It’s easy to upgrade your kitchen tools by swapping out the plastic handles and mystery materials. Our top nontoxic picksThe best overall nontoxic utensil: GIR Ultimate UtensilSetA beautiful wooden set Jonathan’s Spoons EssentialsA fantastic full metal set All-Clad Pro Stainless Steel Kitchen UtensilSetChoosing a material is more difficult. You’ll find a variety of materials in any kitchen store, including wood, silicone and stainless steel. Each material has its supporters and its limitations. Each has its advocates and limitations. It is also nonreactive and won’t react with acidic ingredients such as tomato sauce or citrus, like some metals. It’s dishwasher-safe, nonporous, and won’t crack with repeated washing. It won’t scratch enameled cast-iron. It can feel a little grippy and drag-heavy, compared to, say, a thin fish spatula. Some silicone utensils also pick up odors with time. I’ve had silicone spatulas for months that smelled like dish soap. You may also find that silicone is not very effective for scraping a pan, especially if you want to add flavor by blending fond into a sauce. A wooden spoon would be a good option for this situation. But for the vast majority of everyday cooking tasks–stirring, folding, sauteing, serving–high-quality silicone outperforms the competition on the merits that matter most.Why five pieces?The same logic that makes a 7-piece cookware set a better starting point than a 15-piece one applies here: More isn’t always better, and the average home cook will reach for the same handful of tools repeatedly. A five-piece silicone set that is well-designed will include a large spoon for stirring sauces and soups and for serving. It may also include a slotted spatula for draining and serving, a flexible spatula for pancakes, eggs, and fish, a solid spatula for heavier tasks such as flipping burgers and moving proteins, and a ladle and tongs depending on the type of cooking you do. Not every set is broken down in this way, and that’s okay. A three-piece tool set that includes your everyday tools is better than a five-piece kit with two pieces you’ll never use. The best nontoxic utensil sets are GIR Ultimate Utensil,GirUltimate Utensil,$70 on AmazonGIR (Get it Right) makes the best silicone utensils. Its tools are made of 100% platinum silicone which, among other things is a method to keep odors away from the utensils. This makes them more durable and heat-safe than other sets. This is more important than you might think: Many budget silicone utensils have a nylon or fiberglass core to provide rigidity. However, this can cause problems if the silicone outer coating ever cracks or peels. What you see is exactly what you get with GIR.
