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See why.The Best Metal Spatulas
This essential tool can be a cook's best friend—but only if you choose the right one.
Top Picks
What You Need To Know
A good metal spatula is an essential component of any cook's toolkit. Often referred to as a turner or flipper—likely to avoid confusion with thicker silicone spatulas that are used to fold and scrape—it's used to flip or transfer foods whenever we're working with metal cook- or bakeware. (When cooking in more delicate nonstick pans, we prefer plastic spatulas.)
It had been a while since our last review, and we wanted to know if our old favorite, the Wüsthof Gourmet 7” Slotted Fish Spatula ($49.95), still held up to the competition. We bought 10 models priced from $4.53 to $49.95, including our previous winner, and put them through their paces, using them to flip and remove eggs, pancakes, burgers, fried fish, and home fries from a variety of cooking vessels and to transfer sugar cookies from a baking sheet to a wire rack. Five models were conventional spatulas, featuring sturdy square or rectangular heads, some slotted and some solid. The other five, including our former winner, were fish spatulas. Often found in restaurant kitchens, these spatulas feature long, tapered, slotted heads; as their name implies, they were traditionally used to lift and support slender fish fillets.
The good news? All the spatulas performed reasonably well and were able to get the food from point A to point B more or less intact. Still, a few factors made certain models easier, more comfortable, and generally more pleasant to use.
Fish Spatulas versus Regular Spatulas: What's the Difference?
There's a reason that professional cooks swear by fish spatulas. The spatulas' unique head shape makes them versatile, allowing them to excel at flipping and moving not only delicate pieces of fish, but foods of different shapes and sizes. For one thing, the heads are roomy—on average, about 12 square inches, compared to 11 for the conventional models. They are also long and slim, tapering out from the base, so they can nimbly navigate even the tightest spaces, such as the 8-inch cast-iron skillet we used to make over-easy eggs. The length of the fish spatulas' heads—5.5 inches on average for the models in our lineup—was particularly important. Longer heads act as more extensive landing strips for food to travel along, so food didn't fall right off or get squashed when we shoved a little too forcefully to get the spatula under the food.
By contrast, the heads of the five conventional metal spatulas in our lineup were squat and rectangular, which made them a little awkward to maneuver in confined spaces. Because the heads are shorter than a fish spatula's (most were less than 4 inches long), fragile foods such as pancakes and soft cookies sometimes hit the bac...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Head Design: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 2.5 stars out of 3.
Our former winner continues its reign: Its perfectly proportioned head supported foods of all shapes and sizes and maneuvered nimbly even in tight spaces. And because it's also moderately thin and flexible, it excelled at getting under food. The head's pronounced curve provided extra leverage for prying up food and kept our hands higher above hot pans. All users found its handle easy to hold, though some wished the otherwise comfortable plastic were grippier.
Recommended
- Head Design: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This fish spatula was nearly identical to our winner, with one small but important difference: Its head was almost flat, lacking the curvature that would allow users to summon extra leverage and keep their hands higher above hot surfaces. It still excelled at every task we gave it and was comfortable to hold, although its handle, like the one on our winning model, was a bit too smooth.
- Head Design: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 2 stars out of 3.
Like our winner, this fish spatula had a well-proportioned, nicely curved head of moderate thickness and flexibility, which allowed it to effortlessly flip, transfer, and support foods of all sizes. But testers were mixed on its handle: While the textured wood surface helped us keep our grip on the spatula when handling greasy, splattering foods, a rough metal edge stuck out from that wood, digging into our hands and making the spatula unpleasant to hold for extended periods.
- Head Design: 3 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 2 stars out of 3.
This fish spatula's head was well proportioned, moderately thin and flexible, and gently curved, allowing it to perform every task well. We liked the grippy plastic material of its handle, which was easy to hold even when covered in grease. The only problem? The handle itself was quite thick, which made it slightly harder for even larger-handed testers to hold comfortably for extended periods.
- Head Design: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 2 stars out of 3.
While this turner performed ably in every task, its head and handle were a touch undersized next to the other fish spatulas in the lineup. Because the spatula had a smaller surface area, it felt less secure when flipping or transferring larger items such as pancakes. The metal handle was a bit short, narrow, and slick, which made it slightly harder to hold.
Recommended with reservations
- Head Design: 2 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 2 stars out of 3.
This conventional spatula had plenty of surface area for supporting and transferring foods, so it did a fairly good job on most tasks. But its head was more rectangular than the fish spatulas', which made it more unwieldy to maneuver in tight spaces. Since the head was also somewhat thick and very rigid, testers found it tricky to slide the spatula under fragile foods such as pancakes and cookies. Finally, the metal handle was slicker and narrower than we preferred, which made it less comfortable to hold.
- Head Design: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 2.5 stars out of 3.
Faced with stiffer competition, our previous Best Buy fell in our rankings. Most users still liked its grippy plastic handle, though it was a touch thick for some. The real problem was its ultrathin, very flexible head. Although it hugged the surfaces of pans closely and did a great job of sliding under food, it was too flimsy; holding a ½-pound burger felt like a risky proposition. It was also a bit small, so long fish fillets drooped over the edge and threatened to break.
- Head Design: 2 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 1.5 stars out of 3.
The head of this conventional spatula was moderately thin, allowing it to slip under food fairly easily. But it was also on the smaller side, providing less surface area to support the food and allowing fish fillets and large pancakes to drape off the sides. Its squat profile made it feel clunky, and testers disliked the smooth metal handle, which was too long and thin, providing less control and proving uncomfortable to hold for long periods.
- Head Design: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 1.5 stars out of 3.
The swoop of this spatula's ultralong handle was elegant but not very practical, encouraging users to hold the part closest to the head to summon more control when turning or moving food. Larger foods sometimes fell off the small head, and because it was relatively thick, it had a harder time getting under food, occasionally denting fragile pancakes and cookies.
- Head Design: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- Handle Design: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This spatula's head was too small, thick, and rigid, so it had a harder time getting under larger or more fragile foods. Its handle was long, thin, and rough on the edges, which made it somewhat uncomfortable to hold for extended periods. Still, for the most part, it got the job done.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
Miye Bromberg
Miye is a senior editor for ATK Reviews. She covers booze, blades, and gadgets of questionable value.