We have absolutely no countertops in our kitchen (literally). So, we are building a small island for me to work at. My question is what will work good for pastry, pulled surgar and chocolate. I want to start playing around with these things. Also, it needs to be something that is reasonably priced.

TIA,
Chrissy

Um stainless??????????? Pretty much indestructable and some home improvement stores sell it pretty cheap and could probably let you in on how to bend the edges etc. so you don't injure yourself...........??

I was thinking of stainless. i was also considering marble or granite but thought stainless would be cheaper. I just did not know if it would work good for tempering chocolate. Thanks for the advice.

I have a stainless workstation at my shop & I love it. Its very easy to clean & I bang it up pretty good dropping things on it, but it holds up remarkably well. I also love the look of stainless for kitchens...it gives it a nice clean modern look.

Stainless is also good because germs don't like it!
Leslie

Another vote for stainless here! Easy to clean up, smooth finish, and stainless! You could always just buy a slab of marble to do chocolate work, and I have a Rol-pat for sugar work -- it's great! Then you have the best of all worlds!!

I like stainless,too. But it scratches very easily and if that look doesn't bother you, than go for it!

If you're going to go for it, I'd get a gorgeous piece of granite or marble. Stainless is awesome, but my pastry counter will be Black Galaxy granite. It's beautiful!

Try something called Quartz i believe it is called this. I saw it on Foodtv (kitchen accoplished). It suposed to be cheaper and does not stain. also you dont have to seal it.

I know what quartz is but I did not know that it is used for countertops.

I am aching to have a kitchen with stainless counters/workstations!

I have a slab of marble that I use for working with pastry and chocolate. It sits in the middle of the island (I usually keep a bowl with fruit or peppers or something on top of it or a vase of flowers) and I glued a piece of felt to the bottom of it so I can easily move it to the edge of the counter when I need to work with it. It's way too large to be pulling in and out of the freezer, so I just filled some gallon size ziploc bags with water and laid them on a cookie sheet so they'd freeze flat. I keep them in the freezer and before I need to work with my pastry or whatever, I take the bags of ice out and lay them on top of the marble...gets it nice and cold. But the marble, by nature, stays pretty cool on its own so it doesn't take it long to get good and cold. Can't wait to get the house built, though, as I will have butcher block and stainless counters AND a marble baking station!! Don't know what I'll do with that slab I'm using now once I have that ...lol

I have a big slab of marble also, that I keep on the counter & because it stays cool, I put my cakes & cheesecakes on it once they come out of the oven. It cools them faster than a rack.

JennT: it sounds like you are getting the kitchen I want for my house. This is me sitting here green with envy

Have you heard of Corion. It is like granite but is cheaper. Supposively you can cut right on it and everything. Also if it gets scratched you can just buff out the scratch.

Marble or Granite if it's in the budget. Just make sure it's a continuous surface, with no lines, like tile which are a pain in the toosh. If all else fails, just do your counter tops in whatever you like and get a slab of marble large enough to temper chocolate or do the sugar work on. With the sugar work marble helps but you still need the hot station with the lamp to keep it warm or else it'll get cold too quick and crack on you.