, serrated edged ones for ridged finishes on gateaux… They’re so useful that my supply has finally dwindled and although the domestic market is beginning to catch on, the ones I’ve seen for sale aren’t quite bendy enough for scraping out bowls!
Recycling to make things for your own use seems even more edifying than entrusting it to someone else – see if you agree! Click on more for ‘how to’ and some tips.
You can make any size and thickness you want to of course, but my preferred bit of otherwise-waste to use is a lid or base of a 500g Flora/similar tub, especially now that the plastic is printed directly so there’s no label to remove. (Food containers are the obvious choice, already being food-safe). Hopefully the picture is self explanatory. It’s important to get a symmetrical curve – try making a template by folding paper or card in half first.
Hold the straight edge when you’re scraping out bowls – the rounded edge fits rounded bowls.
Hold the rounded edge and use the straight edge to scrape crumbs off work surfaces, scrape out straight sided saucepans etc or smooth coating around the sides of a cake or dessert. (Tip: this is easiest to do with the cake on a turntable or lazy susan. Spread the coating roughly onto the cake sides with a pallet knife first then hold the straight edge still against the side as you spin the cake around with your other hand. It would be easier to show you on video than explain it like this - maybe I should do that…maybe someone else already has…).
Try cutting a serrated edge instead of straight to make a scraper into a decorative tool – just using pinking shears will make professional ridges in say, chocolate ganache coating. Otherwise get more creative and cut whatever shaped edge you fancy experimenting with.