Stopping Hot Hands - Tip of the Day

by Monika Bartyzel, Posted Mar 18th 2009 @ 9:00AM

Are your hot hands wrecking your heat-sensitive baking?

Hands are useful for a great many things, especially in the kitchen. But they can also make a warm and sticky mess of a dish. Whether you're piping frosting or working with dough, the heat from your hands will come into play and warm and/or melt temperature-sensitive foods.

Working quickly helps, but the last thing you want to do is rush your prep in a panic. Another, easier solution: Keep something cold nearby, so that you can regulate the temperature of your hands.

Figure out what space you have free in your freezer, and find a tool in your kitchen (able to withstand cold temperatures) that can be slipped in and chilled. Pull it out when you're ready to get to work, and grasp the object now and then to keep the temperature of your hands down.

A small, dry baking pan will work well, or you can even freeze a bottle of water. If choosing the latter, just make sure to wrap it in something so that the condensation doesn't wet your hands and slow your work.

Filed Under: Tip of the Day
Tags: baking, cool hands, CoolHands, hot hands, HotHands