Greetings!  Welcome to my first post in a new series I’m calling, “Ask Auntie Wendy.”  Today’s topic is, “What is a spatula?”

Perhaps this is a burning question that keeps you lying awake at night.

Maybe you’d just like to know what the proper names of your kitchen tools are.

(Or not.)

Well?

What, actually, IS a spatula, you ask?

I, Auntie Wendy,  started doing my research on the origins of the word, “spatula,” and ended up at a few dead ends.  Some led me to incorrect answers, in fact.

If you are old enough to remember this silly “Weird Al” video, “Spatula City,” I’d just like to set the record straight.

Those weren’t spatulas.

Nope.

None of them.

At least not according to my Home Economics teacher from Junior High School.

What IS a SPATULA?

Enter Auntie Wendy’s former teacher, Miss Labbe(pronounced, “luh-bee”), who was rather emphatic about the importance of correct terminology.

She began the lesson by asking, “Who knows what a spatula is?  Raise your hand if you do.”

Of course every hand in the room shot up.

Then our clever trickster-of-a-teacher held up this item and asked, “Is THIS a spatula?”

“If you think this is a spatula, raise your hand.”

All hands went up again, only some were more hesitant this time.  Heads circled and necks craned to see whose hands were in the air first.

Then Miss L. held up another item and asked the class, “Is THIS the spatula?  If you say yes, raise your hand.”

And even more slowly, I believe every hand went up.  Again.

Miss Labbe said we were all WRONG. (Grrrr!)

“This,” she said, “is a RUBBER SCRAPER.”

“And this,” she went on, “is a PANCAKE TURNER!” in a tone that seemed to say, “How could you all be so stupid?”

What IS a SPATULA?

According to her, THIS is a spatula.

And, just to clarify, I consulted my mother’s old cookbook, Betty Crocker’s* Good and Easy Cookbook, which has a copyright date of 1954.  “…Brand-new idea book – 1,000 time-saving, taste-tempting recipes and hints for busy modern homemakers.”

It not only confirms what my Home “Ec” teacher said, it even has a matching illustration.  I will show you.  It’s on the “Omelet” page.

But Miss Labbe said this tool is for frosting cakes or spreading spreads, like butter or sandwich filling.

She did not make any mention of using this for cooking an omelet.

Tsk tsk, teacher.

AND you should have seen my sweet mother’s face that day when I came home and accused her of lying to me about what a spatula is.

Poor Mom.  (feeling guilty right about now)

So you see, most of us have been deceived all our lives about what a spatula really is.

Or have we?

Well, for me, honestly, it’s almost like a curse.

Because every time someone refers to a rubber scraper or a pancake turner (it’s also been called a “flipper”) as a “spatula,” an uneasy feeling overtakes my stomach.

But I’m working it out and coping better.

To settle this once and for all……

An Official Definition

Here is the Oxford dictionary definition:

“A simple implement of wood, ivory, or metal, having a flat elongated form with various modifications of shape and size, used for a variety of purposes.”  {Source}

That didn’t clear anything up, did it?

That could mean any and all of these things, yes?

And THEN some!

(picture – shovels, etc.)

For further confusion information…..

Below is a link to a somewhat brief history of the word “SPATULA,” along with words that have nothing whatsoever to do with origins of the word.

https://theweek.com/articles/462790/humble-spatulas-linguistic-origins

Just in case you were curious.

But truly, after all is said and done, for the record, I’d actually like to concur with the Oxford definition.

It leaves so much room for interpretation.

Even a HOE could be considered a spatula.

Although I wouldn’t use that to make an omelet.

Or frost a cake, for that matter.

(Unless it was a very large cake.)

——-

I hope you found this helpful and enlightening.

Maybe the next time you use a spatula, you’ll think of me?

If you have any questions for Auntie Wendy (me), please leave a comment below.

And thanks for visiting The Mountain Farmhouse!

❤️