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Wooden Spoons and Forks
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Wooden spoons and forks are used for various jobs in the kitchen and are indispensable. First of all, they're inexpensive. Secondly, they're easy to maintain. Thirdly, they don't scratch non-stick pots and pans as easily as plastic or metal spoons.
Wooden spoons can be interchangeable, most of the times, for various jobs. There are times, however, where one works better over the others, take for example when making delicate crèmes and sauces. Below is a listing of each spoon and fork with their appropriate uses:
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Left to right: round, flat, flat slotted and fork.
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Types and Usages
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Comparisons
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See also:
Cleaning Wooden Spoons
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Types and Usages
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Round
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- Stirring thin liquid mixtures, such as: soups, frozen juice concentrates, etc.
- Blanching, or boiling, small pieces of fruit, or vegetables, in a large amount of liquid.
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Flat
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- Stirring and mixing relatively thick mixtures, such as: meat sauces, tomato sauces, etc.
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Flat Slotted
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- Can do the same as the flat spoon, but is better when making delicate crèmes and sauces, where lumps are a no-no, such as: béchamel, pastry crème, etc.
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Fork
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- Isn't useful for stirring, but it still has its place in the kitchen when tossing mixtures such as: pasta, potato salad, salad, stir-fries, etc.
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The flat slotted spoon as compared to:
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Round
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- Has a wider tip and can scrape a larger area in same time with less effort.
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Round and Flat
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- Reduces splashing and makes it easier to stir crèmes and sauces quickly without making a mess of things and one would have to work a bit slower, with a round spoon or flat spoon, to avoid splashing and thus may put the crème or sauce at risk of lumping and scorching.
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Flat
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- Has slots, or holes, in it; the area around the slotted part of the spoon works similarly to the wires of a whisk; they pass through and mix the mixture.
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Whisk
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- Can get into corners, whereas the whisk cannot.
- The rounded and flat spoon can reach into corners, but can't mix up crèmes and sauces as smoothly as the flat slotted spoon and therefore, you would have to alternate between one and a whisk, which becomes cumbersome.
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Note: To retrieve food items, take for example, boiled potatoes from boiling water, I use a round metal slotted spoon, because it has a large rounded surface and can hold more items than a narrow slotted wooden spoon.
These spoons are basic tools to have in one's kitchen. Each spoon serves a particular function in cooking and baking; otherwise, only one would be around. There's a particular reason to why they exist. Therefore, next time someone says to you: "Ah. They're all the same", you'll know how to reply: "Actually ..."
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