The conversation around what kind of material a regular kitchen utensil should be made out of has reached even the most indifferent home cooks. And it’s no surprise to anyone considering just how many choices there are on offer: metals, plastic, rubber, nylon, wood, silicone or something in-between. Today we are going to try to answer the question of whether silicone kitchen utensils are worth considering over everything else on the market.
Let’s look at seemingly the most obvious alternative to metal utensils: wood. It’s a trusty material that won’t betray you with any possible toxins or behave unexpectedly, but wood itself does have several drawbacks that, of course, can be observed in the utensils made out of it.
Wood
Wood is more likely to harbor various bacterial formations, so it’s also more likely to get moldy if you don’t spend enough time thoroughly cleaning them.
Wood naturally doesn’t handle moisture very well, especially the heated kind, which means that with time it can become warped and damaged. It’s certainly not the kind of material that should go into your dishwasher.
Another factor that needs to be aware of is that wooden utensils not only accumulate odors but also colors from whatever food they were used for. Sometimes to the point where you may decide that using a wooden spoon is simply not worth the gigantic headache afterwards that consists of meticulously washing it in hopes of getting rid of the smell forever.
Plastic
Next up is plastic, a material whose main drawback should be familiar to everyone by now: it’s bad for the environment. However, there are another couple of factors to be aware of when deciding on purchasing plastic utensils.
Just like wood, plastic also is not recommended for exposure to very high heat. This can result in dangerous toxins entering your food, and it’s obviously not something that you should tolerate.
Another quality of plastic in relation to high temperatures is that it can melt. That’s right, leave a plastic spoon in something very hot and it has a chance to simply melt away, which, obviously, probably wouldn’t bode well for anyone interested in sticking to the recipe instead of adding questionable plastics into their food.
When it comes to odors, rubber and plastics are obviously the center of attention, which is often not positive. Nobody is going to be very happy when they discover that their newly bought spatula emanates a strange, chemical smell, which is certainly not associated with any food known to man. The implications are obvious, but what this means for you as someone who wishes to forget the pain of searching for the right utensils is just another element of the puzzle to worry about, and it’s never a good thing.
Rubber
Rubber is also very similar to plastic, although it has some advantages, such as flexibility and lower chance of toxins entering your food. It still does run the risk of melting, so it’s better to treat it the same way you treat plastic utensils when it comes to high heat and the environment.
Considering that what you need obviously shouldn’t flake, melt, or start growing mold, silicone does seem incredibly appealing: it’s just as flexible, incredibly durable and very light, but not at the possible cost of your own health.
Especially if you think about the incredible length of time a silicone utensil can be used compared to the other materials listed above, along with the fact that it’s just as good for the environment as any wooden spoon, the choice really can become a one-way street. Just like the utensils made by Cook’n’Chic, some silicone utensils can really compete for the place of the best ones on the market.
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