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In-Depth Product Reviews: Silicone Spatulas, Turners, and Scrapers Comparison

BACKGROUND

In a busy kitchen, nothing beats universal utensils for ease of use; you don’t want to think about whether a spatula is going to scratch nonstick cookware or not. Thus I’ve gone almost 100% silicone.  Plastic and (most) wood utensils won’t scratch up your nonstick pans, either, but they generally don’t tolerate heat and/or moisture as well as silicone.  In particular, nylon plastic utensils can soften and melt when exposed to temperatures above 400 degrees Fahrenheit (the exact temperature depends on the plastic).

Furthermore, some manufacturers coat their entire utensils in silicone, instead of just the head of the utensil. A seamless silicone covering does a few things:

  • No seams = no place for food/grime to build up
  • Makes the handles impervious to heat as well. (Uncoated plastic handles can melt if you rest them onto the rim of hot pans.)

DEFINITIONS

Let’s get definitions out of the way.

  • Turners are for cooking.  The head of a turner will be angled, to allow you to reach the bottom of a saute or fry pan more easily to flip food.
  • Spatulas are mainly for baking and food prep.  They are relatively straight from end to end and allow you to scrape the sides of bowls/jars/cans/etc. effectively.
  • Scrapers are small spatulas you can use to scrape food from the insides of narrow jars.

WHAT MAKES FOR A GOOD SILICONE SPATULA/TURNER/SCRAPER?

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In-Depth Product Review: A Guide to Feminine Hygiene Products (Menstrual Pads, Diva cups, etc.)

A History of Menstrual Products:

  • The first time historians saw menstrual hygiene products mentioned was around the 10th century A.D.  Women used rags as pads and lint wrapped around a small piece of wood or used materials like moss, animal skins, and grass as tampons.
  • By the early 1700s, most women would use old rags as pads and would wash and reuse them.  A few other options were using sheepskin, boiling it clean with each use, or cheesecloth sacks stuffed with flattened cotton.
  • In 1896 the first commercial sanitary pads, Lister’s Towels,  went on sale. They failed to sell because women hated the thought of declaring to the public that they were menstruating by buying pads.
  • French nurses in World War I figured out that Curad bandages were much more absorbent than their homemade menstrual rags and started using them as pads. In 1920 Curads by Kotex, worn with a re-usable belt, hit the market.
  • The first commercial applicator tampon with a cord for removal was invented in 1929 by Dr Earle Haas under the name Tampax, hitting the market in 1936.
  • The 1930s saw the invention and production of the first reusable menstrual cup.  After becoming used to disposable products many women resisted a ‘backwards step’ in menstrual products.
  • In the 1970s most companies started selling pads with adhesive backing, putting an end to the need for belts. Cloth pads made a comeback during this time as they saved money and were better for the environment.
  • After the 1970s, the biggest change to sanitary pads and tampons was to become more discreet. Tampons got smaller, pads got thinner, and the packaging hid the products inside.

Current Options:

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Sorry but you will not be eligible if you have a non-continental USA address or won something already.

In-Depth Product Review: Bottega Del Rame (Mazzetti copper cookware) – 30 cm diameter tin-lined 3 mm copper skillet (frying pan)

Bottega del Rame - Mazzetti Copper 30 cm 12 inch frying pan
Bottega del Rame – Mazzetti Copper 30 cm 12 inch frying pan

Note: If you have an induction stove, see De Buyer Prima Matera as well.

THE COMPANY

Bottega del Rame (Italian for “Copper Shop”) is the workshop of Mr. Cesare Mazzetti, located in the town of Montepulciano in central Italy (between Florence and Rome in the Tuscany region).1

Cesare’s grandfather, Bernardo Mazzetti (1863-1909, born in Montepulciano), was a farmer who was injured from falling out of an oak tree.  He returned to his birthplace of Montepulciano to pursue his interest in metalworking, buying rough copper from a foundry in Gran Sasso and forming them into copperware for his wife to sell at marketplaces in the nearby towns of Chianciano, Pienza, Petroio, and Torrita.

Bernardo was a competent coppersmith in his own right, but he decided to send his son Giuseppe (1903-1982, born in Montepulciano) to apprentice with the master coppersmith Ghiotto of Porta Farina.  When Master Ghiotto died, Giuseppe bought all of Ghiotto’s tools, stamps, anvils, forges, and lathes which dated back to 1850-1857, some of which are still in use today.

Guiseppe had two sons, both plumbers, but eventually Cesare (1936- ) returned to help his father’s increasingly famous Montepulciano copper workshop.  Since 1982, Cesare has made copper cookware, plates, and other housewares at the workshop.  Like his grandfather and father, Cesare makes copperware by hand (using tools like hammers) rather than by hydraulic presses.  Says Mazzetti: “To be a coppersmith has been and is for me a dream come true…. I derive great satisfaction doing what I love. I work with passion and integrity and my life is peaceful and full of love.”

Cesare’s son is an engineer, so it appears that Mazzetti’s copper shop will close when Cesare retires (he is 80 as of 2016).  In the meantime, Cesare continues to make heirloom-quality copperware for sale.  Mazzetti even made a plate for Pope Benedict XVI.  And you can get a Mazzetti copperware piece of your own, too.

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