Whip Your Baking Center Into Shape
by Patricia Lee
Here’s how to corral your supplies and ingredients
to make creating treats a sweeter experience
Do you love baking but find that the thought of getting all the supplies out — and fitting everything back in the cupboards afterward — is enough to send you on a trip to buy your cupcakes and macarons instead? If so, it’s time to organize and pare down your supplies. That way, when your next baking inspiration hits, you’ll know where everything is.
1. Centralize Your Supplies
Consider keeping all your baking items together. Many ingredients and tools are unique to baking and can be kept separate from other kitchen items. You’ll want to store your ingredients in a dark, cool spot, so keep that in mind as you determine where to place your baking center. If space allows, a rolling kitchen cart is one way to keep your stand mixer off your counter yet close at hand and easy to use.
Your stand mixer can be used directly on the cart without lifting or moving it and your ingredients can be stored in the space below. When not in use, the cart can be easily rolled to a more inconspicuous spot, freeing up space in your kitchen.
If you prefer to keep your baking items in the core of your kitchen, I would still recommend grouping items together for ease of gathering and tidying up afterward. Once you’ve determined a dedicated baking area, it’s time to review your items.
2. Toss Expired, Ineffective Ingredients
It’s easy to overlook expiration dates when there are no visual or olfactory clues of decay. There’s no question when milk has spoiled, but what about flour or baking soda or vanilla or sprinkles?
Currently, no federal regulations are in place for food product dating, except for infant formula. In an attempt to minimize confusion, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute encourage companies to limit product dating to two categories: “Best if used by” (product may not be as fresh after the date but is still safe to consume) and “Use by” (product may be less safe as it ages beyond the date). It may be comforting to know that most of your food will probably fall into the former category.
But what does that really mean for your everyday life? Personally, I would be embarrassed to bring a cake to a dinner party made with safe but stale ingredients. Therefore, for my own pantry, these categories make sense to me:
- Ingredient will spoil or lose its effectiveness and should not be kept past its expiration date or long after its “best by” date (milk, nuts, frosting, yeast, butter).
- Ingredient can be kept past expiration date with monitoring. Potency will decrease with time or ingredient may eventually become rancid or stale (baking soda, baking powder, imitation extracts, flour).
- Ingredient can be kept indefinitely with proper storage (sugar, pure vanilla, corn syrup, honey, salt).
When reviewing your ingredients, also consider which items, realistically, you will not use again. Perhaps you had a unique baking project and are left with supplies that wouldn’t be sufficient for another batch or no longer make sense, such as icing decorations for a baby shower. Let them go, as this will free up valuable space to keep your often-used items organized and easily accessible.
3. Sort and Edit Accessories
Next, find a large space to spread out, gather all your baking accessories together and sort them into categories. These categories might include measuring items, mixing bowls, baking trays, baking pans, decorating tools and appliances. Once all the items have been sorted, sift through each category, removing unused items and duplicates. Complete one category before advancing to another.
Consider your current lifestyle. If you no longer need to bake five dozen cupcakes for your child’s birthday parties, you might be able to reduce the number of cupcake pans you own or give up your cupcake carrier. If you have a bullet blender, a nut chopper may be redundant. However, the one supply category I would advocate keeping duplicates of is measuring cups and spoons. If you have a dedicated baking cart, it might be more convenient to keep an extra set with the rest of the baking supplies.
4. Invest in Airtight Storage Containers
To maximize the freshness of your ingredients, minimize air contact. Investing in airtight containers can save you money in the long run by extending the shelf life of your ingredients.
Choose containers that stack and line up well together, keeping in mind that square or rectangular ones may create more usable space than round ones. Select containers large enough to hold the typical amount of ingredient you purchase, so you don’t always have half a bag of something sitting around.
I recommend grouping small and random items — cookie cutters, cupcake liners, bottles of food coloring, small appliance parts — into containers to keep them organized. Clear containers or clearly labeled opaque ones will make organizing and finding items easier. Before you buy, be sure to measure your space to ensure the containers will fit well.
5. Reduce Recipe Clutter
I used to have a three-inch binder crammed with recipes. But I only ever used about 12 of them. Most of the others I either tried once and never used again, because they were too complicated or didn’t taste good, or I hadn’t yet got around to them. I found myself turning more to the internet for recipes, so I got rid of the paper copies and began saving my favorite recipes digitally, including scanned versions of my favorites from the binder.
Digital recipes work best for me, but if they don’t for you and you prefer hard-copy recipes, then recycle all your unused recipes and preserve your remaining ones with sheet protectors.
6. Organize Your Supplies
After you’ve pared down your ingredients and supplies, you can organize your space. Keep your most-used items in the front for easy access. If space allows, storing your bakeware vertically, using something similar to a pot lid organizer, will provide you with a clear view and easy retrieval. Otherwise, nest your bakeware. Seasonal items can take a backseat if they’re used only once a year. Organize according to how you use your items so that your baking spot works best for you.
