# What is This Crooked Spatula For? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [December 13, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991 "2021-12-13T16:23:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/1 "2021-12-13T16:23:25Z")
My grandmother bought this for me in a small shop where the clerk suggested it when asked, “What should I get for my grandson who likes to cook?” [https://imgur.com/a/20xRXvS](https://imgur.com/a/20xRXvS) But what the heck is it for? Is this a manufacturing error conned off on unsuspecting grandmothers? Is it some exotic implement used only in Somali-Tibetan fusion? Why would anybody want a bent spatula? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/2 "2021-12-13T16:28:32Z")
It’s a [potato masher](https://www.nisbets.co.uk/kitchen-craft-potato-masher/cf966) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/3 "2021-12-13T16:29:39Z")
If you look up “90 degree spatula” you’ll find pictures of it. As for what it’s for, a lot of people suggest it’s for mashing potatoes, but that doesn’t seem right. Since you’re not pushing down in the middle, it seems likely it’ll either bend (more) say it could be for lifting things (be it eggs or canning jars) out of boiling water or lifting things out of casserole dishes. Those make a bit more sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/4 "2021-12-13T16:30:15Z")
You’re not the first to suggest that. It is a terrible potato masher. It doesn’t have the heft. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/5 "2021-12-13T16:31:03Z")
You may not like it, but it’s what it’s for. I’ve got one and it works fine ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/6 "2021-12-13T16:31:07Z")
A 90 degree like that is for lifting things. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/7 "2021-12-13T16:31:27Z")
I’ve tried using it for casseroles, i.e. lasagna. It kind-of works after the first piece, but you really can’t get the first piece out without sticking your knuckles in the cheese. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/8 "2021-12-13T16:32:59Z")
Ha-ha, look at that thing. Seriously, it might work well for campfire cooking, where you’re standing or crouching over a fire. Deep-frying, too. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/9 "2021-12-13T16:49:48Z")
Deep frying is the first thing I thought of. If you’re deep frying fish, beef or chicken with coatings, that would be the perfect tool to use to take them out of the oil. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/10 "2021-12-13T16:50:10Z")
It seems it should be more spoon like to lift things. I guess two of them would work well lifting a roast, though. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/11 "2021-12-13T16:53:08Z")
I have one but I rarely use it. It is good for lifting a burger out of a pan, etc. but also good for lowering things into pans, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/12 "2021-12-13T17:09:02Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Deep frying is the first thing I thought of. If you’re deep frying fish, beef or chicken with coatings, that would be the perfect tool to use to take them out of the oil. I feel like using that for deep frying would result in your hand getting burned since you’d have to hold it directly over the oil. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/13 "2021-12-13T17:11:59Z")
I think that’s why the handle is so long and the bit you grip is so thick, so it won’t conduct the heat from the oil into the handle. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/14 "2021-12-13T17:59:11Z")
Someone should ask America’s Test Kitchen, especially Lisa from their Gearheads. As for lifting things from a deep fryer, a [spider](https://www.amazon.com/Asian-Kitchen-Stainless-Strainer-Natural/dp/B000PKQ3YW/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3F5ID56UBZGQF&keywords=spider+cooking+utensil&qid=1639418289&sprefix=spider+cook%2Caps%2C228&sr=8-4) seems like it would work better and more safely. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/15 "2021-12-13T18:02:44Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > As for lifting things from a deep fryer, a [spider](https://www.amazon.com/Asian-Kitchen-Stainless-Strainer-Natural/dp/B000PKQ3YW/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3F5ID56UBZGQF&keywords=spider+cooking+utensil&qid=1639418289&sprefix=spider+cook%2Caps%2C228&sr=8-4) seems like it would work better and more safely. Agreed, that’s what I use, too. But I can’t come up with a better explanation for the use of the pictured implement. There are lots of kitchen tools out there that aren’t well designed for their intended purpose. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/16 "2021-12-13T18:03:25Z")
This is one of those threads where I think I must be living in an alternative universe, or losing my mind, because that thing is categorically a potato masher. Not a deep fat fryer lifter, or a lasagne disher upper. It’s just a simple, old school potato masher. Look [Wiki has a picture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_masher)! Multiple [companies](https://dexam.co.uk/dexam-potato-masher-stainless-steel) market them as such! ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/17 "2021-12-13T18:23:25Z")
Yeah, if it’s strong enough for that job (looks like it is), you’re probably right. I recently bought my first spider (didn’t know that was the name) and have been enjoying using it. It’s very light and fragile but works great for scooping things out of oil. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/18 "2021-12-13T18:30:32Z")
Yes, it’s a potato masher. I have one just like it, but on mine the slots extend along the curve so that you can mash down the side of your pot. And another +1 for comments about a spider being the optimal deep-fryer-getter-outter tool. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/19 "2021-12-13T19:30:12Z")
I mean, I guess I could try mashing potatoes with it again, but when I tried that it was so objectively terrible at the job I just couldn’t imagine that it was meant for that. Most of the ones labeled ‘potato masher’ look like a much heavier gauge metal, which would likely make them better. This one is thin, but does not seem cheaply made, but rather as though it were meant to be thin. It just seems wrong that somebody could make such a really nice tool that’s so bad at the one job it’s supposed to do. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991/20 "2021-12-13T19:42:36Z")
That Wikipedia picture has a very important difference from the OP’s device, however. The Wiki pic has the slots going all the way to the angled piece, and in fact extending up to the vertical portion. So pressing straight down will mash the potato chunk that is directly below the handle. But the OP’s pic has no slots there, just flat metal. The holes are much smaller and are only on the “blade” part, which I would think would make it much worse at being a masher. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-crooked-spatula-for/955991.md?page=2)