I’m a Former Chef and If I Could Only Have One Kitchen Tool, It Would Be This Scraper-Spatula
If I told you that my favorite tool is a hand-carved spatula I bought off the side of a mountain road in Spain, it would be poetic. Or if I discussed the craftsmanship of my pricey fish spatula — that so perfectly fits under the delicately crisped skin of a piece of salmon — it would be a little impressive, and maybe expected. But there is, unequivocally, no spatula as perfectly designed, versatile, or steadfast as the Pampered Chef Mix N’ Scraper. And so I’d like to go on record: If I had to pick the single greatest thing in my kitchen, it’d be this spatula.
Every cook has spent time with a few big, plastic-handled silicone spats (that’s what I adorably call spatulas!). I own and use one, but find its handle to be excessively long and cumbersome. There are also those cute rubber spatulas with wooden handles and colorful designs. I also own and use various versions of these, but they quickly succumb to overuse, beheading themselves mid-stir. But I know the magic and perfection of the Mix N’ Scraper — and am thus left unsatisfied by every other spatula.
My mom brought home her Mix N’ Scraper sometime in the early 2000s, when Amazon just sold books, and Pampered Chef parties were helping home cooks stuff their kitchen cabinets with lots of single-use tools. (She once purchased a sandwich de-cruster!) But at one of these parties, my mom got her Mix N’ Scraper.
It was also around that time I got into helping my mom bake, fueled mostly by a love of cookies. She would snag her favorite new companion to fold dense doughs, dish out cheesecake batters into their springform pans, and scrape the last morsels from the bowl. It was our second hand — a spat, spoon, and scraper.
The Mix N’ Scraper has a perfectly ergonomic plastic handle that’s just the right length, width, and weight. It’s sturdy, too. In the years and years my mom has had hers, not once has the head fallen off in a bowl of brownie batter. The hefty silicone head is about the size of a large spatula, but more flexible. It’s cupped for stirring and scooping, thin enough to clear the bottom of any bowl, and has squared edges that really get into corners. It’s also stiff enough for stirring chocolate chips or nuts into thick batters and dealing with tough bread dough. And it’s heat-resistant, unlike a lot of other spatulas.
And when my mom gifted me my very own Mix N’ Scraper after my first semester in college, it was like a right of passage. But, when I moved out of my place after graduating, it was nowhere to be found. One of my 15 roommates had taken my kitchen treasure! Initially, I was furious. I loved this spat for more than just its utilitarian specs: It was with me as I fell in love with the kitchen and was a piece of home. I got less angry once I started thinking about this thief becoming a Mix N’ Scraper super-fan, gifting them to people they love. I have yet to replace it, because I moved to Spain, where they’re very hard to come by. (Hint, hint for anyone looking to buy me a gift!)
As for my mom’s Mix N’ Scraper: She still has the same one from that Pampered Chef party. It’s no longer white, but more of a dirty cream with browning edges, like an old map. It works just the same as when she first got it — scraping up the last bits of cookie dough and sitting on my mom’s spoon rest while she finishes cooking a new recipe. And it will be there for me when I come home, which is solace enough until I get my own Mix N’ Scraper again.
Do you have a favorite spatula? Tell us about it in the comments!