The Ironing Board Hack For An Effective Cooling Rack In A Pinch
There's more to your ironing board than meets the eye. Sure, you can use it for stacking clothes you intend to iron someday. You can even use it as an additional surface for folding clothes. But you might be excited to discover your ironing board could be put to better use in your kitchen than your laundry room. This household apparatus can be converted into an efficient and effective cooling rack for large-scale baking projects within minutes.
If you think about it, standard cooling racks are an essential kitchen tool, yet they are nothing more than crisscrossed metal strips that create an elevated platform where your cookies and cakes can cool. An ironing board is also made of metal with a built-in grid that allows for airflow. When used for ironing tasks, the board has to be able to handle the heat, so metal is the perfect option. It also needs to allow an escape route for steam, heat, and moisture — hence the grid pattern. In essence, an ironing board is just a giant cooling rack with the added benefit of raising to counter height.
How to use an ironing board as a cooling rack
To prep your ironing board for the task, release the legs and bring it to a standing position. If you have a unit that folds down from the wall, lower it into place. Then, simply unhook the edges of the fabric cover and remove it along with the pad underneath. Next, clean the metal surface of the ironing board. Ensure your board is stable so it doesn't topple over. Place it against a wall if necessary to achieve this goal.
While your ironing board can handle the heat and provide excellent airflow, use kitchen safety standards when deciding what foods should come into contact with its surface. Use parchment paper, foil, a towel, or whatever you usually use when cooling bread and other baked goods. However, there's no need to put down a barrier if you use it to cool breads while they're still in the pan and muffins or cupcakes cooked in a paper liner.
The benefits of using an ironing board as a cooling rack
Giving yourself more space to lay out sheets and bread pans means you'll have more room on the countertop for mixing, kneading, and decorating. This is especially helpful in a small kitchen and might be the solution needed when mass-producing goods for a bake sale, the holidays, or a donation drive.
Employing your ironing board as a cooling rack also frees up your countertop cooling racks for additional tasks. Both options function to allow foods to cool completely. Since airflow is essential to cooling, your ironing board and standard racks contribute to a faster process by allowing air to circulate to all sides of the food. They also keep moisture from getting trapped underneath baked goods, which can result in an unappealing sogginess. Be sure to adequately space food so air can circulate between it. By the way, you might also be happy to learn you can use your iron and ironing board to make grilled cheese or panini sandwiches, even in a hotel room.