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What are some good solutions for dispensing whipped cream into swirls in a consistent fasion, maybe a specific shape etc.? I was envisioning something just like a caulk gun where you fill the container with your cream and then squeeze out of it. I tried googling buy all I got were pressurized cartridge bottles for making whipped cream. I don't want it to make whipped cream, just squeeze out little swirls.

3 Answers 3

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The chaulk gun for kitchens is called cookie press and looks like this:

cookie press

I know that some use it to decorate cakes and with whipped cream, too (some come with decorating tips, some don't), but IMHO it's a wiser idea to learn how to handle a pastry bag - the results will be better with sufficient practise.

But if you should have problems with your hands or simply love all kinds of "machinery", the cookie press might be an option worth checking out. You can either "pull the trigger" for a pre-defined amount or unlock it and simply push the plunger.

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  • yes, this is exactly what i want
    – amphibient
    Mar 30, 2015 at 19:01
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    I fear that the critical part of your message will be neglected: "IMHO it's a wiser idea to learn how to handle a pastry bag - the results will be better". The ratcheting mechanism of the pastry gun will make it difficult to control the swirl if it doesn't serve the right amount in one trigger pull, and you hold it from the wrong end (every movement at your hand is amplified down the length of the press)
    – Joe
    Mar 30, 2015 at 20:28
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    Just for clarification: I can think of one scenario where a cookie press or icing syringe might be an option: If you cannot control your hands /fingers properly due to health reasons like severe arthritis or rheumatism - I know of one case personally. She manages to get at least a decent swirl on cupcakes by pushing the plunger, fine lines etc. where one uses a pastry bag are unachievable for her anyway. This is what I meant with "if you should have problems with your hands". (And of course I upvoted Cindys answer.)
    – Stephie
    Mar 31, 2015 at 18:30
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My suggestion would be to use a piping bag. You can get various tips so you can change up the swirls and lines as you like.

Added by Jolenealaska:

I hope you look at the comments and all of the answers here. I have used both pastry bags (many times), and a caulk-gun thing once before I threw it away.

Disposable bags are not expensive unless you use a lot of them. And there is no clean up, 'cause you just throw them away.

The caulk gun looking thing is cumbersome and a pain to clean, pastry bags are a much better option. I realize that is a subjective thing to say, but there is a reason you never see pastry chefs using the caulk-gun thing.

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Different tips give different results.

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A coupler makes it easy to change tips or to use the same tip for different bags (colors).

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Then you just throw the bag away and wash whatever tips you used.

Disposable Pastry Bags, 100 count

You can even just snip the end of the bag and not use a tip at all. You can do that with a baggie too, but a pastry bag will give you more control.

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  • that's a good suggestion. it will work but i think a solid container that has a syringe-like system for squeezing the substance out would be more convenient for cleaning especially
    – amphibient
    Mar 30, 2015 at 18:57
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    @amphibient: If it's only the cleanup you hate, get disposable bags - only the tips left and they clean easily.
    – Stephie
    Mar 30, 2015 at 19:00
  • Also if you feel more confident with something solid, they do make piping syringes. A Google search should provide you with many results.
    – Cindy
    Mar 30, 2015 at 19:03
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    In all honesty, a piping bag will give you magnitudes more control than a cookie press. When you get to the end of the stroke on a cookie press, you are caulked into a corner and can't do anything about it. With a piping bag, with practice you can make adjustments to your grip as you go to continue a steady stream of cream for far far longer than the cookie press.
    – Escoce
    Mar 30, 2015 at 20:28
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    Piping bags are easy to clean because they're NOT solid -- you just turn 'em inside-out. When you first start out, you'll want to only load the bags 1/2 way (not by volume, by length) and use smaller bags (10"). Twist the bag shut, then fold the extra over so you're holding the flap down with your hand. As you use stuff up, reset the bag by twisting the end of the bag so there isn't a lot of slack in it. (it should only take a little hand pressure to get stuff coming out the tip).
    – Joe
    Mar 30, 2015 at 20:33
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While a cookie press would at least have the nominal excuse of being multi-purpose1, it's... awkward to use for icing/whipped cream. What you might have been thinking of is an icing syringe (aka piping syringe, cake decorator press, or various non-informative names like "Dessert Decorator Pro").

Wilton Dessert Decorator Plus   Icing Cake Decorating Tool Set   Icing with Tala - Traditional Icing Syringe Set

While a decorating bag is vastly more useful, not to mention easier to store, an icing press can be useful for utter beginners and/or those with very hot hands who tend to melt the contents of decorating bags. Just make sure to check the reviews thoroughly, because some presses are so shoddily made or badly designed that they're worse than useless.

1 Note that in my experience, a cookie press sucks at making cookies, making it a zero-tasker. Technically, that doesn't break Alton Brown's "there's only one uni-tasker allowed in the kitchen" rule, right?

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  • Why do people keep propogating the myth that a fire extinguisher is a uni-tasker? They work just fine when you need to weigh something down.
    – Joe
    Mar 31, 2015 at 16:34
  • Or smash an intruder.
    – Preston
    Apr 3, 2015 at 21:47

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