# Be wary of some plastic utensils



## Rocklobster (Apr 3, 2012)

I have a few plastic spoons and spatulas I have bought over the last few months from the dollar store. I used one a few times to stir and serve hot food and there is this very strong chemical/plastic smell and flavor that comes from it. I just through all of them out. Nothing plastic anymore. Especially from China...


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## sparrowgrass (Apr 3, 2012)

Amen to the no plastic rule.  I try hard to keep plastic away from food, and especially hot food.


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## Katie H (Apr 3, 2012)

Hmmmm.  Never would have considered that as I don't have any plastic utensils.  Mostly wood or stainless steel.  I suppose that if one doesn't have something they don't really know the potential ramifications.


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## FrankZ (Apr 3, 2012)

We have several plastic utensils we use.  Most of them are fairly long in the tooth, but they serve.  The plastic pasta thingy did get too close to a burner and ended up smelling badly (it also went from a baby blue to black).


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## TATTRAT (Apr 3, 2012)

Rocklobster said:


> I have a few *plastic spoons and spatulas I have bought over the last few months from the dollar store*. I used one a few times to stir and serve hot food and there is this very strong chemical/plastic smell and flavor that comes from it. I just through all of them out. Nothing plastic anymore. Especially from China...



Well there's your problem. . .as you also mention, especially from China.


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## Steve Kroll (Apr 4, 2012)

Does silicone qualify as a plastic? I think it does, but I'm not completely sure.

I've been using these OXO silicone spatulas and stir spoons, and haven't had any problem at all with them in high heat situations. No chemical smell. No melting.

They're more than a buck. Maybe $6-7. Still a good value, I think.


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## taxlady (Apr 4, 2012)

Steve Kroll said:


> Does silicone qualify as a plastic? I think it does, but I'm not completely sure.
> 
> I've been using these OXO silicone spatulas and stir spoons, and haven't had any problem at all with them in high heat situations. No chemical smell. No melting.
> 
> They're more than a buck. Maybe $6-7. Still a good value, I think.



We buy some stuff like that at Dollarama. We have not had issues with silicone stuff.


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## buckytom (Apr 4, 2012)

Steve Kroll said:


> Does silicone qualify as a plastic? I think it does, but I'm not completely sure.


 

everyone knows that silicone comes from a valley in california, and it's used to make boobies stand up unnaturally.

that's just a spatula.



lol, i've had a similar experience with dollar store plastic utensils. i remember one time leaving a long, plastic serving spoon in a pot of bubbling sunday gravy for a few minutes after stirring it, and when i pulled the spoon out it had warped. i don't recall any smell, but i chucked it and the other utensils that i bought with it straight away. warping comes just before melting. yuk.


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## taxlady (Apr 4, 2012)

buckytom said:


> everyone knows that silicone comes from a valley in california, and it's used to make boobies stand up unnaturally.
> 
> that's just a spatula.
> 
> ...



You just reminded me of something a roommate did. She took the plastic scraper for the Braun food processor and used it as a spatula for cooking. Then she said it wasn't very good quality, because it melted a bit. 

It was no longer usable for its intended purpose.


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## justplainbill (Apr 4, 2012)

The coating on our Chicago Metallic Aluminum Perforated French Bread pans (made in ¿Chicago?, China) is not holding up well; they're a pain to clean and were not exactly cheap.


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## Rocklobster (Apr 4, 2012)

I'm sure there are many different qualities and manufacturers, but after reading about all of the recalls and the use of fermaldehyde in plastic products, I am not going to take any chances. I never would have thought about it but the smell coming from this spoon was very strong. Out they go. That's it.


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## CraigC (Apr 4, 2012)

Rocklobster said:


> I have a few plastic spoons and spatulas I have bought over the last few months from the dollar store. I used one a few times to stir and serve hot food and there is this very strong chemical/plastic smell and flavor that comes from it. I just through all of them out. Nothing plastic anymore. Especially from China...


 
Like a lot of other "ethnic foods", it is an aquired taste!


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## Addie (Apr 4, 2012)

CraigC said:


> Like a lot of other "ethnic foods", it is an aquired taste!


 
Sorry, I am a picky eater.

I have had a melting problem with Oxo nylon utensil. Out they went. 

I have often wished I had some address in China so I could start sending the stuff back to them.


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## CharlieD (Apr 4, 2012)

I do use plastic, but really prefer a wooden spoons ans spatulas.


