This year, Dan surprised me with a new rolling pin for Christmas. And by the way, I LOVE receiving practical things and kitchen tools for any and all occasions. I’ve never been insulted and love getting useful and well-engineered kitchen tools. I had never used a stainless-steel rolling pin and was a bit intimidated at first. Not only is it stainless steel but you are also supposed to put it into the freezer before using it. Whaaaaat???
I have had a few different rolling pins over the years. This year I received another rolling pin to add to my arsenal;-). One that Marton Mama used to use when she was cooking more. Some things mean something whether you are actually using it or not yet. I remember my mom’s long wooden rolling pin. It was about 2 ½ feet long and looked like half of a wooden closet rod from what was then considered a full-size closet. Back in the 70s, closets where nothing like what they are today. My mom commandeered that rod like nobody’s business. She made, from scratch, every noodle we ever ate in those early days after we arrived in the USA as Hungarian immigrants. And that was AFTER working a full shift at Hof’s Hut in their hot kitchens, taking a bus home and then walking about 5 or 6 blocks to our little house on Lemon Ave. That was just “her normal”, as well as ours. It wasn’t considered fancy or special (although it incredibly was of course!) It was just cheap and practical and what my mom knew…
Recently I had a strange issue occur that had me perplexed for a few weeks. It started off with me finding a tiny ball bearing in the crust of a pie I had baked. Was it in the flour? Where did this bearing come from? I was
I saved it long enough to show Dan and then discarded it. Not long after, there was another random little bearing on my countertop, and I was confused because I was certain that I had thrown the previous one away. It wasn’t until a little while later when one came out of the rolling pin I use most often. I finally realized where they were coming from! My largest rolling pin with the separate twirling handles was the culprit. I realized that the bearing housing in the rolling pin disintegrated and the ball bearings were rolling out into the food. I didn’t even realize there were bearings in there that could come rolling out like that.
All that to say, if your rolling pin, that has separate spinning handles gives you any kind of resistance or makes any strange noises, check it out. Bearings are not nice to teeth when they are bitten into. Just saying. 😉
Another rolling pin I want to mention that I haven’t been a fan of are the French rolling pins that are fatter in the center and then taper toward the ends. I’m not sure what these kinds of rolling pins are intended for but they have not functioned well for me with any of the doughs I have tried rolling out while using it. Maybe I just never got efficient with it but I would not buy another one of those at this point.
I really do like this new rolling pin Dan got me. I will still replace the one with the bearings because I think it works well for kids and I love cooking and baking with my grandkids, but my personal favorite rolling pin right now is this stainless one that goes into the fridge for a few minutes before use. . J
Professional French Rolling Pin for Baking – 15.75″ Smooth Stainless Steel Metal has Tapered Design Best for Fondant, Pie Crust, Cookie, Pastry, Pasta, Pizza Dough – Chef Baker Roller by Ultra Cuisine
The assortment of rolling pins comes in handy when the whole crew is over. Whether we are playing with play dough or making Christmas cookies, the more the merrier.. Or at least crazier! J
