Silicone IKEA pastry mat

[Merlin]

Just found one of these at IKEA today. It comes with a special knife which is a pastry cutter- it is advised to use the supplied cutter and not a normal knife. Also it is not suitable for the oven but is very flexible. I already have a thermomat which I use a lot for rising dough etc but I can imagine the IKEA mat to easily do the same thing. It is also large enough to use for protecting work surfaces from dough especially play dough with my brood! It is dishwasher safe and written on the mat is a temperature conversion chart as well as ingredient measures and templates for making decorations such as piping chocolate letters, flowers etc. The spatula that the mat comes with is supposed to be used for levering decorations off the mat as well as being a cutter. All in all it seems a very useful product for a small price!

[cookie1]

I've been told about these but have never been to have a look.

[Aussie Brenda]

Merlin, what was the approx price of the mat, I bought a couple from Aldi they were only a few dollors but they aren't very big.

[Merlin]

This mat is quite large- 45cm wide and about 70cm long. I paid $9.99 (Aus). It certainly would cover a decent enough area for my kids to do their arts and crafts on as well as for kneading dough etc.

[thermoheaven]

sounds good, merlin. is it as big as the thermomat? i love the thermomat, but wouldn't mind a mat for just mucking around with.

[Aussie Brenda]

Thanks Merlin, I will have to organize a trip to Ikea, I've just been checking out the spatula and brush kits, they look ok, I have four different silicone spatula's but like the look of these long knife like ones.

[Merlin]

Thermoheaven,  it's actually larger than a ThermoMat - about 2cm longer and about 7cm wider. It doesn't have the fiberglass so is much more 'floppy' but at that price, it's worth having one or two floating around as a spare as there's no way I let my kids anywhere near my thermomat ever!!!

[meganjane]

I bought a Silpat one on Amazon that I love. It fits on to my biscuit tray easily. I wouldn't mind the cutter, though as I've cut my Thermomix Mat by using a knife. 

[Meagan]

Here you go
www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00175250/

[meganjane]

Thanks Meagan. Can't buy it online.  Never mind, I'll have a look on Amazon and see what they've got.

I cannot bring myself to ever go into an Ikea store again. I had a melt down when I went last year because I wanted to get out and couldn't and it was so crowded! I just hate the way you have to go through the whole store before you can escape!

[Cuilidh]

Meaganjane, I'm glad I'm not the only one who had that problem with Ikea.  When the one near us opened a couple of years ago I went in and had a terrible time trying to get out.  I followed the Exit signs and they simply let me round and round in circles, all I could think about was what if there is a fire - the fumes from all the nylon / plastic / artifically created items would drop you dead in seconds.  It was a very long time before I could psych myself up into going again.

However, I have gone in a few times now, just started going in by the exit to the department nearest that, then found a couple of short cuts in the rest of the store so I'm a little more relaxed in there now, but it is not a shop I linger in or am totally comfortable in.  It's a place I go if I have to, not for pleasure.

[Merlin]

Likewise. I only go there once a year if I can help it. It is well documented that the store layout is a protracted obstacle course to force people to stay in the store as long as possible (days?) but I specifically went to get the mat and the insulated serving bowl they sell so I knew exactly what I wanted. As an added safety measure I took my kids along who don't tolerate me  wandering around aimlessly looking at stuff- this time I was on a mission. In and out in 30 minutes with a combination of power walking and this even included buying some lingonberry jam and a few other essential items in the Swedish food hall- I was proud of my will power!

[thermoheaven]

thanks, merlin. i'm going to look out for them the next time i'm there, but i'm going to get just one because i've actually got 3 thermomats. i don't bake with mine even though they say you can - i just use them for bread, pastry, pasta doughs. i find it easy to make my different doughs one after the other.

i don't mind going to ikea once in a blue moon, but the last time i was there, we had a good look at the floorplan and saw that they have "shortcuts" and we got out in record time. we really only wanted stuff from the food hall, so the shortcuts were useful.

[gertbysea]

Thanks Merlin, I will have to organize a trip to Ikea, I've just been checking out the spatula and brush kits, they look ok, I have four different silicone spatula's but like the look of these long knife like ones.

Brenda are you talking about Helene's on the superkitchenmachine.com web site.?

Gretch

[CreamPuff63]

ikea honestly makes me dizzy! the brain goes into overload and I walk around feeling really spaced out