Why Your Fish Spatula is the Most Important Spatula
Can I tell you something? I just want to open myself up, be vulnerable, and share something with you: I love a fish spatula.
If there is but one metal spatula you allow into your heart and utensil drawer, let it be this one. Despite what its name might imply, the fish spatula lands among the most versatile and competent cooking implements you can own. It's the greatest thing—you don't even have to like fish to own one; in fact, you can utterly despise anything that comes out of the water and I can almost guarantee that you will still find the light, the truth, and the way in your fish spatula—let it in. Let it be your magic wand for turning things over.
Do you wanna know what life is like without the glorious angular power of a fish spatula in your possession? I'll tell you, it's fine. Nothing more. Maybe less. You'll get through the days, the fried eggs, the roasted potatoes well enough, but it won’t be the seamless, nothing-ever-left-plastered-on-your-pan experience that makes the days move easy and joyfully. I can tell you, I know what this subpar existence is like. I was young once… naive once. I went to Target and bought A handsome, sleek as hell, sturdy-handled metal spatula (spoiler alert: it was not a fish spatula) with the intention of making it my #1—my primary spatula. Some days, I wish I could take it back (both my decision and the used spatula)... but sometimes a $15 mistake is the only way we grow. I know better now.
The fish spatula, which is also sometimes called a slotted offset spatula, is so named (disclaimer: I’m making an educated guess here) because its incredibly thin, angled-just-so edge can nimbly slip underneath foods as delicate as a fish fillet to achieve a clean flip in the skillet. The handle to “head” ratio on a fish spatula is the reverse of most metal kitchen spatulas you likely have in your kitchen, meaning their head is the lengthier portion of the tool while the handle is relatively short. Spatulas with longer handles—which put you further away from the reason we’re all here and talking about this to begin with, THE FOOD—and thicker heads can often be difficult to manipulate food with, especially with fragile items; it’s often tough to get the right angle without mutilating whatever you’re cooking. But the fish spatula… this gentle beauty of kitchenware has the right angle built in. Beyond the obvious (fish), this spatula is perfect for flipping other tricky and prone-to-stick-to-the-pan foods like fried eggs, pancakes, and chicken. And your handy fish spatula is by no means limited to the stovetop—it’s a gem for anything on a sheet pan as well. Got a pan full of veggies roasting in the oven? Halfway through cooking, reach for your #1, slip it under and flip ‘em over—rotating a sizable portion of your vegetables with ease. The day you find your fish spatula, every pan of mixed, roasted vegetable becomes destined for beautiful, even browning. No crisped potato skins left behind! Remove warm cookies from the pan to the cooling rack like the graceful kitchen ninja you are. Onlookers will witness with admiration… Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s her fish spatula.
Watch: How to Make Tortilla Crusted Tilapia with Citrus Slaw
Don’t wait another minute to live the life you should be living. You can pick up a good fish spatula, wherever you like to buy kitchenware best, for around $15-$20. This one is a popular pick and can be waiting at home to make dinner with you in couple of days (if you have Amazon prime). Now go—achieve the perfect flip, experience joy, never look back.