A spatula is a broad, flat, flexible blade used to mix, spread and lift material including foods, drugs, plaster and paints. In medical applications, "spatula" may also be used synonymously with

tongue depressor A tongue depressor or spatula is a tool used in medical practice to depress the tongue to allow for examination of the mouth and throat. Hobbyists, artists, teachers and confectionery makers use tongue depressors, which may also be referred to ...

. The word ''spatula'' derives from the Latin word for a flat piece of wood or splint, a diminutive form of the Latin , meaning 'broadsword', and hence can also refer to a

. The words ''

spade A spade is a tool primarily for digging consisting of a long handle and blade, typically with the blade narrower and flatter than the common shovel. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the a ...

'' (digging tool) and ''

spathe In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

'' are similarly derived. The word ''spatula'' has been used in English since 1525.

Use

Spatulas are usually used to scrape within the contours of a mixing bowl or to level off the top of a dry mixing cup.

Kitchen use

American English

In American English, ''spatula'' refers broadly to a number of broad, flat utensils. The word commonly refers to a turner or flipper (known in British English as a ''

fish slice A fish slice is a kitchen utensil with a wide, flat blade with holes in it, used for lifting and turning food while cooking. It may be called a slotted spatula or a turner or flipper. The utensil was originally designed as a serving piece rather ...

''), used to lift and flip food items during cooking, such as

pancakes A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based Batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a ...

and fillets. The blades on these are usually made of

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

, with a wooden or plastic handle to insulate them from

heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

. A ''cookie shovel'' is a turner with a larger blade, made for lifting cookies off a pan or

baking sheet A sheet pan, also referred to as baking tray, baking sheet, or baking pan, is a flat, rectangular metal pan placed in an oven and used for baking pastries such as bread rolls, cookies, sheet cakes, Swiss rolls, and pizzas. These pans, like all ...

. A frosting spatula is also known as

palette knife A palette knife is a blunt tool used for mixing or applying paint, with a flexible steel blade. It is primarily used for applying paint to the canvas, mixing paint colors, adding texture to the painted surface, paste, etc., or for Paper marbling, ...

and is usually made of metal or plastic. Bowl and plate scrapers are sometimes called spatulas.

British English

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

a spatula is similar in shape to a palette knife, without holes, in a flexible or detachable blade. It is used in medical examinations, for holding down the tongue or taking cell samples. The term is also commonly used in cookery to refer to a scraper, as in American English.

Non-regional

In addition to the regional senses, a spatula can be used in both British and American English to refer to a tool with a flat, blunt blade used for mixing and spreading things as opposed to one used for lifting and flipping food, an example of which is the rubber scraper shown on the right.

Laboratory use

In laboratories, ''spatulas'' and ''microspatulas'' are small

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

utensils, used for scraping, transferring, or applying powders and paste-like chemicals or treatments. Many spatula brands are also resistant to acids, bases, heat, and solvents, which make them ideal for use with a wide range of compounds. A common type would be stainless steel spatulas, which are widely used because they are sturdy and affordable. They are resistant to deterioration from contact with boiling water, acids, bases, and most solvents. Some of them come with a polyvinyl chloride plastic handle or riveted hardwood for better handling. Polystyrene spatulas are made for researchers because they are disposable, preventing any potential contaminations which occurs often with reusable spatulas. They are also ideal for handling lyophilized products or performing

lyophilization Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization or cryodesiccation, is a low temperature dehydration process that involves freezing the product and lowering pressure, thereby removing the ice by sublimation. This is in contrast to dehydration by m ...

. File:Laboratory Spatula.JPG, A stainless steel laboratory spatula File:Spatula Application.JPG, This is one of many uses of stainless steel spatula: it can be used to aid the removal of filter paper from vacuum filtration.

Related utensils

Peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community in Peel Parish * Pee ...

* Putty knife * Scoopula

References

External links

{{Kitchen Tools Food preparation utensils Domestic implements