Best Materials for Cooking Utensils

Reliable kitchen utensils are essential to make your favorite meal! To pick the best materials for your cooking utensils, learn about the benefits (and downfalls) of each kind.

When you have the best tools at your disposal, crafting that perfect meal to share with loved ones is much more enjoyable. But if you don’t know what to choose, all the options might feel overwhelming.

Types of utensils materials

Silicone Kitchen Utensils

Silicone cooking utensils are popular and considered to be one of the best materials for cooking utensils for a variety of reasons. Notably, silicone offers great temperature stability. The material can withstand high and low temperatures, with a quick transition between the two.

Another pro to silicone is its flexibility and durability. Silicone kitchen utensils are not easily broken, unlike glass or plastic.

However, something to consider is that there isn’t much research around silicone. And if you want to bake or cook past 430 degrees Fahrenheit, silicone will start to fail.

Wooden Kitchen Utensils

People have been cooking with wooden utensils for a long time! And while they remain a staple in a lot of homes, how do wooden cooking utensils rank?

The biggest benefit of wooden cooking utensils is that they don’t scratch the surface of your pots and pans. If your nonstick pans tend to lose their finish, wooden kitchen utensils are the obvious choice.

Because they’re easy to hold and won’t conduct heat, cooking a dish that takes a lot of time will be easier with wooden utensils.

Although wooden utensils are great to keep around in your kitchen, you should know how to properly clean them. Because wood is porous, your utensils will absorb water and expand. Nonetheless, it needed to be on this guide’s best materials for your cooking utensils.

Bamboo Kitchen Utensils

Similar to wooden utensils, bamboo cooking utensils won’t scratch your cookware. Even better, since bamboo is less porous than wood, the material is easier to clean.

Bamboo also doesn’t stain as much as wood. Moreover, the utensils tend to be quite affordable.

However, because bamboo is a finer material, bamboo kitchen utensils break easily if they aren’t cared for properly. Furthermore, if you prefer to use a dishwasher, this is your heads up to wash bamboo by hand instead.

Stainless Steel Kitchen Utensils

Stainless steel cooking utensils continue to remain a popular choice for kitchens, it’s used in utensils and a regular choice for kitchen’s appliances. And while they have a lot of good properties, there are some things to consider.

Resistant to scratches, denting, corrosion, and rust, stainless steel cooking utensils will last a long time. This makes them smart investments for your kitchen.

The utensils are easy to use, easy to clean, and bring a lot of versatility to the table.

Stainless steel doesn’t fall short in very much. But what it does fall short in may be a deal breaker.

For example, stainless steel isn’t nonstick by itself. If you want to cook food that sticks, you’ll want to be sure you’re using butter or cooking oil. Stainless steel also fails to distribute heat evenly.

Copper Kitchen Utensils

Copper cooking utensils are a unique addition to your kitchen. While stainless steel suffers from food sticking, copper often has a tin coating that allows for a nonstick surface.

Furthermore, copper heats and cools quickly. If you’re cooking more delicate seafood dishes that require you to sear fish or you’re melting chocolate for a sauce, copper ensures that your ingredients won’t overcook from heat retention.

However, copper cooking utensils often come with a high price tag. If you’re serious about improving your cooking skills, the investment may be worth it.

Gold Kitchen Utensils

While gold cooking utensils strike quite the appearance, most gold utensils are actually stainless steel or copper that have been plated. So while you’ll receive the same benefits of the base material, you’ll add a stylistic flair to your kitchen utensils.

However, if you’re thinking about buying gold cutlery , be aware that they should only be used for special occasions. Gold silverware requires a lot of extra maintenance that other materials do not. They can easily chip or fade if you’re not careful.

Plastic Kitchen Utensils

Plastic cooking utensils, though affordable, are falling out of favor these days.

While the material offers many of the same benefits as silicone in that it’s flexible and won’t scratch your nonstick pans, plastic utensils are quite easy to break. They’re also not very resistant to heat or the most convenient to clean.

If you have health concerns, plastic cooking utensils may not be the best choice. A lot of plastic contains BPA , which is a harmful substance that can lead to health issues.

What Cooking Utensils Should You Choose?

When it comes to the best material for cooking utensils, the best choice for you depends on how often you cook at home and the kinds of dishes you like to make.

Choosing from the materials listed above will equip your kitchen with versatility and options.

Looking for some new recipes to cook with your cooking utensils? Follow Good Home Chef on Instagram and Pinterest for tasty, simple recipes to try!

Featured image via Pxhere