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If you want to be a chef, then being able to identify different types of spoons is an essential skill. However, there are so many types of spoons that it can be difficult to remember them all. Here is a list with 23 different types of spoons for you
Cooking Spoon
The cooking spoon is the most widely known type of spoon. It has a long handle and round bowl, similar to the coffee spoon. Cooking spoons are useful for stir fries, soups, casseroles and other dishes that will be served hot.
Sugar spoon
A sugar spoon is a long handled, shallow spoon used to serve sugar. It may also be known as tea-spoon or dessert spoon. The bowl of the sugar serving spoon is smaller than that of the coffee/tea serving spoon to correspond with the small amount of sugar served with each cup of hot beverage. The sugar serving spoon can be recognized by the fact that it is shaped like a deeper version of a teaspoon. It is used to serve sugar from larger containers, and for tea or coffee where more than one person will be served at once. The spoon has an elongated bowl designed for dipping into a container of sugar, then stirring it into a drink.
Tea Spoon
A tea spoon is used to stir one's beverage where no sugar will be added, such as fresh-squeezed lemon juice in a glass of water, or to eat something that has been stirred into the liquid. It is a long handled spoon with an elongated bowl and slender handle for stirring a cup of tea. The handle is usually flattened at the end to make gripping easier, especially if it's made from metal, which may become slippery in hot liquids.
Soup Spoon
A soup spoon is also known as an entrée spoon and has a wider bowl than either the coffee or tea spoon. It can be used for eating soup, stew or any dish where the food is eaten with a spoon. This type of spoon usually has a handle that is slightly narrower than the bowl of the spoon, and has a wide bowl that can hold large portions.
Ladle
A ladle is the long handled spoon that holds a serving of liquid. It has a wide bowl, like a soup spoon. A ladle is most commonly used for soups and stews, but it can also be used for any dish where a large amount of broth, sauce or extra liquid is needed. Ladles are usually made from metal.
Slotted Spoon
The slotted spoon is a long handled spoon with small holes in its broad bowl. It works similarly to the ladle, but holds less liquid per amount of space. The slotted spoon has multiple uses, including draining pasta or vegetables and serving them from a pot into another container. When used for draining noodles or vegetables, the slotted spoon is placed over the pot so that food will drop through its holes into the container. It's used to serve from a pot of hot liquid, but it can't be used for serving soup because the holes allow liquids such as broth or sauce to run onto the counter instead of falling only into the bowl.
Solid Spoon
The solid spoon is the least common of all spoons. It contains a single bowl instead of two different bowls, like most other types of spoons. The solid spoon is one continuous piece with no handle, and can have either a flat or round bottom. Solid spoons are used for foods that require mixing or blending such as mashed potatoes or gravy. They are also used to create a smooth texture that can't be achieved with the other types of spoons.
Serving spoon
The serving spoon is the ordinary spoon that you use to serve yourself food from a bowl. Like other spoons, it has a round bottom and no handle. The serving spoon is used for dishing out small portions of hot or cold foods, such as soup or ice cream.
Ice cream scoop
The ice cream scoop is a special type of spoon used for serving cones and bowls of ice cream. It has one long handle that is fitted with a small cup-like bowl at the end. The bowl can be pushed down into an ice cream container to fill it, then lifted out when full. Ice cream scoopers are made from metal or plastic and usually have a dull, matte finish. The bowl part of the scoop is often colored to match the color of ice cream that it will be used for.
Fish spatula
The fish spatula is a flat, thin spoon that chefs use to serve and prepare fried seafood. Fish spatulas have broad blades made from metal or plastic. They are used for flipping fried fish fillets over in a skillet, serving individual pieces of fried fish on plates, or spreading mayonnaise on sandwiches.
Spatula
A spatula is a small spoon that is used to stir and flip food while cooking on a stove top or in an oven. Spatulas are also used for spreading things like frosting onto cakes, scraping batter from mixing bowls and lifting cookies off of baking sheets. Like fish spatulas, most spatulas have broad metal or plastic blades, but some are made from silicone or rubber. Spatulas come in a variety of sizes depending on their use, and can be used for cooking anything from pancakes to stir fry and seafood casseroles.
Tongs
The tongs are the long handled spoon used to serve food from a skillet or pot. Like ladles, slotted spoons and serving spoons it has no handle, but it also has two broad metal blades instead of one bowl-like shape. The blades can be opened wide enough to hold large servings of hot foods like pizza or fried chicken, or closed to pick up tiny pieces of food like peas.
