Looking in your average kitchen shop, one might be forgiven for thinking there are far too many utensils in this world.
Perhaps the most prolifigate amongst these is the spatula or the turner—from cheap black plastic that melts a little every time you use it, to silicon implements that promise the moon but are too flexible to life and turn anything. We hunted through all those many thousands before we found this one which we quite like—the OXO Good Grips Large Flexible Turner (what a mouthful).
From crêpes to crispy fried noodles—the things that we cook must eventually come off the pot. The thin blade on this slides easily under delicate things, but is equally capable of muscling under stuck on ones as well. It’s gently curved to add tensile strength, and the handle is comfortable and grippy. It’s big enough to turn over a pancake or lift off a crêpe, but not unwieldy, We use it on the wok, the frying pan, the grill, and to take cookies off the pan should the need arise. It’s perfect because it’s inexpensive, dishwasher safe, and idiot-proof. It won’t crack and fill up with bacteria. The metal wont melt and make your food taste like styrofoam. And while I don’t love the plastic handle, it keeps me from burning myself when I’ve accidentally let the thing sit on the edge of the pan for too long.
It may not last forever—we lost our first when the stress point at the weld between blade and handle cracked—after about four years of daily use. But it will last much longer that anything plastic, and because it’s so thin, works so much better than anything more thick and durable.
Because it’s perfect at what it does, it definitely gets a ticket to our deserted island. We could carve our own wooden-spoon, but would be hard-pressed to engineer one of these.
