How to Choose the Right Piping Tip for You?

 

There are many types of piping tips available in the market, causing a lot of baking beginners to feel overwhelmed. Here, I'll provide a summary to assist everyone in making the right choices.

Piping, as a verb, involves the technique of creating patterns, designs, and representations using various tools. 

Piping tips on the market are generally categorized into Chinese-made piping tips, Wilton piping tips, Korean piping tips, Russian piping tips, and more. They can be differentiated based on numbering, brands, or distinctive features.

Piping tips are typically made from either plastic or stainless steel. Plastic tips are often used for DIY projects, while stainless steel tips are commonly employed for cake decorating. Stainless steel tips are further divided into seamed piping tips, welded piping tips and seamless One-piece stretch piping tips. Stainless steel seamless One-piece stretch piping tips are considered highly advanced in the realm of cake decoration. These tips allow for incredibly thin piping designs while maintaining a seamless finish both internally and externally. The Korean-style piping tips are an example of this technique.

The uses of piping tips can be broadly classified into three categories: creating borders, crafting flowers, and forming animal shapes.

  1. The most commonly used type of piping tip is the one for creating cake borders. These tips offer high efficiency and can be used for both simple and intricate designs, allowing for flexible cake styling.
  2. Next in line are the flower-themed piping tips. These are used to replicate various types of flowers and capture the different stages of their blooming process. Flower piping tips generally come with designated numbers. Brands like Wilton and Korean piping tips allow for a wider variety of floral designs. Mastering flower-shaped tips may require more practice compared to the simpler border tips. On the other hand, Russian piping tips simplify the technique for creating flowers by allowing for an all-in-one formation. However, this approach also reduces the intricate versatility of flower designs.
  3. For creating animal shapes, piping tips with different-sized round openings are often used. These tips help squeeze out bodies, heads, and other parts of animals. The finer details are then added to these parts. Adorable edible animal decorations on cakes can be visually appealing and align with their consumable nature.

Here’s a handy visual guide to each type of piping tip.

1.Petal Piping Tip

Making roses, ruffled flowers, cake borders, and more.
Designing flower petals, curved decorations, and borders.
Large Size #181, #182, #183, #124K, #125K, #126K

 

Small Size #264, #101, #102, #103, #104
Large Size #124, #125, #126, #127, #128

Small Size #59°, #59, #60, #61, #161
Large Size #120, #121, #122, #123

 

Small Size #97
Large Size #116, #117, #118, #119

Small Size #44, #45, #150, #151

Small size #79, #80, #81, #143, #227

Small Size #401, Large Size #402, Jumbo #403

2.Plain Round Piping Tip

Outlining details, writing, adding dots, filling in flower centers, and completing complicated lattice and lace work.
Small Size #000, #00, #0, #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12
Large Size #1A, #2A

Large Size #24mm, #22mm, #20mm, #18mm, #17mm, #16mm, #15mm, 14mm, #13mm, #12mm, #11mm, #10mm, #9mm, #8mm, #7mm, #6mm, #5mm, #4mm, #3mm, #2mm

Oval Piping Tips #55, #56, #57, #58

3.Leaf Piping Tip

Making plain, ruffled, or stand-up leaves
Small Size #349, #350, #352, #353, #65, #66, #67, #68, #69, #70
Large Size #363, #112, #113, #114, #115

  1. Open Star Pastry Tip

Adding shells, stars, rosettes, and flowers to baked goods
Small Size #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #32

  1. Closed Star Pastry Tip

Frosting cupcakes and designing stars, fleurs-de-lis, and flowers, as well as adding frosting on top of cupcakes
Small Size #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, #29, #30, #31, #35

Large Size #852, #853, #854, #855, #856, #857, #867K, #869K

  1. Basketweave Piping Tip

Adding shells, stars, rosettes, and flowers to baked goods
Small Size #46, #47, #48, #46°, #47°, #48°

  1. Drop Flower Piping Tip

Making one-squeeze flowers (the number of cuts on the tip determines the number of petals on the flower)
#106, #107, #108, #109, #135, #171, #190, #194

  1. Multi Opening Piping Tip

Adding grass to cakes or for Mont Blanc
#133, #233, #234, #235, #236, #237

  1. Specialty Piping Nozzle

#480, #481, #580, #581, #680, #681, #682, #683, #684, #880, #881, #981

  1. Clover Piping Tip

#82, #83, #84, #85

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