Ladle: features and types

A ladle is one of the most commonly used and necessary kitchen utensils, and is available in every home. However, despite the apparent simplicity of the design, today there are several varieties of this unpretentious appliance, and some instances, in addition to their intended purpose, even act as an important element of kitchen decor.

A ladle is a large-sized spoon used to spill soup, sauce, gravy and other culinary substances. The volume of the scoop is usually more than 100 ml, and depends on the purpose of the product. So, models with a capacity of 140-170 ml are usually used for pouring pancake dough into a pan, while large cookers with a capacity of 200 ml to 1 liter are used as soups. In this regard, most housewives have not one, but two or three ladles of different volume at once.

Often scoops come in sets with other cutlery and have an ergonomic handle with a hole, hook or ball at the end. Thanks to these devices, the ladle can be hung on a special “hanger” included in the kit, or on a clove.

Handles of more expensive specimens are equipped with special silicone or wooden plates that prevent the ladle from heating up while it is in the pot with hot soup. More budget options have no heat-insulating layer, which makes it necessary to use tacks.

The ladle has been known in Russia since time immemorial, and its first samples were made of wood. The main purpose of the scoops was to remove foam from the prepared dishes, however, a little later they began to be used to pour liquid culinary dishes into plates and cups.

Later, metal specimens began to appear, which significantly exceeded wood products in many operational characteristics. Such models were distinguished by high strength and durability, and were not subject to deformation, splitting and swelling, which often happened with wooden scoops. For their manufacture initially used aluminum, and much later, products began to be made of stainless steel.

Today, for the manufacture of ladles, not only wood and metal are used, but also plastic, silicone, and even glass. Scoops are often included in expensive cutlery sets made from precious and semiprecious metals such as gold, silver or cupronickel.

As mentioned above, different materials are used for the manufacture of ladles, each of which endows the finished product with certain working properties.

Wood is the oldest raw material for ladles, and, despite a number of drawbacks, continues to be used for the production of scoops.

TO the advantages of the material include naturalness and environmental friendliness, as well as aesthetics of appearance and style. The minuses include probability of release of harmful substances from varnished modelsthat happens when the paint layer interacts with hot liquids. In addition, wooden models for the sake of decorativeness are often made quite large and massive, which is why it is not very convenient to use them for their intended purpose.

Metal pans are made of copper, aluminum and stainless steel. Such products are characterized by a long service life, ease of use, ease of maintenance and laconic appearance. In addition, the metals used for the manufacture of cutlery, when interacting with boiling water, do not emit harmful substances, do not oxidize, and do not rust.

Synthetic materials in the form of teflon, silicone, nylon, plastic and plastic allow you to make light and comfortable products that have different shapes and colors. Models can be used for non-stick internal surfaces - where the use of metal appliances is undesirable. They do not scratch the inner layer of the dishes, have a small weight, can be painted in any colors and have a modern design.

Precious metal products stand apart. Such models are usually included in expensive dining sets and, in addition to fulfilling their basic functions, emphasize the status of the owner and his excellent taste. In addition to giving the product a high decorative effect, the use of precious metals disinfects water, and in some cases enriches it with useful elements.

Ladles are classified according to several criteria, such as purpose, scope, form and scope. The main criterion for the difference is, of course, the purpose of the device, since it is precisely it that is often determining for the other two features - configuration and size. By their functional purpose, there are several types of cookers.

Soup models, in turn, are divided into kitchen and dining rooms. The former are used in catering kitchens, spilling soups and other liquid and semi-liquid culinary dishes on plates. The size of such models often exceeds 300 ml, and the diameter reaches 16 or more cm, which allows you to take portions from the boiler with one scoop. Among the kitchen models, there are simply huge specimens containing up to 1 liter of liquid.

They are used in public canteens when it becomes necessary to quickly feed a large number of people. Table models have more elegant sizes, and are used in everyday life. Their volume varies from 200 to 250 ml, which is enough for home use. Scoops are often placed on the dining table next to the tureens so that everyone present can pour their own soup.

Dough ladles used for frying pancakes and donuts. Such models have a rather small volume, which usually does not exceed 140-150 ml. Pancake scoops are distinguished by wide edges with special recesses on both sides, designed to spill dough in a thin stream. Models have a rather narrow specialization, and their use for other needs, for example, for pouring compote or soup, is not very convenient.

Scoops for sauce Designed for filling garnish gravy and sauces, and do not look like soup models. Their edges often have a beautiful corrugation, and the working surface ends with a narrow nose. Sauce mini-soup ladles in most cases also have ornate shapes and are often carved. Sauce ladles are often placed on a beautiful stand, and their volume usually does not exceed 140 ml.

The modern market of cutlery and kitchen utensils presents a large selection of ladles of various companies. Below are a number of models, which according to the version of online stores are the most popular and occupy the first lines of popularity ratings.

• Ladle Ototo Nessie It is a product of blue nylon, and is available in sizes of 24.5x8x8 cm. The model has an unusual appearance and is made in the shape of a Loch Ness monster. On the bottom of the working bowl there are legs that allow you to store the product in an upright position. Such a scoop is made in China, and costs 480 rubles.

• Ladle Tupperware issued in black and red strict colors and can claim to be a worthy decoration of any modern interior. The width of the working bowl is 9.5 cm, the length of the handle is 28 cm. Polyamide is used as the manufacturing material, which can easily withstand temperatures up to 150 degrees. At the same time, the product does not deform, does not emit toxic substances into the environment, and, due to low thermal conductivity, does not heat up even after a long stay in a pot with hot soup. Such a soup ladle costs 499 rubles.

• Model Gipfel 6479 Tramonto made of environmentally friendly material - nylon, and weighs only 100 g. The product can be placed in a dishwasher, is available in different colors and has dimensions 10x34 cm. The handle of the scoop is made of rubberized plastic, preventing it from heating up from hot liquids. Such a cook costs 310 rubles.

• Ladle Pitagora the Italian company Pintinox has a working bowl with a width of 10 cm and a thickness of 3 mm, and a handle 18 cm long. The model is made of high quality stainless steel and has a discreet design and classic shapes.The cost of the scoop leaves 844 rubles.

• Gipfel Comfort 6455 made in black and purple and made of nylon. The handle has a hole for hanging, the dimensions of the product are 27.4 x 9.2 cm, weight - 134 g. Such a scoop is produced in Germany, and its cost is 395 rubles.

In the next video you can familiarize yourself with a special model of a ladle intended for a cauldron.