Tools used in the kitchen are as important as the ingredients of your recipe. You have to make sure you have the right tools including your serving spoons.
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What Is a Ladle Used For In Cooking ?
A ladle is a big serving spoon used when serving sauces and soups. It has a long handle and a small bowl or cup-like end.
This spoon is used to mostly serve liquids, fluid-like dishes, and drinks. It is one spoon that every kitchen should have.
Types of ladles
Sauce ladles
The difference between a sauce ladle and a soup ladle is the size of its handle. If you have a ladle with about 5 inches or shorter handle, it’s most ideal for condiments and sauces.
Any ladle with a handle longer than 5 inches is for hot soups and stews. This kitchen tool helps you serve the right portions consistently or topping dishes with various condiments.
An ideal sauce ladle should have pouring lips on both sides. This is to ensure that the sauce does not drip.
The best thing is that you find these spoons in various materials including wood, plastic, silver, aluminum, bamboo, and stainless steel.
Soup Ladle
Soup ladles are mostly mistaken for sauce ladles. But, the easiest way to identify them is by checking the handle. It should be longer than what you use for your condiments.
The handle can be as long as 15 inches and are ideal for foods with thick broths. The long handle makes it easy to serve even hot foods.
In addition to the long handle, you will notice that soup ladles have a curve near the end.
You can choose to have different soup ladles made of different materials allowing you to have a variety in your kitchen.
Slotted Ladle
A slotted ladle is like a regular ladle, but it’s used to sieve foods where the liquid is not needed.
This one is not ideal for serving soups, condiments, or sauces. If you have boiled your meat or potatoes, you need a slotted ladle to serve them excluding the liquid.
This includes some packed foods such as fruits and vegetables. It also comes in handy when retrieving small foods such as boiled eggs that must be cooked in hot water.
Spaghetti Ladle
A spaghetti ladle is quite different because it comes with tines designed to get hold of pasta threads when serving.
They make serving spaghettis easy and minimize the chances of messing up your dining table.
Skimming Ladles
A skimming ladle is ideal when using shallow bowls or pots. It helps you skim lightly across your soup or any other liquid food to remove impurities or unwanted food particles.
Some of these ladies come with a special feature to enable them to remove fat from soup without wasting your soup.
How much does a ladle hold?
Most ladles hold between four ounces and eight ounces; you choose which size to use depending on how much soup, sauce, or spaghetti you want to serve.
Different models come with various capacities. You can buy multiple ladles and be sure to know the measurement of each. Besides, they come in various designs and materials that would look great in your kitchen.
The best material for a ladle is steel or resin. Some are made of wood. However, you should know that the wood ladle can rot if not taken care of properly.
