My bench scraper is my go-to kitchen tool. It makes all my baking blunders, stuck-on dough, or boiled-over sauces disappear in an instant. But what I didn't realize is that using it before I clean instead of after saves me tons of time and money!
Do you own a bench scraper? Do you use it? If you said no to either question then I mandate you march to the store or your kitchen and go pick one up this instant. Once you start relying on their magical powers of cleaning you won't ever go back. They're great for diving dough and cutting brownies, but where they shine is in clean up time.
In the past I've always used the tough blade to scrape off the things no one speaks of, especially the icky-sticky-don't-want-to-clean-it-up messes that happen when you tell yourself you'll clean up tomorrow. But recently, all that changed.
Instead, I've been bench scraping after every single kitchen endeavor. It gets dust, dirt, and crumbs, and whisks them all away. Now, instead of wiping down my surfaces every day with a light cleaner, I basically wipe them down once a week.
Once a week! But Sarah, your countertops must be covered in bacteria, germs, disease, PLAGUE! You're going to get the Ebola and DIE!
I swear I am as healthy as a horse and my kitchen has never looked better. Oh, and that bottle of cleaner I replace every mont? It's only 1/4 empty, which is actually quite glorious! So glorious that I'm not ashamed to share the real grime that's scraped off my counter in the photo above. That's love, people.
Related: Handy Kitchen Tool: The Bench Scraper
(Image: Sarah Rae Trover)
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We use ours to scrap the gunk of the griddle before we cook on it and to cut my kids' sandwiches in triangles, but that's about it. I have small nylon scrapers I use to get off tough stuck on crud on my counters or anywhere but the larger one is going to do a much faster job. I've got the oxo one pictured, gonna take it out now and leave it out!
You must not have cats...heh.
Double the magic. Get yourself a stiff nylon bowl scraper and you'll be able to banish crusty, sticky, gooey, and/or burnt on bits from the majority of your dishes before washing. It saves lots of rinsing water, soaking time and elbow grease. I'm speaking as a hand-washer. I don't know whether this matters with a dishwasher.
A third for the nylon scrapers.
Also, I use a solution of vinegar and water, plus a few drops of peppermint oil, for cleaning the countertops. The whole bottle costs pennies.
Am I just anal about cleaning while I cook? My kitchen usually isn't so uncrusted that I need a scraper to keep it clean. I'm pretty diligent about wiping up messes as they happen though. I also have that same scraper and I'm at a loss as to where I'd scrape with it.
Why were you scraping after trying to clean? Any mess I make, the first thing to come out is the bench scrapper. Then, and only after all gunk is loosened, crumbs or loose mess has been scraped to the trash, do I wipe things down.
Nylon scrapers are wonderful and I do have one at my kitchen sink!
Maybe I'm a total slob, but I hardly ever use "cleaner" on my countertops or cutting boards. They get a good wipe with hot water and a cloth every night.
Now, the cooktop is another issue... that gets industrial strength grease cutter every week.
welcomereality, you're not the only one. I love my bench scraper, but I can't see what good it would do on my counters. I wipe up spills as they happen and then wipe the whole thing down with a hot rag at the end of dishes, and the most I ever get up is a few breadcrumbs or a little bit of honey that I missed the first time.
Those of you at a loss as to what to scrape must be in childless or petless households where there are no immediate needs that interfere with cooking/cleanup. I am a wipe/clean as you go person but when the dog needs out and soemthing overboils and bakes....well then it needs soaked/scrubbed/scraped.
I have yet to replace my last scraper, but now that I know OXO makes one I'll add it to my list with the replacement dish brush.
tell me about nylon scrapers - what are they and where do you get one?
Lazy_Lurker - I dunno about anybody else but I got my nylon scrapers from The Pampered Chef. :) I'm sure you can find them other places, too.
@Lazy_Lurker: Amazon has 'em.
The most basic ones as well as some sturdier ones from Lodge:
Nylon Pan Scrapers
Lodge Pan Scrapers for Cast Iron
This one is my favorite though (but it's spendier):
iSi Scraper
I would laugh if there are really people out there who would actually be horrified at the notion of using cleaning solution once a week and thinking that is dangerous. I have to admit, I do sort of love that people who live that way weaken their immune systems and end up getting sick much more and much worse than I do, though :] (I keep messes contained and generally use cleaning products on my counters maybe once a month, if that, and I pretty much never get sick/recover in a day or two if I do.)
I generally just go to town on stuck-on stuff that I missed with those green Scotch-Brite scrub pads after soaking it with a wet piece of paper towel for awhile. I can't say it happens very often, since I usually get right on cleaning up messes before they dry up since I am lazy and have found that to be the easier way. Weird that my laziness actually prompts me to clean sooner rather than later in this case, but there you go.
I also adore my bench scraper and use it for everything but my FAVORITE (and grossest... and most guilt-inducing) use for it is to get the crumbs and heinous gunk that falls into the crack between my stove and counter/cabinet in my rental kitchen. NOTHING else gets in there but I stick in the scraper, zip it out and then sweep up the floor. The best.
Bench scrapers are great for collecting dusty things like flour and sugar into a pile, especially on wooden surfaces where they like to cling. Going straight at it with a wet sponge just makes a soupy mess that will take several more passes to clear, but bench scraping first gets most of the debris out of the way.
@LauraJane - thank you!! i was just sitting here trying to think of where i could use my (RARELY-used) bench scraper and that huge gap between stove and counter is the spot! Even the hose attachment on the vacuum won't get it..
I totally agree with @Holler. I sanitize my counters once a month (or less!), but they get a wipe down after dinner/dishes with soapy water. I currently have a sinus infection, but its the first time I've been sick in over a year, and when I do, its almost always a sinus infection. I haven't had the flu since I was 11 years old.
I do need to get myself a scraper though - my boyfriend likes to use the smallest cutting board possible for absolutely everything, which means bits of food (broccoli, I'm looking at you!) end up all over the counter, and using a dish cloth just dumps half of the bits on the floor. Grated cheese is another thing - dish clothes just smear it around; when I worked in a commercial kitchen the stainless steel scraper would pick it right up to dump handily into the garbage.
@LauraJane ... you are brilliant! Thank you! I am off to bench scrape that tight space between the stove & counter ... I'm sure it will work much better than my stainless steel skewer!
I love how a bench scraper acts like a squeegee & dustpan to gather every morsel of rich, flavorful foods like garlic, cheese, lemon zest & herbs after grating or mincing. It's such an efficient tool for cutting baked goods like brownies, bar cookies, etc. ... less cuts required plus it is a cleaner cut than a knife since a scraper's broad, level eduge only requires short, downward cut strokes.
I can't believe anyone allows their cat up on the kitchen counters! I love my cat and I'm not a total clean-freak, but I don't want her tracking her nasty litterbox feet all over my food prep areas. Spraying her in the face with water from a (gentle) spray bottle just once when I caught her up there did the trick for me!