Cabinet-S-Top loves to help you get organized. Stop by our showroom located at 1977 Medina Road, Medina, OH 44256 ~ 330.239.3630 www.cabinet-s-top.com
Consider keeping all your baking items together. Many ingredients and tools are unique to baking and can be kept separate from other kitchen items. You’ll want to store your ingredients in a dark, cool spot, so keep that in mind as you determine where to place your baking center. If space allows, a rolling kitchen cart is one way to keep your stand mixer off your counter yet close at hand and easy to use.
If you prefer to keep your baking items in the core of your kitchen, I would still recommend grouping items together for ease of gathering and tidying up afterward. Once you’ve determined a dedicated baking area, it’s time to review your items.
It’s easy to overlook expiration dates when there are no visual or olfactory clues of decay. There’s no question when milk has spoiled, but what about flour or baking soda or vanilla or sprinkles?
Currently, no federal regulations are in place for food product dating, except for infant formula. In an attempt to minimize confusion, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute encourage companies to limit product dating to two categories: “Best if used by” (product may not be as fresh after the date but is still safe to consume) and “Use by” (product may be less safe as it ages beyond the date). It may be comforting to know that most of your food will probably fall into the former category.
But what does that really mean for your everyday life? Personally, I would be embarrassed to bring a cake to a dinner party made with safe but stale ingredients. Therefore, for my own pantry, these categories make sense to me:
- Ingredient will spoil or lose its effectiveness and should not be kept past its expiration date or long after its “best by” date (milk, nuts, frosting, yeast, butter).
- Ingredient can be kept past expiration date with monitoring. Potency will decrease with time or ingredient may eventually become rancid or stale (baking soda, baking powder, imitation extracts, flour).
- Ingredient can be kept indefinitely with proper storage (sugar, pure vanilla, corn syrup, honey, salt).
When reviewing your ingredients, also consider which items, realistically, you will not use again. Perhaps you had a unique baking project and are left with supplies that wouldn’t be sufficient for another batch or no longer make sense, such as icing decorations for a baby shower. Let them go, as this will free up valuable space to keep your often-used items organized and easily accessible.
3. Sort and Edit Accessories
Next, find a large space to spread out, gather all your baking accessories together and sort them into categories. These categories might include measuring items, mixing bowls, baking trays, baking pans, decorating tools and appliances. Once all the items have been sorted, sift through each category, removing unused items and duplicates. Complete one category before advancing to another.
Consider your current lifestyle. If you no longer need to bake five dozen cupcakes for your child’s birthday parties, you might be able to reduce the number of cupcake pans you own or give up your cupcake carrier. If you have a bullet blender, a nut chopper may be redundant. However, the one supply category I would advocate keeping duplicates of is measuring cups and spoons. If you have a dedicated baking cart, it might be more convenient to keep an extra set with the rest of the baking supplies.
4. Invest in Airtight Storage Containers
To maximize the freshness of your ingredients, minimize air contact. Investing in airtight containers can save you money in the long run by extending the shelf life of your ingredients.
Choose containers that stack and line up well together, keeping in mind that square or rectangular ones may create more usable space than round ones. Select containers large enough to hold the typical amount of ingredient you purchase, so you don’t always have half a bag of something sitting around.
I recommend grouping small and random items — cookie cutters, cupcake liners, bottles of food coloring, small appliance parts — into containers to keep them organized. Clear containers or clearly labeled opaque ones will make organizing and finding items easier. Before you buy, be sure to measure your space to ensure the containers will fit well.
5. Reduce Recipe Clutter
I used to have a three-inch binder crammed with recipes. But I only ever used about 12 of them. Most of the others I either tried once and never used again, because they were too complicated or didn’t taste good, or I hadn’t yet got around to them. I found myself turning more to the internet for recipes, so I got rid of the paper copies and began saving my favorite recipes digitally, including scanned versions of my favorites from the binder.
Digital recipes work best for me, but if they don’t for you and you prefer hard-copy recipes, then recycle all your unused recipes and preserve your remaining ones with sheet protectors.
I used to have a three-inch binder crammed with recipes. But I only ever used about 12 of them. Most of the others I either tried once and never used again, because they were too complicated or didn’t taste good, or I hadn’t yet got around to them. I found myself turning more to the internet for recipes, so I got rid of the paper copies and began saving my favorite recipes digitally, including scanned versions of my favorites from the binder.
Digital recipes work best for me, but if they don’t for you and you prefer hard-copy recipes, then recycle all your unused recipes and preserve your remaining ones with sheet protectors.
6. Organize Your Supplies
After you’ve pared down your ingredients and supplies, you can organize your space. Keep your most-used items in the front for easy access. If space allows, storing your bakeware vertically, using something similar to a pot lid organizer, will provide you with a clear view and easy retrieval. Otherwise, nest your bakeware. Seasonal items can take a backseat if they’re used only once a year. Organize according to how you use your items so that your baking spot works best for you.
Cabinet-S-Top loves to help you get organized. Stop by our showroom located at 1977 Medina Road, Medina, OH 44256 ~ 330.239.3630 www.cabinet-s-top.com
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