Steak knife
A steak knife is a special kind of dinner knife used for cutting meat at the table off a large slice. The sharp, serrated edge cuts easily through cooked steak and other solid foods such as bread slices. Steak knives are usually made from stainless steel, and have handles that are as long as large dinner knives. Their blades are sharp enough to cut through raw meat, but dull enough that they won't break or damage plates or the tablecloth if accidentally slipped while cutting.
Pasta fork
A pasta fork is a small spoon that has narrow tines at one end. A typical pasta fork has three or four tines, and can also have a round handle. Pasta forks are designed to help you serve long, thick pieces of dried pasta such as spaghetti and lasagna noodles onto dinner plates.
Butter knife
A butter knife is a small, flat spoon that is used to spread butter on slices of bread at the table. Some butter knives have rounded edges so they can also be used for spreading other foods such as peanut butter or jam. Butter knives are usually made from stainless steel, but some are made with plastic handles and dipped in silver plating.
Cocktail spoon
A cocktail spoon is a small, thin spoon that is used for stirring drinks at the table. Like regular dinner spoons, it has a round bowl with no handle, but instead of being long and broad like other spoons, a cocktail spoon's bowl is short and very narrow so as to fit inside a cocktail glass without touching the sides or spilling out the contents. Cocktail spoons are usually made from stainless steel, but they can also be made of silver plated brass or sterling silver.
Pie server
A pie server is a small spoon that can be used to serve pie, quiche and other dishes that are traditionally served on plates. The rim of the bowl part can also be pushed gently into the top of a warm meal or dessert so its contents don't spill over when being transferred to serving plates. Some pie servers have long handles for ease of serving hot pies straight from the baking dish, while others have short handles and are designed to be used with pie plates. Pie servers can be made from any material that is heat resistant, such as metal or glass.
Pizza Server
A pizza server is a small spoon that you can use to serve pizza slices at the table. It usually has a round bowl, and a long handle so you can reach over your guests while they are eating to pick up extra slices of cheese pizza that have fallen off their plates. Like pie servers, pizza servers can be made from any material that is heat resistant, such as metal or glass.
Fondue set
A fondue set is a special kind of silverware that you can use to stir melted cheese and other foods into hot oil at the table. It consists of a long, slender handle with a flat figure-eight shape on one end. The curve part can be pushed into the side of a pot to hold it in place while the straight side is used to stir a fondue bowl full of cheese or chocolate. Fondue forks are usually made from stainless steel, but they can also be made with silver plating for fancy dinners at home.
Pastry fork
A pastry fork is a spoon that has tines at one end. Unlike regular dinner forks, which are designed to hold food steady while you cut it with knives, baked goods forks have very short prongs so they can be used for picking up sticky foods like doughnuts or muffins quickly and effortlessly. They are usually made from heavy stainless steel and have long, straight handles to help keep your hands clean while you pick up messy foods from trays.
Table spoon
A table spoon is a small, shallow spoons that you can use to stir food while it is cooking on the stove. Table spoons are slightly larger than teaspoon size to allow for easy stirring in bigger pots and pans. They typically have a very long handle so they can reach all over your burners without having to reposition your stove top. Table spoons are generally made from stainless steel, but they can also be made with silver plating for special occasions.
Meat fork
A meat fork is a small metal or bamboo tool you use to pick up meat at the dinner table. Meat forks are usually quite long and have tines at both ends so they can pick up steaks, chops and other large pieces of meat with ease.
Oyster fork
An oyster fork is a special kind of fork designed to pick up oysters and other foods with small, soft bodies. The tines are very long, similar in length to the handle. They have rounded edges to make them easy on the gums when you bite into meats or fish, and they don't have prongs so that they can be used to easily spear slippery items. Oyster forks are usually made of stainless steel or silver plating, and some sets even come with a matching spoon.
FAQs
- What are the different types of spoons?
There are a lot of different kinds of spoons that people use. Some of the most common types are a pie server, pizza server, fondue set, pastry fork and table spoon.
- What are the special uses of spoons for steak?
A meat fork is a small metal or bamboo tool that you use to pick up meat at the dinner table. Meat forks have tines at both ends so they can pick up and hold large pieces of meat without having to hurt your hands with knives, which many people find is a much nicer experience.
- What are the common materials for spoons?
The most common material for modern spoons is stainless steel, but you can also find silver plated and bamboo spoons as well if you're looking to save money or make something more eco-friendly.
Many people used to only have silver spoons, but it's a lot less common these days. Most high-quality utensils are made of stainless steel because they are so durable and easy to clean, making them ideal for families.
Conclusion
It's always nice to have a few different types of spoons in your kitchen. You may not know what you need them for, but as long as they are useful and match the style of your cookware then it doesn't matter! We hope this article has helped you decide which type or spoon is best suited for various cooking tasks that might come up while preparing food at home.
