Kitchen Essentials – Upgrade your Ladle

Dec 25, 2025 by Chef David

By Chef David

The ladle is an often-overlooked kitchen tool. We use it for scooping and serving just about everything. We have a few ladles to choose from, including our stainless-steel wok ladle. We decided it was time to upgrade from our old, plastic ladles. These kitchen essentials have served us well, but over time, they have become scratched and worn.

We explored three traditional ladles, one made of silicon, which makes it heat-resistant, one that introduces a flexible bowl, and lastly an innovative metal ladle designed to skim fat.

History of the Ladle – A ladle is a large, deep spoon used for serving. Simple variations can be traced back over 6,000 years to ancient civilizations for serving liquids. The soup ladle dates to the middle of the 17th century, invented by the French courtier Charles de Sainte-Maure, Duke of Montausier. Before the ladle, diners dipped their spoons in the tureen or drank soup from a communal bowl. Not much has changed in basic ladle design, which has a long handle attached to a deep, angled bowl.

ThermoWorks Hi-Temp Silicone Ladle

ThermoWorks Ladle

The ThermoWorks Hi-Temp Silicone Ladle was designed for use in a commercial kitchen, but it is available for home chefs. It is made of FDA-approved Silicone, PFAS-free, which is safe at temperatures up to 600°F. This means that there is no chance of it melting, even if you rest the ladle against a hot pot or accidentally put it in the oven.

It is stain-resistant and won’t discolor or fade over time. This keeps the vibrant colors as bright as when they were new. We liked that it comes in 10 colors, making it ideal for a kosher kitchen.

The bowl holds ½ cup of liquid. It is made using a single-piece design, which leaves no areas where food can be trapped.

The ThermoWorks Ladle is simple, practical, and designed to stand up to the rigors of a commercial kitchen. This is part of ThermoWorks’s new Hi-Temp Silicone series, which includes a Spatula, a Turner, and a Spoonula.

ThermoWorks, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, has decades of experience in the temperature measurement and instrumentation industries. They believe temperature affects your daily life and have earned a reputation for making thermometers that can make life better. They are a high-quality brand we have come to rely on.

Le Creuset Ladle

The Le Creuset Revolution Bi-Material Ladle is a two-colored nylon/silicon ladle. The design innovation is the flexible silicon front edge, which lets the ladle fit into corners and makes it easier to get the liquid from the bottom of the pot without tilting. Basically, it is a traditional BPA-free nylon handle with a silicon front that allows the bowl to bend and conform to the pot.

Le Creuset Revolution Bi-Material Ladle

We enjoyed the flexible bowl (with a 4 fluid ounce capacity), which made serving simpler. The elliptical-shaped handle with grip rings makes the ladle comfortable to grip and easy to control. The Revolution has a hole in the handle for easy storage and is both heat-resistant (to 482°F) and dishwasher safe.

The bowl comes in four colors – Marseille Blue, Cerise Red, and Oyster Gray, which makes it easy to distinguish between dairy, meat, and pareve.

Le Creuset – In 1925, Le Creuset opened a foundry in Fresnoy-le-Grand, France, where it produced its very first enameled French oven in Flame orange, the brand’s signature color. Their mission is to empower people to create joy through cooking.

NexTrend Fat Skimming Ladle

NexTrend Ladle

NexTrend Fat Skimming Ladle is designed with a small spout in the rear of the bowl that lets you trap and skim the fat off the top. The concept is ingenious. Fill the ladle with liquid, tilt it backwards, and watch as the liquid pours out, leaving the fat or impurities behind.

NexTrend Fat Skimming Ladle is made of stainless steel, has a tapered lip, and has a hook for easy hanging.

It looks and feels like a traditional metal ladle. When using it as a ladle, it is important to remember the spout, since tipping the ladle backward will cause liquid to pour out. The added benefit of being able to separate liquid from solids, fat from broth, allows you to quickly and easily remove and dispose of the layer of fat without needing to refrigerate the pot overnight.

We liked the long handle. It let us stay a safe distance from the pot.

NexTrend is a line of inventions designed by Eric Teng, a California entrepreneur. His first invention, the Garlic-Twister (which came to him in a dream), uses cross-cutting that allows chefs of every age to mince gracefully.

The design is simple, elegant, and efficient. Our only concern is being able to adequately clean behind the rear spout. The ladle was well balanced, light, and easy to use. It’s nice to see that NexTrend has reimagined the traditional ladle, creating a skimming tool that works as a traditional ladle.

Upgrade Your Kitchen Essentials

We found it refreshing that the ladle has not changed much over time. This simple, efficient kitchen essential is good just the way it is. We found that the lighter ladles were more comfortable to hold and enjoyed testing different variations on the classic ladle.

Take the time to cull out older, damaged tools. Of course, you can keep family heirlooms, Bubbe’s ladle, or rolling pin as keepsakes. They are a great source of family memories. For food preparation, maintaining a complement of kitchen tools that are in good condition, without scrapes, scratches, or heat damage, makes cooking more enjoyable.

Happy Cooking.