Rolling pins if you bake are necessary in your kitchen. There are many types and styles available. For awhile Tupperware made a hollow one that you filled with ice. I never tried it but my neighbor owned one. She also did not do much baking so not sure what she used it for.
I use mine a lot as I bake a lot of pies. I also use it to crush crackers for crumbs and have used it in a bind to flatten chicken or pork slices. Sue uses hers frequently in bread baking to roll out dough.
Both Sue and I have the plastic ones. Hers is an OXO and mine is so old that I don’t know what the brand is, mine is the yellow one in the center of the photo. I knew it was old when I spotted it in a collection of old rolling pins Martha Stewart has. As I have been writing these posts I realized how many of my kitchen items are from my first year of being married and from the wedding showers. Those older items really were better at lasting than many are now days.
Our Grandmother used a handled wooden pin and the long tapered wooden pins seem to be used by a lot of chefs. I never could get the hang of using one though.
I do think the marble pins would be great if I was making a lot of candy or fondant but find I don’t want to pay the price of them.
The first rolling pins were homemade from wood. Commercial production of rolling pins first occurred in the mid-19th century. Pine had become scarce during this time, so manufacturers began using hardwoods such as cherry and maple to produce rolling pins along with other wooden kitchenware.
In the late 1800s J.W. Reed, an African-American Inventor, developed and patented a version of the rolling pin that had a central rod. With this new type of rolling pin, the handles did not spin along with the body; this design is similar to what bakers use today.
When you are looking at them try to handle them and see how they fit in your hands. Hopefully you are only going to buy one and you might want to make sure it works well for you. It will make your pie crust baking a pleasure instead of a chore.
These recipes are easier with a good rolling pin:
Cheddar Cheese Crackers
Oatmeal Cinnamon Bread
Cookie Pinwheels
Orange Almond Braided Coffee Cake
Homemade Lard Noodles with Chicken
Myrna's Favorite Pie Crust
These recipes are easier with a good rolling pin:
Cheddar Cheese Crackers
Oatmeal Cinnamon Bread
Cookie Pinwheels
Orange Almond Braided Coffee Cake
Homemade Lard Noodles with Chicken
Myrna's Favorite Pie Crust
I have ended up with a bunch of them. I have a lot hanging from the ceiling from a pot holder. I love them.
ReplyDeleteI have the classic spinning wooden roller, just like Mother's. I bought it at a flea market when I was first married, unhappy with the ones I was finding in the stores. The ball bearings roll soooo smoothly--like buttah, as they say! I wouldn't mind a long wooden pin roller for pizza, but am pretty satisfied with the single rolling pin I have.
ReplyDeleteOne additional thought...measure the drawer or cabinet you want to keep your rolling pin in...I bought one I had to return because it was too long for any convenient 'home' in my kitchen...I kept my old black plastic OXO.
ReplyDeletePeople get attached to their favorite rolling pin. I just rolled out two pie crusts for Thanksgiving and decided that I really don't need a new rolling pin even though I was thinking about it. I know what mine will do and that is always a plus. JR, honey you are supposed to use those pins not have them hanging from the ceiling, lol.
ReplyDeleteMy mother used an empty 750ml/1.5 US pint glass vinegar-bottle with its screw cap on, she'd used it as long as I remember.
ReplyDeleteMy own rolling pin is a 1971 wooden model with handles that stay still.
[Valerie, NZ]
I had heard of using a beer bottle but never knew anyone who did. Our Grandma and Mom used a wooden model also with handles that remained still.
DeleteMy grandmother gave me her mother's rolling pin. It is wooden, all one piece & it weighs a ton. I LOVE it! I use it a lot around the holidays. It has been in use by our family for almost 100 years. They don't make things like they used to that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteNow that is fun to have, and you are right, they don't make things to last like that rolling pin has.
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