Nearly set my kitchen on fire with a plastic spatula left too close to the oven vent

Was baking a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies at my aunt's house in Phoenix last August and that thing melted into a puddle of toxic goo right as I pulled the trays out. Anyone else have a favorite spatula material that can handle actual heat without ruining your batch?

4 comments

4 Comments

drewr151mo ago

I used to be all about silicone spatulas thinking they were indestructible but man, one bad experience with a cheaper one that literally started smoking on the edge of a hot pan changed my mind real quick. Now I just stick with the basic wooden ones, they get a little charred over time but they don't melt down and ruin everything.

riverh491mo ago

Gagged reading this. Didn't know cheap silicone could just start smoking like that, that's wild.

kai_webb911mo ago

Hang on, it started smoking? Like just from touching the edge of a hot pan? That's terrifying, I had no idea that could even happen.

-2

samflores1mo ago

Started smoking on the edge of a hot pan" - that's exactly what got me too, @drewr15. I had one of those cheap silicone spatulas from a grocery store set and it literally melted onto my stovetop when I left it resting against the pan for maybe 30 seconds. The smell was awful, like burning plastic and chemicals. I threw the whole thing out and went back to a basic wooden one from the hardware store, it's got some dark spots now but at least it won't turn into a puddle.