Baker’s Twine

I first ran across baker’s twine on my first trip to New York City, in 1975 or so. I was 11, and my Sister took me to Greenberg’s to buy some brownies, and on another occasion to Bonte, for plum pastries. Both of these venerable neighborhood bakeries/patisseries on the Upper East side used white boxes and bakers twine. Funny how impressionable those kinds of experiences can be. Baker’s twine is traditionally a red and white thread intertwined, though they come in a myriad of colors these days. They also come in several thicknesses. They are classic, and for me, they SCREAM the holiday season is upon us.

There is a nostalgic comeback for Baker’s Twine, and I have had this spool of it in our pantry since last year. Purchased at some fancy kitchen store for an outrageous price of say $10, I was waiting for the right time to make use of the twine. This year, we have a cookie buffet so that guests to our home can pick and choose a tin or box full of home-baked cookies, and the twine is the perfect way to secure the boxes.

This is the most traditional use of the twine, though I notice they work brilliantly with traditional kraft or manila paper. A narrow red ribbon on the right is also nice, but not as classic as baker’s twine. This spool is going to last a few years in our home, at least. Google and see the incredible variety of colors and thicknesses of baker’s twine now available to folks in North America, and probably a lot of other areas as well…