Cooling Racks

Cooling Racks are essential for anyone who wants to do much baking. As with any piece of kitchen equipment, there are several things to consider when deciding which type to purchase.


First, you need to consider
quality. The cooling rack to the left in the photo above is much lighter than the one on the right (I know it turned out a bit hard to see, sorry). When cooling heavy pans of brownies or cake, it will often bend so far from the heat and weight that the pan is touching the counter beneath. If you can afford it, try to purchase the heavier version.

If you want to bake cakes, the smaller square versions are wonderful. Trying to flip-flop a cake from its pan onto a cooling rack, while using racks twice as long as the cake, is often difficult, so if you can find square ones, pick them up.

If you are baking small items such as cookies, the crisscross version is great because they support the cookies much better and keep them from breaking or cooling in a bent shape. These are my grandmother’s cooling racks which I always try to borrow if I am baking a lot of cookies because I only have one crisscross rack.