Pastry Scraper: A Multi-Purpose Tool

You see these used all the time on cooking shows, but not in the way in which they are marketed. These flat pieces of metal are really for cutting and scraping pastry. On Martha Stewart's web site, it's billed as a device used to scrape pastry junk off of a work surface. I sometimes use mine to cut dough when I'm making scones. But on TV (and often in my kitchen) you see them being used as scoopers. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

There are quite a few brands out there on the market. The one I use at home came from Williams-Sonoma. TheWife had a gift certificate for W-S and used part of it to buy me this wonderful present. The W-S version is all steel, with a rounded "handle" the actual blade part is slightly serrated for when you want to use it for actual pastry cutting or scraping.

If ever I'm making a big batch of soup, stew, chili, Jambalaya, gumbo, or anything that requires large amounts of chopped ingredients, I always bring out my J.A. Henckel's chef knife and my scooper/scraper.

Now, I don't recommend everyone going out to Williams-Sonoma. That place is extremely overprices, and besides, it doesn't really fit into the philosophy of Men in Aprons too well. Everyone should be able to cook, not just the super-rich. If you want to find a good pastry scraper/helper check out you local Bed, Bath, and Beyond or similar place. Or check this one from OXO (aff) on Amazon.