Brushes

Washing-up brush with tea towels. Michelle Coppiens / Pixabay.com / 2014 / CC0 1.0

Studio artists have their brushes, but then so, too, do the kitchen artists known as “cooks.”

Brushes in the kitchen are indispensable for everything from cleaning of both dishes and produce, and for actual food preparation.

They may even be one of our oldest companions in the kitchen up there with fire, because brushes were needed to clear last night’s ash out of the cooking pits so today’s cooking could begin anew.

“There were…. countless cleaning brushes designed to do all sorts of ridiculous jobs. There were tapered brushes and curved brushes, long, short, round, square and oblong brushes that their makers pretended had a specific use, though of course they didn’t at all. Most could have been used for any cleaning job. There were jug brushes, plate brushes, saucepan brushes, wallpaper brushes, floor brushes, hearth brushes, skirting board brushes, rug brushes and even celery bloody brushes!” — Jackman, Nancy. With Tom Quinn. The Cook’s Tale. London: Hodder & Stoughton. 2012. Page 124.

Types of brushes

Basting brushes

Basting brushes are brushes uniquely designed for basting liquids such as oils, marinades, sauces, glazes, meat juices, etc. onto items while they are cooking. As such, the design of basting brushes tries to meet two challenges.

Mushroom Brush

Mushroom brushes are very soft brushes used to help clean specks of dirt off a mushroom without scraping off the skin of the mushroom.

Pastry Brush

Pastry brushes are small brushes with soft bristles, used to brush sauces, oils or glazes on food items that can be sweet or savoury. Both the handles and the tines of the brushes are now made from many different materials.

Washing Up Brush

A washing-up brush is a kitchen tool used for washing up dishes, kitchen utensils, pots and pans, etc. There are popular in some areas of the world, and in others, completely unknown.