A kitchen spurtle is your reliable and helpful cooking assistant when you need to turn something over, move, stir, remove food from the pan or serve it on plates.
Due to their multipurpose use and versatility, today cooking spurtle utensils become very popular and are found in many kitchens, although it is still very new to us kitchen accessory. Therefore, when you are looking to buy spurtle spoons it is easy to get confused in the variety of options and you may have a few questions.
What is called a spurtle?
A spurtle is not a spoon and not a spatula but a little of both. It is a merge of a spoon and spatula and has amazing functions of both. Originally a spurtle comes from Scotland where it has a long and narrow form in order to help stirring porridge for a long time. A modern spurtle is a modified and improved version of an old Scottish tool, with the same easy to grip convenient handle but flatter, wider and with a thin edge.
A modern spurtle has a longer surface area than a normal spatula and at the same time a smaller handle, but its handle is wider and rounder.
How do you use a spurtle?
A spurtle spoon can serve a variety of functions in your kitchen. For example, a large spurtle is very helpful when mixing and stirring heavy dishes, you can use a small spurtle to conveniently mix a salad. When you are cooking frying fish, for example, using a spurtle may help you leave all the fat in the pan and safely replace the fish from the pan leaving it full and unbroken. Cooking spurtles of different sizes and shapes are affectively used for serving cakes, for frying fish, large pieces of meat or pancakes.
As mentioned above, the spurtle’s shape is wider and longer than a spatula therefor it is much easer to use a spurtle in order to remove a pie from the oven or flip an omelet.
You can use a spurtle in so many ways. A spurtle set can perform almost everything you usually do with your old wooden spoons and spatula.
What is the best wood for a spurtle?
The traditional material for a spurtle spoon is hardwood, but you can find silicon and bamboo spurtles as well.
Wood is one of the oldest and proven materials used to make kitchen utensils. Therefore, wooden spurtle is always the best way to go.
Pros of the wood. Environmental friendliness, durability and inexpensive price. But the wooden spurtle also has disadvantages. And the main thing is that wood might be thicker than plastic, so it is less convenient to flip delicate foods over. But when it comes to mixing and stirring, a wooden spurtle spoon is ideal.
Wood in general (even hardwood) is soft by its structure. Therefore, it is suitable for cookware with non-stick coating. It’s scratch-free feature, allows you to use your wooden spurtle for scraping the remaining food from the bottoms of your nonstick cookware without any worries. The spurtle’s thin edge will allow you to reach the corner of your pan or a bowl.
When answering the question: What is the best wood for a spurtle, it is important to point out that the best wood would be a solid hardwood. Your spurtle may be produced from Acacia, Oak, Beechwood, Maple, etc, the main thing is that it should not be a soft wood, but a natural hardwood and that your spurtle tools are made from one piece of solid wood without glue and chemical varnish.
Cons of the wood. You need to know that wood tends to absorb food odors, so after frying the fish with a wooden spurtle, you cannot knead the dough. To fix this problem, wipe your spurtle kitchen tool with a slice of lemon or vinegar and your spurtle spoon will be ready to be used again.
Particular attention should be paid if your spurtle is cracked or has notches at the end. Even if you are deeply in love with your spurtle, it is better to send her to rest. Because very unpleasant inhabitant bacteria can settle in these cracks – that will pass from the wood onto food, and then into your body. In order to avoid it, there is a simple trick to keep your wooden kitchen utensils safe and healthy – periodically steam them in the oven. For example, when you are baking something, put your wooden spurtle utensils into the oven for a couple of minutes. The heat of the oven will kill all bacteria, dry the wood and will keep your spurtles safe for your family.
How do you treat wood spurtles?
There are some peculiarities in the care of wooden spurtles. First, you should always remember that wood is a hygroscopic material and absorbs moisture. Therefore, it is not recommended keeping wooden spurtles in water for a long time. Also, it is not worth washing them in a dishwasher as well – your wooden cooking utensils will surely absorb both water and soap.
It is better to quickly handwash them in warm soapy water and let them dry. If your wooden kitchen spurtle tools become darker with time, the original wood color might be restored by wiping your wood spurtles with lemon juice and soda.
When choosing your wooden spurtles kitchen tools, pay attention to their surface. Poorly sanded items, when in contact with water and food, will become even rougher, and this is a breeding ground for bacteria. Therefore, it is better to choose very smooth, well-sanded items.
Should you oil a spurtle?
Absolutely. Wooden spurtles as any other wooden kitchen utensils and tools should be coated with mineral oil from time to time. Wood needs coating in order to stay hydrated enough. Oil coating protects it from cracking and over drying and at the same time oil develops a protective layer on the surface of your wood spurtles that doesn’t let your food and bacteria penetrate your wooden cooking tools.
At ECOSALL we offer high quality wooden spurtle set for everyday use and ready to perform any of your cooking task. Our spurtles are manufactured in Europe from high quality solid hardwood.
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