Bowl Scrapers: The Best Kitchen Tool You're Missing

Infomercials and fancy store displays often entice us to buy expensive kitchen gadgets with a single purpose, but basic, affordable tools are the workhorses of the kitchen. With multiple benefits and a low price, usually between $2 and $10, a plastic bowl scraper is an essential tool.

A bowl scraper is about the size of your hand and easily fits in even the most crowded kitchen drawer. Unlike a spatula, it does not have a handle and, depending on the model, it can work as a dough cutter and bench scraper.

Why is this simple tool a kitchen essential?

Less Waste
On TV, Martha Stewart diligently scrapes every bit of the batter from her mixing bowls. Fussing with sticky dough or runny batter hardly seems worth the effort. But, with a good bowl scraper, it takes only a few seconds to scrape extra batter or cookie dough from the bowl. It is especially useful for removing dough from a stand mixer's large bowl. Stretch your dollar by using every bit of batter or dough.

Quick Cleanup
Brownie batter always clings to the mixing bowl. Rinsing sticky batter wastes time and water. Take a little time to use a bowl scraper and the mixing bowl will be clean and ready for the sink or dishwasher.

Multiple Uses
This tool is a must-have for bakers, but cooking enthusiasts will find multiple uses for it as well.

Bowl scrapers with a straight edge are handy when transferring chopped ingredients such as nuts or fruit. Use the straight side on a plastic or silicone model to scrape dough from countertops without causing scratches.

This tool is also good for quickly removing caked-on foods from casserole dishes and pans.

Dough Scraper versus Bowl Scraper
Dough scrapers are rigid and sturdy enough to cut and move a heavy batch of dough. The rectangular tools do not work well as bowl scrapers. However, some bowl scrapers with a straight edge are strong enough to handle dough.

Shopping Tips
Look for a bowl scraper that is easy to hold with a contoured edge to move batter. It should not be too flimsy, but needs slight flexibility to move along the bowl.

This affordable kitchen gadget is available in the cake decorating section of various retailers and online stores. Bowl scrapers vary in cost, but a higher price does not indicate a better product. Ateco's 80-cent bowl scraper is a reasonable value and does a decent job.