Tips and Tools Tuesday: Silicone Spoons

I am devoting a whole tips and tools tuesday to one of my most favorite kitchen tools, silicone spoons. I'm also focusing my love towards one spoon in particular, the silicone spoon with stainless steel handle available at Sur La Table.

You might have clicked on that link and said "whoa! $10 for a single spoon, yeah right!" because I know that's how I reacted. My husband purchased some for our personal use but I couldn't give into the sticker shock. I then purchased the cheapo white spoons, you know, these guys:

They were super cheap but you know what, that's exactly what I paid for, super cheap. First, the most major flaw in my book; they're not dishwasher safe. Not even on the top rack. Second, if one lasts long enough to use over a long period of time, eventually the plastic handle will weaken and break. Especially true if you're working with heavy doughs. Third, the connection between the rubber scraper and the plastic handle will eventually become a little loose and food will get in there and it's nearly impossible to clean. Forth, if you are working with any sort of food coloring it will stain your spatula no matter how much you clean it.

Then I bought a fiberglass mixing spoon. Why? Because it's made of fiberglass! It's heat resistant, virtually unbreakable and since it's one piece, no place for gunk to hide. The spoon works great except it's as hard as a rock. I need a flexible spoon that will scrape the sides of the bowl and the cup portion of the spoon was really deep so instead of mixing stuff would just stay in the cup and not incorporate.

Finally, I made the right choice and bought my own fancy stainless steel silicone spoons. I have to admit, I'm in love. Unlike every other silicone spoon I've felt, these spoons are solid throughout the entire spoon, except for a small bit around the edges. I like this feature because with most silicone spoons theres the handle and a still rectangle about an inch into the spoon portion which makes a weakness in the spoon and eventually the silicone will crack and break. The spoon portion is taking the most resistance so it only makes sense to make it as solid as possible. BUT! With the last cm or so around the edge of the spoon is soft and flexible, making it still pliable enough to scrape.

The connection between the handle and silicone spoon seems secure and tight, I've never noticed any gunk in the seam but we've only had the spoons for about a year so we'll see if they last the test of time. They come in a lot of colors and even more styles. We also own the more spatula shaped spoon which has a flexible fin (one side of the spoon doesn't have the solid support) and I have to admit that I always reach for the solid spoon but the spatula shaped spoon does come in handy when folding.

The only flaw that I've found is that if you leave the spoon in the pot, resting on the side, the steel handle does conduct heat quickly and the spoon becomes too hot to handle with bare hands. You can find slightly better prices online but after shipping, it's a mute point. Plus, in this case handling the spoon was what sold me on it.