Pro Tip: Keep a Towel Tucked in Your Waistband as You Cook

You've seen professional chefs all decked out in their uniform: chef's jacket, checked pants, clogs, half apron tied on with a towel tucked in the string. If you think the towel is just there for show, then read on for the many ways this basic and versatile item can help you in the kitchen.

Most often referred to as a side towel, these rectangles of thick cotton cloth are an important part of a cook's attire. Whether you're a professional or not, a side towel is a handy thing to have. They're easier and less awkward than most potholders, always available and wash up like a dream. Just be sure your side towel is dry when using it as a potholder substitute, as a wet towel will conduct heat and not offer much protection. Here are just a few of the ways you can use your side towel:

Potholder: The side towel makes a very handy pot holder. Fold it a few times into a square and use it pull a hot dish from the oven or lift a lid; left long and narrow you can hold an end in each hand to lift a pot of boiling water.
Splatters and dribbles: Use your side towel to wipe any dribbles from the rims of plates and serving dishes.
Hand wiper: Self-explanatory, but sometimes frowned upon in a professional kitchen.
Clean as you go: Having a side towel handy means you can wipe up small spills as they happen.
Bowl holder: Make a circle with your side towel and place your bowl on top to keep it steady while whisking and mixing.
Patting and drying: Pat dry wet ingredients or mop excess oil or moisture while cooking.

A heavy weight cotton tea or dish towel works great as a side towel. A cotton linen blend is nice but not necessary. Some people use IKEA's famous super cheap Telka towel, but I find them just a little too thin. Your side towels are real workhorses and you should not hesitate to get them dirty and greasy as you cook, so steer clear of fancy expensive tea towels unless you're willing to let them take a beating.

The most important thing about a side towel is that it's always right there by your side. No hunting around for hidden pot holders or sponges. Home cooks without aprons can also tuck a tea towel into their pant's pocket or belt loop. Once you start, it will be hard to stop reaching for this handy, versatile kitchen tool.

How do you use your side towel when cooking?

(Image: George Brown College, Dana Velden)

Comments (10)

Haha did anyone actually think that chefs wear these "just for show?" We always kept one or 2 tucking on the top of our apron but more realistically, most kitchens just have stations around them with crazy high stacks of them. You go through them like paper towels in a real kitchen. I do the same at home now though- I have a small stack I reach for as I go.

I have been known to keep it flung over my shoulder when I don't have pockets or an apron on. But yeah having one is almost always a must.

I'm with Daigan.

If I'm in the kitchen, there's a towel on my right shoulder. Always there when I need it (and apparently an endless source of amusement to my kids, who treat me like their personal towel rack).

Uhm, mine is hanging on the handle of the stove. Like a dish towel. Which this is. Frankly, my kitchen's not big enough that i would ever be more than an arm's length away from my towel on the oven handle, so its happy where it is, and since i often can't be bothered to wear an apron, i wouldn't have anywhere to tuck it anyway.

I do this... But so does my entire family... I tuck it in my belt loop. So its kinda like apron/towel..

I have a tiny kitchen too, but I usually tuck a towel in my pocekt because I am the most absent minded person in the world. If I don't habitually keep the towel tucked in while cooking, I'll walk off with the towel in my hand and put it down when I grab a dish, or get something from the freezer, or run to get the phone.

Once the towel is lost, yeesh, there's no way of finding it until I happen to move a packet of peas in the freezer a few weeks later and find it where I dropped it. So tucked in it is.

I have a towel on my oven handle and one on the fridge handle. They are used for wiping clean hands only. If I have a spill, I use a paper towel or a hot soapy sponge. Wiping things "clean" with a towel and then using it to wipe your hands is a recipe for disaster in my opinion.

I also have pot holders right next to the stove, so it's never a problem for me to find them. And I also never wear an apron in the kitchen (well, unless it's one of my cute '50s ones and I'm wearing them to protect a dress when prepping for a party), so I don't really have anything to tuck a towel in. Although if I'm baking I will sometimes toss one over my shoulder. I also have a galley kitchen, which makes it easy to go from chopping on one counter to rinsing/washing my hands behind me and then it's just one step from the sink to the fridge towel or the oven towel.