Silicone kitchen utensils won a worthy place for themselves on a modern kitchen. Silicone is very flexible material that allows you to do everything comfortably and simply and not deforming the form of prepared dishes. You can spread the dough, whipped cream, easily remove leftover food from the walls of deep bowls and pans and even divide the dough into portions.
Despite many advantages, still there are some limitations and drawbacks. When cooking you should use silicone spatula carefully in order to avoid damaging the edges of the spatula. You should not put it under cold water immediately after it was used in open fire, as it can be damaged.
After use, silicone spatulas should be cleaned or washed only with specialized mild detergent. When cleaning your silicone spatula, do not try to use an abrasive cleaner. And though the silicone spatulas are said to be dishwasher safe, it is better to clean them manually as the black rubber gets a gray coating on it that looks horrible, and the handle can become filled with water, in case it is not removable. Do not scrape away something solid by silicone spatula as it may be damaged in this case.
Remember that although silicone is durable material, there are limitations and drawbacks when using or cooking with kitchen utensils made of silicone.
I have used a silicone spatula for a year. And after a year of use the smell of food on silicone spatula appeared. My friend said that she had not noticed smell of cooked food on silicone spatula, but she said that she observed there was only one drawback with her silicone spatula. It began to deform after several years of use. And she had another silicone spatula distorted because of wrong method of usage.
Currently, I have only one spatula and sometimes I can not do everything with it. For example, I want to get the food from a can with a narrow neck, but it is impossible. There were cases when I was not able to reach the bottom of a ketchup bottle using it. Yet, I know that there are spatulas designed for different and various functions.
You should remember that a silicone spatula’s life cycle depends on how you use it, as they tend to fray after 1,5 to 4 years of use, but usually people change them after 2-3 years of regular usage.
And the most important thing is to make sure the silicone spatula you are buying is made from high-quality materials, as poor-quality spatulas can evolve an unpleasant smell when used. This may be indicative of excess of toxic substances. Another danger is the coloring compounds. Toxic substances like cadmium may be used for giving attractive colors to silicone spatulas.