Can You Use A Fish Spatula To Flip Eggs?

We all have our favorite spatula hanging out in the kitchen. It's the perfect shape for flipping things and comfortable to carry, but if you're anything like us it's also old and worn down (and no longer the best option for delicate foods like eggs). Enter the fish spatula. Also known as the fish turner, the fish spatula is a long and slender metal spatula used (you guessed it!) to flip fish. Its angled rim and slotted design help cooks get under a delicate piece of fish to flip it. However, fish spatula uses extend far beyond just fish, despite its highly specific name.

The fish spatula's design makes it a handy egg flipper. When flipping eggs, we often encounter a variety of problems with a standard square-shaped spatula. First, it doesn't have enough surface area to flip the egg without it folding, and second, the spatula can end up tearing at the egg because it is too thick and rigid. A fish spatula solves these issues by being ultra-thin and slightly flexible, with a large spatula head that's wide and long enough to support the egg. This unique design means that fish aren't the only delicate food a fish spatula is good at flipping.

Fish spatulas' versatile shape means they also work well with whichever style you prefer to make your eggs. They flip a fried egg with ease, are large enough to fold and turn an omelet, and can be used to scramble up eggs. A standard fish spatula is about 6 inches long (perfect for eggs), but it can range up to 9 inches (a bit unwieldy for eggs, but great for large meats on the grill). Fish spatulas have other varying features too, like different angles, silicone edges, or a full silicone body. The spatula you like working with is up to personal preference, although a silicone edge or coating is handy for non-stick pans susceptible to scratching.

Fish spatulas are the absolute best kitchen tool to have according to Ted Allen, host of "Chopped." Allen even finds them useful for getting the first slice of lasagna out of the pan, and we know how difficult that can be. After cooking with fish spatulas, it's hard to go back. If you get in the habit of using this spatula for your daily breakfast eggs, you might as well start calling it an "egg flipper."