How Piping Tip Couplers Save Time And Eliminate Waste

Many tools have revolutionized the kitchen scene, but none quite like the piping tip coupler — the best thing since the kitchen spatula. A literal link between your piping tip and piping bag, a coupler makes decorating quick, easy, and resourceful. Piping tip couplers are two components that screw onto each other to secure your piping tip in between. Think of them as the nuts and bolts of piping bags. Without them, it's difficult to change your piping tip because the icing is in the way.

The solution is an empty piping bag with an inner coupler inside. Then, with the piping tip placed outside the bag, screw the outer coupler over the piping tip and to the inner coupler. After that, it's smooth sailing. You can unscrew and screw on a new tip anytime you need to, and save time and piping bags in the process.

Without a coupler, you may have to resort to emptying your piping bag of the first icing color before replacing it with another icing color. But, here's a simple trick: Fill two piping bags with each color and assemble the piping tip with a coupler in another empty bag. Next, snip holes at the tips of the two bags and place the first bag into the empty piping bag before piping your design onto the cake. Once done, remove the first bag and repeat the process for the second bag to eliminate waste and save time once again.

The world of piping tips is vast and varied, and that of couplers is diverse enough to match. But, when you have limited cupboard space and need to narrow your selection down to a few favorites, there are a couple of piping tips that stand out.

The Wilton 1M is a classic choice suitable for beginners and pro bakers. It's a large open star that creates incredibly versatile piping designs, including stars, buttercream roses, classic swirls, or simple ruffles. To secure your Wilton 1M tip, pair it with a standard or large-sized coupler. A close runner-up to the Wilton 1M is the Wilton 4B or Ateco 864. The tip is slightly wider than that of the Wilton 1M, so it produces a wider rose, beautiful Viennese whirls, and any design you can make with a Wilton 1M tip. The perfect coupler for it is the Ateco 402 coupler or a 1-inch coupler ring.

If you have room for more piping tips and want to incorporate more designs into your decorating reserve, you may want to look into the closed star tip or Wilton 2D for delicate leaf petals. The large petal tip (Wilton #104) is also perfect for ruffled borders. And, although it features a plain hole, the Wilton 1A is ideal for simple yet elaborate designs like rounded swirls. Otherwise, screw on a piping tip coupler and create similarly simple designs even without a piping tip!