The perfect ladle.
One by one, I’ve been upgrading my plastic, toxic and lower quality kitchen items with their better quality Goodwill counterparts. Rubbermaid made way for Pyrex, metal replaced plastic spatulas; and Teflon? Hello, cast iron! But the one thing I’ve had a hard time finding was a nice stainless steel ladle to replace the plastic monstrosity that I must have picked up during nursing school.
That was until yesterday, when this mirrored beauty leapt into my arms at the main Goodwill. It’s so perfectly balanced, aesthetically pleasing and shiny that I swear it was forged in the bowels of Mordor. And for $1.99, easy on the change purse.
This ladle will last forever as it’s a single piece of stainless steel, and I finally can stop feeling bad about dipping a piece of toxic plastic into my lovely soups and stews.
So welcome, beautiful new spatula! Where have you been my whole life?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
ahhh, rubbermaid was going to be the step up for me. I’ve been using the sliced lunchmeat tubs. I guess I could just skip ahead to the pyrex then.
your ladle is lovely
Or canning jars, for storage anyway. I put all my leftovers in them and reheat by putting the jar in a pot of hot water on the stove.
brilliant! We always have lots of pasta jars.
I store a lot of stuff in repurposed marinara sauce (canning) jars. I love them for storage and drinking. I never thought to reheat in the jar in hot water, what a good idea.
Purdy!
I’m slowly eliminating the supply of cheap plastic containers from my life. Slowly, as I think those things are reproducing in the depths of my cupboards.
What kind of pots and pans do you have? Stainless Steel?? Mine are all non-stick and I can’t use metal on them unless I want to tear them apart!
My pots are either vintage “Descoware,” (Le Creuset) or cast iron. I refuse to use Teflon, as high temperatures cause toxic chemicals to enter the air, which can contribute to a number of diseases.
A well seasoned cast iron skillet is close to non-stick, and I would rather scrub out my dishes than have health concerns.
Katy
If I buy a cast iron skillet, will you tell me how to season it and take care of it?
I had one once, and I know I did everything wrong, but that doesn’t really tell me what I should be doing right.
Thanks.
Last year (argh, is it really ‘last year’ now?) when we phased out all our nonstick and moved to cast-iron I had the same issue of how to take care of them. I googled and found the instructions on this site http://www.anoregoncottage.com/2011/03/how-to-clean-and-care-for-cast-iron-pan.html super easy and helpful and I can now honestly say that cast iron is nonstick (and I’m not the best at taking care of it, and even so). We have fried eggs that just slide right off, which is a great test since eggs can be rather prone to stick. Best grease to season it I find is bacon grease or, failing that, coconut oil.
Your ladle is lovely. I’ve been using a stainless steel ladle, purchased for full price of $8.99 at a restaurant supply store, for about 35 years. It has endured with no visible damage – despite all 3 boys, as toddlers, using it to bang the stainless steel pots for a stupendous noisy racket ! The pots did fine too.
What a lovely ladle! I still need to trade some of our plastic in for stainless steel, never thought that Goodwill would have something so nice though!
I recently learned that Goodwill receives, in addition to people de-cluttering their homes, stuff from retail stores. That’s right. Brand new stuff!! And what’s left after estate sales may end up there.
Usually well-chosen estate sale finds are far better than the new stuff!
Oh, yes, Goodwill does get new! I currently have 2 pairs of Nordstrom shoes – purchased with the original stickers still on them!
Absolutely a great find! I’ve been trying to do the same, whether it is purchasing used or new. For new, the initial investment may be more, but it’ll be for a piece that will last a lifetime, so far more frugal in the long run. And I’m trying to convert to the “vintage” glass refrigerator dishes (at less than antique prices!)…so much more durable!
I actually like the new Pyrex refrigerator containers a lot. They’re made in the U.S. by union labor and the packaging is 100% paper, and thus easily recycled. They go on sale pretty frequently, and there are even coupons fairly frequently.
And I’ve found from personal experience that I am way less likely to waste food when it’s in a see-through container.
Katy
I respectful disagree about new things lasting longer. Well-chosen vintage can be indestructible. So often new things look like they’re good quality, but when you start to use them, you find out they don’t hold up like you thought they would. I so much prefer things that have already been quality tested in someone else’s kitchen! (I feel so strongly about it, it made a whole blog post: http://adventuresinthriftland.blogspot.com/2011/12/used-to-quality.html)
Sorry Laura! I didn’t word my comment very well. I meant that buying new or VINTAGE good quality, well-made products would far outlast buying less expensive, poorly made items whether used or new. Sometimes, you just can’t find what you want easily in vintage, so you make an investment now that will be someone else’s vintage. I LOVE to use vintage and it is always my preference though! Something about the history + the quality makes it so much more fun. And I’ve read and like your blog very much!
