Moulds. © CooksInfo / 2020
A mould is an item in which a food dish is cooked or prepared, and then turned out of for serving. Its function is to both hold the food item in question together, and to form it into a pleasing or useful shape for presentation.
Some are heat proof; others are not. Materials used to make moulds can include wood, metal, glass or plastic.
In some cuisines, pie tins are thought of as moulds rather than pans. For instance, the French refer to them as “moules à tarte”, meaning literally “pie moulds.”
Unmoulding a food item is thought by many cooks to be one of the more terrifying tasks in a kitchen, for fear that the food will stick to the mould or the shape lost or destroyed during the process.
Types of moulds
Butter Moulds
Butter moulds are used to make portions of butter either more decorative for a pleasing effect, or to make them into a standard-sized shape for sale.
Chinese Pretzel Iron
A Chinese pretzel iron is a version of a rosette iron that tends to have somewhat larger patterns available and be somewhat "deeper" in its height. They can be hard to find, so most people use rosette irons instead.
Dariole Moulds
A dariole mould is a cylinder-shaped mould for baking or moulding. They often look like miniature metal flower pots.
Egg Corrals
An egg corral (aka egg ring, pancake ring) is a steel round ring used to contain and mould eggs while cooking them.
Flan Moulds
Flan moulds are moulds for making the Spanish-style dessert flan of custard and caramel sauce.
Jelly Moulds
A jelly mould is a tool for shaping gelatin or aspic dishes in. Once set and turned out of the mould, the jelly is meant to retain the shape of the mould. The jelly can be savoury or sweet.
Kaiser Roll Stamp
A kaiser roll stamp provides a shortcut to giving kaiser rolls their classic five-spoked swirled look at the top.
Panettone Moulds
Panettone moulds are baking moulds with very high sides in which the Italian Christmas bread called "panettone" is baked. They come in metal or paper.
Pastry Frame
A pastry frame is a device in the form of an assembled frame whose purpose is to hold a "pastry cloth" in place while you are rolling out pastry on it.
Pâté Moulds
Pâté moulds are for shaping pâtés in. They can be oval, or a long and narrow rectangle. There are no standard dimensions or volumes.
Rosette Iron
A rosette iron is a metal rod with a heat-proof handle. At the other end of the metal rod, you screw patterned, open moulds onto.
