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Tasting and sauce spoons


andrewB

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Sauce and tasting spoons vary as much as the chefs holding them: some have thick handles, some thin, some have big wide heads, others have little tear drop heads, some are heavy, some are light, some have rounded tips, and some even look like they have been bitten off!!

While working in San Franciso and living in the Mission, i developed a fascination with the spoon. There were these run down thrift stores and dollar shops littered all over Mission street housing the most interesting of wares, from irregular sized underware to toy guns which no longer made any sound. It was here where i found all shapes and sizes of spoons in bins holding massive amounts of loose flatware.

Next to a knife, tasting spoons might be a cook's best friend and many kitchen fight has broken out over whos spoon is whos. We as cooks have bonded with these spoons, tasting many a soup or sauce with them. They have touched are lips more than our girlfriends in high school. I even used to have a reaccuring dream about saucing a plate, reaching around into my back pocket, and not having my spoon...

Like partners, spoons have been loved and lost over the years. Here is a chance for some to tell of their favorite spoons and share pictures and stories. Also a chance to describe what spoon shape works the best for what item in the kitchen...

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A very interesting question here ...

I only cook for my family and guests and, as such, tend to use whatever spoons are around my kitchen .. nothing formally set aside for tasting really ... I recall that Ming Tsai always tastes with his chopsticks.

If I were doing something in terms of professional cooking, I would opt for an instrument like this one .. from Kitchen Carvers because it has such an interesting idea behind it:

Dip the larger bowl of the spoon into the mixture, then tip the spoon back, sending the liquid through the handle to the smaller bowl of the spoon.  (This helps to cool the mixture.)  Taste the contents.  By using this spoon you can prevent giving your family or dinner guests an unwanted germ.
:wink:

this is even nicer and is a clip-on no less! :biggrin:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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A very interesting question here ...

I only cook for my family and guests and, as such, tend to use whatever spoons are around my kitchen .. nothing formally set aside for tasting really ... I recall that Ming Tsai always tastes with his chopsticks.

If I were doing something in terms of professional cooking, I would opt for an instrument like this one .. from Kitchen Carvers because it has such an interesting idea behind it:

Dip the larger bowl of the spoon into the mixture, then tip the spoon back, sending the liquid through the handle to the smaller bowl of the spoon.  (This helps to cool the mixture.)  Taste the contents.  By using this spoon you can prevent giving your family or dinner guests an unwanted germ.
:wink:

this is even nicer and is a clip-on no less! :biggrin:

Hmmmmmmm. For $28 I think I will stick with my current method - use up every teaspoon and dessert spoon in the cutlery drawer to taste a complicated meal. I suppose I could rinse one spoon off each time I use it........ Hmmmmmmmmm. Now there's an idea. :raz:

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

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Although I'm no professional I'm very particular with spoons. The ones I use most often are made from coconut shells with wooden handles. I have a complete set with handles ranging from 6 in. to 24 in. with deep and shallow heads.

Just bought these -

gallery_35373_1761_21305.jpg

Coconut shell spoons have the features of wood without being absorbent. With all the strong smells and flavours in a Filipino kitchen, you'll need that advantage. :biggrin:

Edited by PPPans (log)
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Although I'm no professional I'm very particular with spoons. The ones I use most often are made from coconut shells with wooden handles. I have a complete set with handles ranging from 6 in. to 24 in. with deep and shallow heads.

Just bought these -

gallery_35373_1761_21305.jpg

Coconut shell spoons have the features of wood without being absorbent. With all the strong smells and flavours in a Filipino kitchen, you'll need that advantage. :biggrin:

Those are gorgeous PPPans! Please share where you purchased these.

Thanks.

Inside me there is a thin woman screaming to get out, but I can usually keep the Bitch quiet: with CHOCOLATE!!!

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Other people lost pens, I seem to lose tasting spoons. I swear, theres an interdimensional time warp in my kitchen that magically whisks away any and all tasting spoons that I use. I find I end up going through 5 - 10 of them every night.

i have the same problem as well. I think maybe they will be found in that universal void where all those missing socks go!!

I did find out though, that the reason we were loosing so many of them was because the dishwashers were oblivious to anything left in the bottom of a pan and were just chucking them away along with anything else at the bottom... Now i also know why we had soo many problems with the garbage disposal...

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Hmmmmmmm.  For $28 I think I will stick with my current method - use up every teaspoon and dessert spoon in the cutlery drawer to taste a complicated meal.  I suppose I could rinse one spoon off each time I use it........ Hmmmmmmmmm.  Now there's an idea. :raz:

Why bother rinsing? I save a lot of spoons that way. :laugh:

Melissa, I love that clip-on tasting spoon. Better than a spork, and I can carry it wherever I go. Never know when it might come in handy. Nerds have pocket protectors, eGers have the clip-on tasting spoon!

Karen C.

"Oh, suddenly life’s fun, suddenly there’s a reason to get up in the morning – it’s called bacon!" - Sookie St. James

Travelogue: Ten days in Tuscany

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