Ask most people what a tea towel is for and they'll say drying dishes. Fair enough. That's the job it was made for. But if drying is the only thing yours ever does, it's working well below its potential. A good cotton or linen tea towel is one of the most versatile things in a British kitchen, and once you start looking, the uses go well beyond the draining rack.
So how are tea towels used, really? Below are ten practical ways to get more out of the ones already in your drawer, plus a few from our tea towel collection if you're due a refresh.
1. Straining yogurt or soft cheese
Can you use a tea towel instead of cheesecloth? Yes, and it's one of the best swaps going. Line a sieve or colander with a clean, old cotton tea towel, spoon in natural yogurt, and let it drain over a bowl in the fridge for a few hours. What you're left with is a thick, Greek-style yogurt or a simple soft cheese. Choose a thin, well-worn towel rather than a thick terry one, since it needs to let the whey pass through while holding the solids back.
2. Covering bread dough while it proves
Cling film works, but it seals the bowl tightly and dough can stick to it as it rises. A clean, slightly damp tea towel draped over the bowl keeps a draught off and stops the surface drying out, all without the mess of peeling off plastic. It's the traditional method for a reason, and it's still the easiest one.
3. Lining a bread basket to keep rolls warm
Fold a tea towel into a basket before adding warm bread rolls, then fold the corners back over the top. It traps the heat for longer than an open basket would, and it stops rolls going soggy the way foil sometimes can. On the table, it looks a lot nicer too, especially with a patterned towel.
4. Protecting hands from hot pan handles or oven shelves
This isn't a substitute for proper oven gloves. Still, a folded tea towel is genuinely useful for a quick grip on a hot pan handle or a warm oven shelf when you're mid-cooking and your oven gloves are nowhere to be found. Fold it thickly rather than using a single layer, and keep it well away from open flames or hobs.
5. Polishing glassware and cutlery to a streak-free shine
This is where a linen tea towel earns its keep. Linen is lint-free and highly absorbent, so it buffs glasses and cutlery to a streak-free shine straight out of the dishwasher, rather than leaving fluff behind the way some cotton towels can. Keep one linen towel aside just for this job and it'll last for years.
6. A makeshift trivet under a hot pan
No trivet to hand? A tea towel folded into a thick square will protect a worktop from a hot pan for a minute or two while you track down the real thing. It's only a stopgap, so don't leave a hot pan sitting on fabric for extended periods, and never use it near a naked flame or directly on a hob or slow cooker.
7. Wrapping and insulating a bottle for a picnic or gift
Wrap a bottle of wine or a flask in a tea towel and it'll stay cooler, or warmer, for longer on the way to a picnic, while also cushioning it in transit. It's a neat trick for gifting too, because a bottle wrapped in a decorative towel needs no extra wrapping paper.
8. Decorative display for a patterned tea towel
If you've got a tea towel with a bit of character (a seasonal print, say, or a proper designer pattern like the Price & Kensington Woodland tea towel set), it's a shame to keep it hidden in a drawer. How you display a tea towel is really up to you. Fold it in thirds and hang it over an oven rail or towel bar so the design shows, loop it through a cupboard handle, or, if it's a real favourite, frame it and hang it on the kitchen wall. Displayed this way, a decorative tea towel brings a bit of pattern and colour into the kitchen without committing to anything permanent.
9. A reusable gift-wrap alternative
Tea towels make surprisingly good gift wrap. Lay the towel flat, place a jar of homemade jam or a small bottle in the centre, then gather the corners up and tie them with string or ribbon for a simple furoshiki-style wrap. Want a bow instead of a knot? Gather the four corners together, twist them once, then loop and tie them the same way you'd tie a shoelace. Either way, the recipient gets a gift and a useful tea towel in one.
10. General kitchen wipe-down
Back to basics, but worth saying: a tea towel kept by the sink is handy for mopping up spills, wiping down worktops, and giving hands a quick dry between jobs. Can tea towels be used as hand towels? In a pinch, yes, though it's worth keeping a separate one for hands versus dishes for hygiene's sake. Stock a couple of everyday, hard-wearing towels, such as the Squeaky Clean rice weave tea towels or the Ottoman Jumbo Terry tea towel, specifically for this kind of everyday use so your good ones stay good.
What is a tea towel used for, then? A lot more than drying up. Between straining, proving, polishing, protecting and the odd bit of gift wrapping, it's easily one of the hardest-working textiles in the house. Worth keeping a few spares on hand.
