| An underrated but extremely important piece of kitchenware.
Rubber spatulas consist of a piece of thin rubber mounted at
the end of a stick or handle. They are used primarily to
scrape containers for whatever sticks to the sides, but
also to smooth out the top and sides of a frosted cake,
to safely recover dough that is too moist for re-flouring,
and to spread lutefisk over potatoes.
Rubber spatulas come in many sizes, and you need them all.
You can't call yourself a cook without several rubber
spatulas. When I moved out of my parents' house, one of
the first things I purchased to furnish my new abode was
a set of rubber spatulas. I mean, sure, a desk may be
important, but if you can't eat, you'll die.
Apparently, a contingent of die-hard metal spatula zealots
insists that metal spatulas are in all cases more useful. I
contend that they fail to see the point on several counts:
- A rubber spatula's primary purpose is to scrape liquids
or goos from the sides of containers. If a metal spatula is
used for this, not only does it lack the proper flexibility
for acting as a wiper, but it will scratch the heck out of
the surfaces in question. The spatula itself will be quickly
dulled.
- A rubber spatula cannot and should not take the place of
a good metal spatula for flipping pancakes or serving
cornbread. While a plastic spatula can be used in both cases,
metal is preferable.
- A rubber spatula cannot be easily improvised, whereas
just about anything can be used as a metal spatula, including
soup can lids, forks, knives, large coins, sheet metal,
aluminum foil, and obscene combinations of the preceding.
In conclusion, despite the verbose and mildly intriguing
arguments under metal spatula, you'd be well advised to
maintain a complement of rubber spatulas for those difficult-
to-scrape moments. | 
