Please Note, this is not an affiliate post. This review is simply born out of a desire to share my love for what I believe to be the most underrated kitchen tool.
I used to scoff at the idea of having “favorite” kitchen tools. After all, they all serve different functions. My “favorite” used to be whichever was best for the job at hand. But these days I’ve been gravitating towards a more minimalist lifestyle. How do I balance that draw towards minimalism with my desire to have a fully stocked kitchen? A place where I have all I need to whip up a soufflé, a perfectly braised lamb shank, or a potato leek soup but that is uncluttered and orderly? For me, the answer has been investing in less tools that do more. And that is how my love affair with the silicone spatula began.
They Help Eliminate Food Waste
I do my best to avoid food waste. Want to know the best tool in my arsenal that helps me minimize it? You guessed it, it’s the mighty silicone spatula. I love these for baking because they get every last bit of brownie batter. Not a drop of that delicious chocolate peanut butter batter goes to waste.
They Are Gentle On Cookware
I turn to my silicone spatula for jobs I used to rely on my wooden and metal utensils for. This is because they are more gentle on cookware. If you use nonstick cookware, it’s especially important to avoid scratching the coating, otherwise you’ll be exposing you and your family to dangerous chemicals. There’s no need to worry about this with silicone spatulas, as they’re more gentle than both wooden and metal utensils. Maintaining a minimalist kitchen requires having versatile and reliable items that can last a lifetime, but all of these things require maintenance in order to last. These spatulas can help you ensure the cookware you’ve already invested in last as long as possible.
Although my Made In pan can withstand wooden utensils, I prefer a silicone spatula.
They Can Stand The Heat
While melting point can depend on the brand and material (rubber, silicone, and nylon are all sometimes used for the nonstick portion of these spatulas) these spatulas are all still highly heat proof. At the lower end, spatulas are usually heat proof up to 400 F, with the best brands able to go up to 600 F. One of the reasons I prefer unibody spatulas is that there’s no need to worry about the wooden handle burning. But this far from the only reason I decided to try out GIR’s spatulas.
They Are Easy to Clean
I’ve cooked with rubber and silicone spatulas for a long time, but it was only recently that I discovered the danger of using ones with detachable handles. Previously, I had rubber spatulas with wooden handles. In theory, the detachable handle should make these tools easy to clean. However, it’s difficult to thoroughly clean inside the small space the wooden handle fits into. Also, without enough drying time, mold begins to grow in this space.This is the main reason I wanted to try GIR’s spatulas.
The unibody design makes these spatulas really easy to clean.
I love the GIR spatulas’ unibody design, because the naturally nonstick surface is easy to clean. There are no parts that separate, no need to jam a straw cleaner where the handle goes to scrub away food particles that may have gotten in between the parts. There’s no need to wait for the inside to dry, you can just wipe the spatula down and it’s ready to go again. GIR’s silicone spatulas are also dishwasher safe, while some of the ones that come with wooden handles are not.
They Hold Their Shape
Unlike metal tools which can warp or rust, silicone spatulas are flexible. They are made to bend and still return to their original shape. Because of this, they can be longer lasting. GIR also promises a lifetime guarantee. I couldn’t find the fine print on what exactly this means, but it was still an encouraging sign for me.
My Thoughts on GIR
So far, I’m pretty happy with my GIR spatulas. They seem sturdy, so I’m hoping they will last a long time. The spatulas are also BPA and BPS free. I think the price is reasonable (you can get a set of three spatulas for $30.) The biggest size, the “PRO” is much larger than I realized, so I’d probably only opt for the “Ultimate” size next time. I also decided to try out one of GIR’s suction lids since I was only a few dollars away from free shipping, and so far so good!
The Downsides
I love the wide range of colors GIR offers. I gravitated towards the pastels. They’re very pretty and match my kitchen color palette. It only took one ground turkey and tomato sauce recipe for me to quickly remember why pastel colors may not have been the way to go. The staining is barely noticeable now, but I expect overtime the coloring of the bodies will change, ingredients like tomato and turmeric being the main culprits. Oh well! If this is something that’s likely to bother you, you may want to either pick darker colors, or reserve the light colored spatulas solely for baking.
The spatulas took nine days to ship. I’d messaged for an update about my order before getting the shipping notification, and I didn’t receive a customer service response for six more days. By this point, I’d already received my order. This was mid-December, so it’s possible the delays were simply because of the holiday season and not the norm. But it’s always nice to get a speedy customer service response.
I recently learned that the company name, “GIR” stands for Get It Right. I think they were spot on.
That’s enough from me, what are your thoughts on silicone spatulas? Talk to me about your favorite kitchen tools, I am always on the lookout for versatile and well made items! I’d love to test out some more eco-friendly options as well, like the silicone lids I mentioned, so I’m open to recommendations!
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