What These Kitchen Utensils Are for and What They’re Called

Perhaps each of us has a couple of kitchen utensils at home, the true purpose of which we can only guess. Meanwhile, these items can significantly ease the process of cooking.

With 5-Minute Crafts, you’ll learn what these kitchen utensils are called and what they are used for.

A masher

A masher is used for making purée from boiled potatoes. It’s especially good for potatoes but can also be used for other vegetables, such as avocados.

Of course, one can mash these products with a fork, but the masher will do it much faster and more effectively.

A big kitchen spoon

We’re all familiar with the big kitchen spoon. This is an indispensable tool for any person during cooking. It’s convenient for mixing, shifting, and scooping food from pots, pans, and large bowls.

The kitchen spoon has been with us for many centuries. In the past, it used to be made mainly from wood and sometimes from metal.

A pasta ladle

A pasta ladle is different from a regular one due to the presence of teeth on the edges and a hole in the middle. The teeth are great for quickly picking up pasta in hot water, and the hole is there to let water flow out from the ladle. With the help of this device, you can easily and simply take out cooked pasta from boiling water without pouring the water out.

This ladle is also suitable for serving pasta from the main cooking container.

A soup ladle

A soup ladle is likely in every home. It has been with us for hundreds of years and looks like a small cup with a long handle.

The handles sometimes have a curve or hook on the end for hanging or to avoid slipping inside big pots while cooking. The soup ladle is normally used for pouring hot dishes from large pots or bowls into individual bowls.

A slotted spoon

The slotted spoon is a large kitchen spoon with holes. It has many different shapes and varieties of perforation but it has only one goal: to let liquid through, stopping big pieces on its surface.

Slotted spoons of big sizes are often used for removing items from hot liquid in a pot. Spoons of smaller sizes, however, can be used while eating if you need to catch food from the broth.

Spatulas or flippers

The spatula is a flat spoon with a long handle. Oftentimes, the spatula has a shape of a trapezoid with a thinner edge to be able to easily slide under foods. It helps to flip the cooked products so that they can be fried on both sides. This spatula is quite flat and rather thin, so it easily slips under steaks, vegetables, cheese, pancakes, and so on. There are several types of flippers, like ones for omelets, cakes, toast, and more.

Flippers can have different shapes, and some of them have perforations or slits. It’s recommended to have 2 flippers/spatulas in the kitchen — a big one and a small one to be able to use for large and small products as well as for frying pans of different sizes.

Perforated spatulas have numerous small holes that let excess grease drain. They are normally opted for when cooking fat and greasy products. Spatulas with slits are good for flipping delicate dishes, such as pancakes. Spatulas without slits or holes are considered to be most flexible. They’re really convenient to use when cooking French toast.

Tongs

Tongs are required for grabbing or replacing food that’s especially hot. This tool is indispensable when preparing a barbecue. Tongs make working on fire safer, allowing the cook to flip, replace, and serve food without burning their hands. Also, thanks to tongs, hands don’t have to come in contact with food.

A cooking brush

The cooking brush is a special brush that helps to apply butter, oil, sauces, and other liquids while cooking. It doesn’t melt from exposure to high temperatures and is easy to clean.

A pizza cutter

The pizza cutter is a curved or round blade with a handle. It’s indispensable for cutting pizza, lasagna, flatbread, and other similar products nicely.

It’s very easy to cut foods with the pizza cutter — you only need to roll along the cutting line and the edge of the cutter will do all the work thanks to pressure.

A honing stick

The honing stick is necessary for sharpening standard and serrated knife blades. Any knife becomes dull over time and ceases to perform its functions properly. Sharpening tools helps restore the effectiveness of a knife blade.