All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
My slice of strawberry-rhubarb pie tasted like garlic and rosemary. Neither ingredient was in or near the pie, but each bite carried an unmistakable savory whiff of alliums. I chewed slowly. And then it dawned on me. The night before, I had brushed my roast chicken with garlic-and-herb butter after it had come out of the oven, using the very same pastry brush I had egg-washed my pie crust with that morning. Apparently, I hadn’t cleaned my brush well enough.
That garlicky strawberry-rhubarb pie reminded me why I should do a better job cleaning my pastry brush—treating it with the love and care it deserves each time I use it. I’m not talking about just giving my pastry brush a quick soapy rinse or a dip in hot water. I tried those methods, and no matter how hard I scrubbed or how long I soaked my brushes, both silicone and natural bristles still held on to an oily film. Pastry brushes with natural bristles and wood handles don’t fare well in the dishwasher, either. The intense heat and moisture can warp and dry out wood and fray the delicate bristles.
The incident reminded me of a trick I picked up from Anna Bolz, the former pastry chef of Per Se in New York. It’s an easy, foolproof method that takes less than three minutes and, I promise, works every single time. Bolz taught me to wet my pastry brush, squeeze some dish detergent into the palm of my hand, then swirl the bristles in my palm to work up a lather. After a minute or so, you’ll place the brush under the tap and run hot water directly into the bristles to rinse well. Let it air dry, and voilà! You have a pastry brush that’s as clean and shiny as the day you bought it, with nary a greasy, garlicky bristle in sight.