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## Addie (Apr 4, 2012)

I have metal spoons and spatulas that I bought more than 20 years ago. They have wooded handles with three rivets and have held up great all these years. I do have a collection of wooden spoons right next to the stove and are the first thing I always grab for stirring. I also have a Tupperware hard plastic spatula that needs a good bleaching. I think I have had that for 40 years or more. That thing will never wear out. I do need to update my rubber ones. I prefer the one-piece ones. The ones where the rubber separates from the handle get yukky down inside the rubber part. And it is very difficult to get them clean. The best ones I have found so far are from the Dollar Store.


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## Vanitas (Apr 4, 2012)

Steve Kroll said:
			
		

> Does silicone qualify as a plastic? I think it does, but I'm not completely sure.
> 
> I've been using these OXO silicone spatulas and stir spoons, and haven't had any problem at all with them in high heat situations. No chemical smell. No melting.


Silicone is superior to plastic, as it is non-toxic and less porous (so bacteria and mould cannot accumulate). It's also capable of withstanding heat up to about 500 F. I love my silicone oven mitts so much that I got rid of my others. The silicone cookie sheet I have creates gorgeous cookies that never burn or stick.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 4, 2012)

buckytom said:


> everyone knows that silicone comes from a valley in california, and it's used to make boobies stand up unnaturally.
> 
> that's just a spatula.



There is a difference between Silicone, and Silicon, though Southern California has plenty of both.

I'm sure you see much of both at your beaches as well, oh, wait, you have Jaws, so no one goes to the beaches.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## gadzooks (Apr 19, 2012)

buckytom said:


> everyone knows that silicone comes from a valley in california, and it's used to make boobies stand up unnaturally.
> 
> that's just a spatula.
> 
> ...



Look again...it's a perky spatula...


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## Robo410 (Apr 19, 2012)

It's discussions like these that keep me loving Discuss Cooking, (except when I spray my computer screen with a mouthful of coffee from laughter)


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 19, 2012)

Silicone is made from silicon, one of the most naturally occurring solid materials on the Earth (about 25% of the earths crust is make up of silicone compounds such as quartz and silica.  It is a stable, non-reactive, non-poisonous material that can be found as a viscuous liuqid/paste, as in caulking, it has great insulating properties, is very slippery when used in cooking applications (silpat mats, silicone oven mitts, silicone spatulas, cake turners, etc.), and is nearly as cool as George of the Jungle. but not as cool as Green Lantern.  In any case, silicone is better for its designed purpose than is rubber, nylon, or any of the other plastics used in cooking.

Just a thought though, due to its inherent flexibility, I don't think I'd use silicone forks or spoons at the table.  Imagine trying to stab a chunk of meat with something as flexible as a rubber band.

For more info on silicone, check this out - um, hold up.  I just read a few of these articles, and they can be daunting.  If you want to learn more about silicone, just type the word into a google search.  Most of the info out there is geared toward someone with an understanding of chemistry.  They are very informative, and will show you how the product has many different forms, and is used in everything from tubing to hair, and skin products, to cooking utensils, to anti-foaming agents, etc.

Suffice it to say that silicons are an amazing product, born of the elemental metal - silicon.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Addie (Apr 19, 2012)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Just a thought though, due to its inherent flexibility, I don't think I'd use silicone forks or spoons at the table. Imagine trying to stab a chunk of meat with something as flexible as a rubber band.


 
I once had four wheel drive explained to me as such....

"Would you rather push or pull an elastic up a mountain."


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## blissful (Apr 26, 2012)

One of my friends, Laura, wanted to learn to make some almond toffee. I was teaching her and as we talked over the phone and we thought everything was going well. Then---she started to describe how her plastic spoon was melting into it--OH NO. We had to start over.
I use bamboo and wood for everything. I use wood and bamboo because of my non-stick pans. Just a habit.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 26, 2012)

blissful said:


> One of my friends, Laura, wanted to learn to make some almond toffee. I was teaching her and as we talked over the phone and we thought everything was going well. Then---she started to describe how her plastic spoon was melting into it--OH NO. We had to start over.
> I use bamboo and wood for everything. I use wood and bamboo because of my non-stick pans. Just a habit.



Good habit.  Prevents molten plastic in almond toffee.

Seeeeeeya; chief Longwind of the North


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## blissful (Apr 26, 2012)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Good habit.  Prevents molten plastic in almond toffee.


I hate when that happens.


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