Kitchen ladle: varieties, tips for choosing

It is customary to call a bucket any container that has a handle. This piece of kitchen utensils is used for drinking, drinks are served on the table, with the help of it you can scoop and pour various liquids, pour bulk products. Nowadays, it is customary to call a bucket a small saucepan with a straight handle, for example a Turk.

Back in the X-XIX centuries, the population of Russia used special bowls for drinking and serving drinks on the table - boats. They had a sharp edge on one side, and on the other - a flattened, leaf-shaped handle. Wooden buckets were decorated with fine painting or carvings. Some scoops had one more handle (bracket) instead of a sharp edge - this was the so-called staple. Its pens were often made by folk craftsmen in the form of a bird's head or tail, and could represent a horse or a dragon.

The large wooden ladle - the groom was also popular with the Russian people. It had a capacity of about 24 liters and served for serving alcoholic beverages on the festive table: beer, mead, mash, kvass. To pour drinks from a large container into cups, they used special scoops - left-overs. They were hung by hook-shaped handles at the edges of the groom.

Modern housewives use kitchen ladles to warm up soup, make sauce or porridge, boil vegetables, heat milk, make coffee or tea. Some people confuse a ladle with a stewpan, which combines the functions of a pot and pan.

In order to choose the right bucket for certain purposes, you should first of all pay attention to the material from which it is made.

• Aluminum bucket. As you know, aluminum dishes tend to heat up quickly, but it should be remembered that this metal oxidizes when interacting with acids and alkalis and is harmful to health. Therefore, you should not put tomatoes, sorrel, fruit juice in such a ladle and cook borscht and puddings in it. Modern high-quality cookware can contain a durable film to protect aluminum from corrosion in contact with acids. The non-stick aluminum ladle is ideal for cooking porridge. The disadvantage of this option is that such dishes are unstable, since they are lightweight.

• Cast iron. Cast iron is a guarantee of uniform heating, good heat capacity and stability on the plate. It tolerates heat very well. However, one should take into account the fact that a cast iron bucket is prone to corrosion and is not very durable. In addition, the taste of food deteriorates noticeably from long storage in such a container.

• Copper bucket. Copper cookware has antibacterial properties, excellent thermal conductivity and heat capacity. But copper oxidizes upon contact with an acidic environment, it is easily deformed, and is also expensive. Copper scoops are used mainly for brewing coffee and making sauces.

• Stainless steel bucket. When choosing a kitchen ladle made of this material, pay attention to the bottom and sides. It is best to choose pans with thick walls and a four-layer sandwich bottom. In such a bottom there is an aluminum layer, and the bucket will warm up evenly. Cookware made of stainless steel is heat-accumulating, food “languishes” in it like in an oven and acquires a unique taste. Such a ladle with a lid and a measuring scale is perfect for boiling porridge and for heating milk.

• Enameled. In such a ladle, you can store ready-made food for a long time without fear for your health, since the oxidation process does not occur. But we must remember that the enamel is sensitive to impacts, such a ladle should be handled very carefully.

• Ceramic ladle. Ceramics is a safe material with an attractive appearance, resistance to mechanical damage and high temperatures. But keep in mind that ceramic ladles must be protected from impacts and sudden changes in temperature.

• Plastic bucket. It is convenient in the kitchen for pouring water or storing bulk products. Plastic buckets are lightweight, easy to clean, and come in a wide range of sizes and colors.

• Birch bark bucket. It will serve as a wonderful decoration for the festive table. Especially effective for serving wine and other drinks. Nowadays, painted scoops with a handle in the form of a sail, which are made in the city of Khotkovo near Moscow, are very popular.

Kitchen ladle handles can be removable or non-removable. If the handle is made of plastic, it has high strength and low thermal conductivity, and is easy to clean. The metal handle is strong and fireproof, resistant to high temperatures, but remember that it can get very hot. Combi handles are available in cast iron, aluminum or steel and are thermally insulated to ensure that the handles are durable and will not burn your hands. The wooden bucket handle is aesthetically pleasing, has low thermal conductivity, but it gets dirty quickly, avoid damage and high temperature as well.

The non-stick coating of the bucket is stronger the more layers there are. It significantly extends the life of the kitchen scoop. If such a coating is presented in one layer, then its thickness should not be less than twenty microns. The most common non-stick bottom coating in buckets is Teflon, ceramic, marble or enamel. It is not recommended to wash such dishes with the help of abrasive products, and it is also impossible to use spatulas and knives made of metal when preparing food in it.

When choosing a bucket, carefully consider, depending on the purpose of use, what size and volume it should be. The diameter (size) of the buckets ranges from 12 to 25 centimeters, the most common option is 16 centimeters. The volume of kitchen ladles can be from 600 milliliters to 5 liters or more. It is practical to have several buckets on the farm with different capacities, for example 1 liter and 3 liters.

In order to correctly select and use a kitchen ladle, you should carefully read the advice of experienced chefs.

• Food burns easily in a bucket with thin sides and bottom.
• The 18/10 mark (chromium and nickel content) on stainless steel ladles indicates a quality product.
• Steel, cast iron and stainless steel thick bottom buckets are suitable for induction hobs as these metals are magnetic.
• When choosing a lid for a ladle, take into account the fact that although glass is a material convenient for controlling cooking, it is much inferior in strength to metal lids.
• The bottom, consisting of three to four layers, guarantees uniform heating and slow cooling of the bucket.
• The bucket with removable handle is very good for transporting.

The ladle is the most convenient type of cookware. It is quick and easy to cook porridge for a child, make aromatic coffee for breakfast, and warm up soup for lunch.

For information on how to brew coffee in a ladle, see the video below.