Nice!
The other day a friend was cooking pancakes at my house and asked for a plastic spatula. It turned out she was using my housemate’s teflon. (My housemate isn’t as keen on cast iron as I am.) It’s funny that a few years ago my utensils were plastic and my pans nonstick and now I wonder why anyone would want a plastic spatula.
Same thing happened to me. It’s funny how what once seemed normal seems so obviously inferior, it’s hard to forget we were in the same place recently!
I’m trying to do the same thing. The one thing I’m having a hard time with are rubber scrapers (we actually call them spatulas in our house and the other things pancake turners). Is there any alternative to those? I’ve bought cheap, I’ve bought spendy, but they all deteriorate pretty quickly.
My rubber spatula is silicone, which I think is fine to use.
Katy
Melissa,
My rubbery things are spatulas (silicone and something else). We called the others “egg turners.” Daddy ate lots more eggs than pancakes.
I use wooden spoons & spatulas for all my cooking – teflon-safe, no rubber taste, no metal-on-metal-scraping sound while stirring and fairly indestructable and if ever destroyed, bio-degradable.
and no, unless you smear it with raw chicken & eggs and then let it sit unwashed for hours, there’s no food safety issues with wooden utensils 🙂
I have a wooden spatula that I love as well!
Katy
I have replaced all my plastic containers with Pyrex. Some of the plastic lids are getting loose especially on the rectangular ones. Does anyone know if you can find replacements anywhere?
Have you Googled it? I am careful to not put my lids in the dishwasher, as they warp and shrink. Maybe putting them in boiling water as an experiment to see if they shrink?
Katy
You can get replacement, or additional lids. I believe Pyrex and Corningware are the same company, or owned by the same one. Try looking for an outlet store, usually in large outlet malls, they often have a store there, or online. We have an outlet near us and last christmas I told my mom I wanted lids for my 8×8 and 9×13 pans which didn’t come with lids, so she picked them up for me! Happy christmas.
WOOHOO! We’re trying to do the same! Now it’s just deciding between stainless steel or cat iron cookware. Suggestions on this one? We cook a lot, and a TON of eggs!
Please don’t buy “cat iron!” Poor kitties. 😉
Katy
HAHA! That would be AMAZING! Would it be shaped like a cat? I’d buy that. Cooking cats, however, not so much. I really should learn not to type with a toddler climbing on me 😉
I love my stainless steel- made in America- pots and pans. Hate cast iron…just do!
Congratulations on finding that ladle.
Re: cast iron vs stainless steel – both – while cast iron is awesome it doesn’t do everything (it is a reactive metal so not good for tomatoes and other acids unless enameled)! Most of my pots (things intended to be used for boiling water and water-substances) are SS, my skillets are cast iron. I cook eggs in my cast iron generally. Clean-up is a little different and can require some scrubbing until the surface is decently seasoned. (And anytime I must scrub I finish by applying a little oil after the pan is dried).
Katy – my enameled cast iron pot states “no metal” – make sure your stuff does not.
Mine is too old for that kind of warning.
Katy
Oooh, that is a BEAUTY!
Our house has all three sorts of pots and pans, unfortunately. There’s 40+year-old stainless that is as useful as the day we bought it (except that the handles look a little scruffy); cast iron nearly that old, plus the new frying pan with a hand-hold as well as the handle, since a full cast iron pan is just too heavy for me to lift safely with one hand; and the teflon-coated pans my husband insists on buying. I have explained why I don’t like teflon, but it doesn’t seem to register. When it gets scratched, though, out it goes!
That ladle is a thing of beauty. Good for you!
Love it. I find thrift shops particularly good for kitchen tools and gadgets.
I can relate to this post! Until my perfect stainless steel ladle came into my life, I used my stainless 1-Cup measure to dish out soup!
I’m always interested in what things you report to be relatively rare or common while thriftily shopping. I don’t get out to the thrift stores as much as I’d like, so I don’t get a good sense of those overall trends myself.
(Great ladle! A great lasts-forever companion to your cast iron!)
What a beautiful ladle! I’m currently making do with a stainless steel one that’s so bulky, I always wind up spilling soup or hot chocolate or whatever all over the counter.
I love your “one perfect object” idea. Especially in the kitchen, I find myself reaching for the same bowl or wooden spoon over and over again, yet I have enough to last for days.
Your ladle is gorgeous. My old ceramic well-loved ladle was dropped and broke and I have been looking for what seems forever to find a replacement, maybe I should go for a stainless steel one. Nice find.
Love your ladle. I have the same one but what a gift it is to find your blog. I have three ladles and by the end of the week, that will not longer be the case!