We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Here’s our process.
Say you’re at the stove cooking away and you need a spoon to stir your ingredients. You grab a long metal one from the drawer, stir what’s in the pot and set the spoon down on the stove, near the heat. A couple of minutes later, you see that you need to stir again and grab the spoon you used before. But this time, you burn your hand because the metal spoon is now hot. This is what you might call finding out the hard way that you chose the wrong cooking utensil. If you find the whole multiple cooking utensil situation confusing, you’re certainly not alone. Do you really need a metal spatula and a silicone one? Why are there so many cooking spoons made of different materials? If you’ve ever had these same questions, here’s a breakdown of the different types of cooking utensils, how they’re used, and the types of cookware to best use them with. Share on Pinterest Raymond Forbes Photography/Stocksy
Cooking utensil carousel Utensil Type Can be used on any cookware, including nonstick, glass, and porcelain Can be used on uncoated metal and cast-iron cookware Best used on nonstick cookware only spoon wooden ✔ spoon metal ✔ spoon silicone ✔ spatula metal ✔ spatula plastic ✔ spatula silicone ✔
Other utensils There are plenty of other kitchen utensils you might have hanging around, and here are a few more instances when material is important. Metal vs. silicone whisks Whisks come in a variety of styles and sizes, but you’ll generally either find them made from metal or silicone. Silicone whisks are just metal whisks with a silicone coating, and while they’re gentler on nonstick finishes, they’re typically not as effective at tasks like beating egg whites. Our whisk recommendation: OXO Good Grips 11-Inch Better Balloon Whisk Get that perfect whisk and a great arm workout with this 11-inch sturdy utensil. Buy this whisk on Amazon Anything made from copper If you have copper accents in your kitchen, you might want matching copper utensils. While undeniably prettier, copper utensils have the same pros and cons as stainless steel ones. The only real difference is you shouldn’t put them in the dishwasher, as copper can tarnish.
