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Strange question about dowels...

post #1 of 28
10/22/09 at 5:21pm
Thread Starter 
Okay, this may be a weird question, but do you/can you wash wooden dowels before you use them? I"m thinking about hygiene here. I bought some that were loose and then I transported them, cut them etc. They weren't in a package and I don't know what they were germs they exposed to. Then I'm just shoving them in a cake that people will eat?

Am I being paranoid? Should I not be using this type of dowel? I can see that plastic would be washed and there wouldn't be an issue, but what about wooden?

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Edible art is the best kind of art!
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post #2 of 28
10/22/09 at 5:34pm
yes you can wash them, just let them dry before using them. I always wrap mine in press n seal.
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post #3 of 28
10/22/09 at 5:41pm
You can always boil them for ten minutes and then they are sterile......I would NEVER wrap them in plastic....what if a piece comes off and a kid gets it caught in their throat...........no no no please don't do that
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post #4 of 28
10/22/09 at 6:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by madgeowens

what if a piece comes off and a kid gets it caught in their throat...........no no no please don't do that



...a little paranoid...but nonetheless, i see your point. Ive had great luck with thick straws, bought a box of 1000 for 10 bucks, and will probably last forever! easy to cut and very strong!
Wiley Saccheri
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Wiley Saccheri
Sublime Cake Design

Ultimate Cake Off Assistant Episodes 108 and 209!
Go Winbeckler Team!
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post #5 of 28
10/22/09 at 6:59pm
I would rather be safe than sorry...........weird things happen every day......I don't like to go looking for it if ya know what I mean..........you have to be so careful.....
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post #6 of 28
10/22/09 at 7:01pm
I use the hollow plastic dowels...easier to cut and they seem so much cleaner.
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post #7 of 28
10/22/09 at 7:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by madgeowens

You can always boil them for ten minutes and then they are sterile......I would NEVER wrap them in plastic....what if a piece comes off and a kid gets it caught in their throat...........no no no please don't do that


When it comes to kids, you need to be paranoid! I was watching this show on tv about kids swallowing random things. A 1 year old baby nearly got to the point where she couldn't breath because there was a mass in her throat. They had to cut her open to remove it. Turns out it was a little pink sequin that she had swallowed several months ago. Scar tissue had built up around it and just kept growing.

My point? Something very small can become a big problem.
-Christy
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-Christy
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post #8 of 28
10/22/09 at 7:59pm
wow agentdorkfish..............excellent info to share.....your so right.....even older kids....I remember a kid 18 was sitting in his car opening a pack of floor mats for his car, he was at a driveinn hamburger joint, and no one was around...he bit into the plastic to open it and the plastic was sucked back across his wind pipe and he died right there..............freak things happen, thats just my point...be paranoid
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post #9 of 28
10/24/09 at 1:48pm
I cover them in thin aluminum foil, easy.... really...

Jen icon_smile.gif
Jennifer Dontz - Traveling sugar art teacher
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Jennifer Dontz - Traveling sugar art teacher
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NOW SHIPPING!!!! CYMBIDIUM ORCHID / IVY DVD!
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post #10 of 28
10/24/09 at 5:20pm
Did you buy them from a cake supply store? The wooden ones I buy are loose as well, but my supplier told me they are a special type of timber that is not porous and that's why we use them for cake. I just wipe mine down with a clean towel before I use them. There has been a few threads about this before. Here is one

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=644833&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0
"When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before." Mae West.
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"When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before." Mae West.
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post #11 of 28
10/24/09 at 6:31pm
Wrapping in foil is going to be much more likely to leave pieces behind than wrapping plastic...
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post #12 of 28
10/25/09 at 5:15am
I always slip the wooden dowel inside a drinking straw (thank you McDonalds) & then cut & then insert into the cake.This way the straw,not the wood is touching the cake,but you still have the support of the wooden dowel.
"cake today...diet tomorrow"
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"cake today...diet tomorrow"
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post #13 of 28
10/25/09 at 5:47am
I use the wooden dowels as well. Where can I find the thick straws I have seen mentioned here? And also, does anyone use regular straws, like from McDonalds? Don't they bend? Also people keep mentioning the ? SPS system. I could not find it in the How To section as someone mentioned. What is this?
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post #14 of 28
10/25/09 at 6:13am
There is no way of leaving any foil pcs behind using foil. I tuck the ends in/under as I roll on the rectangle pc. of foil. My thoughts on this are, plastic SLIDES.... with grease. I have been using the foil method literally for years with no problems at all.

Just my .02 icon_smile.gif

Jen icon_smile.gif
Jennifer Dontz - Traveling sugar art teacher
Online store/gallery: www.sugardelites.com
NOW SHIPPING!!!! CYMBIDIUM ORCHID / IVY DVD!
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Jennifer Dontz - Traveling sugar art teacher
Online store/gallery: www.sugardelites.com
NOW SHIPPING!!!! CYMBIDIUM ORCHID / IVY DVD!
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post #15 of 28
10/26/09 at 7:43am
Texas rose, can you tell me where you get your hollow plastic ones from? Al
so, what do you use to cut it?
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