By Melzware — 7 October 2026 · 9 min read
A silicone cooking utensils set is the best all-round choice for most kitchens. It will not scratch non-stick or granite pans, it goes in the dishwasher, and it handles everyday cooking heat. Wood is a close second and better for heavy stirring. Nylon is the one to skip. And a couple of stainless steel tools still earn a drawer spot for searing and serving.
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Silicone, Wood, Nylon and Steel Side by Side
There is no single best material for cooking utensils. Each one has a job it does better than the rest. Here is how they compare on the things that matter day to day.
| Silicone | Wood | Nylon | Stainless steel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safe on non-stick | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Heat | Good, usually rated 200–230°C | Good, scorches if left on a hot edge | Weakest, can melt | No practical limit |
| Dishwasher | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Holds smells or stains | Rarely | Yes, it is porous | Stains easily | No |
| Stiffness | Flexible | Rigid | Semi-rigid | Rigid and thin |
| Weak point | Too floppy for heavy stirring | Cracks and dries out | Heat | Scratches coated pans |
Silicone Cooking Utensils: Where They Win and Where They Don’t
Silicone cooking utensils win on convenience. They are soft enough that they cannot scratch a coated pan, they go straight in the dishwasher, and the flexible edge scrapes a bowl or pot almost clean. Nothing beats a silicone spatula for scrambled eggs, folding a cake batter or getting the last of a sauce out of the pot.
Food-grade silicone is also stable at cooking temperatures. In the US, silicone that touches food has to meet the FDA’s rules for rubber articles intended for repeated use. Most food-grade silicone heads are rated somewhere between 200°C and 230°C, so check the listing. That is well above the temperature of anything simmering, boiling or frying in oil at home.
Where silicone falls short is stiffness. A thin silicone turner struggles under a crusted piece of chicken, and a floppy spoon is hard work in a thick pot of pap. Look for tools with a steel core inside the head, which fixes most of this.
If you want the full safety rundown, including microplastics and the oily film some silicone develops, our guide to choosing a silicone utensils set for cooking covers it in detail.
Silicone vs Wooden Utensils
This is the closest contest. Both are gentle on non-stick and enamel. Both are fine at stovetop heat. The difference is in the stirring and the washing up.
Where wood wins
- Heavy stirring. A wooden spoon does not bend, so it pushes through stiff pap, risotto and thick stews without effort.
- Stays cool. Wood does not conduct heat, so the handle is comfortable even when the spoon has been in the pot a while.
- Lifespan. A good hardwood spoon looked after properly lasts years.
Where silicone wins
- Cleaning. Silicone goes in the dishwasher. Wood should not. The heat and long soak dry it out and crack it.
- Smells and stains. Wood is porous. Curry and garlic soak in and come out again in the custard. Silicone holds on to very little.
- Scraping. A rigid wooden edge leaves a layer of food behind. A silicone edge bends to the pan.
- Upkeep. Wood wants a rub of food-grade mineral oil every month or so. Silicone wants nothing.
The practical answer for most kitchens is both: a silicone set for daily cooking, and one or two solid wooden spoons for the heavy pots. Wooden spoons are a kitchen’s most loyal tool. They will stir your stew for ten years and quietly remember every curry you ever made.
Nylon vs Silicone Utensils
Nylon utensils look much like silicone ones and are often cheaper, which is why so many starter sets are made of them. They are fine on non-stick. The problem is heat.
Nylon is a polyamide plastic. Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has looked at what moves from polyamide utensils into hot food. Its advice is to keep contact between nylon utensils and food hotter than 70°C as short as possible. It does not say to stop using them.
Our view: we would not buy a nylon set today. Simmering food sits at roughly 85°C and boiling water at 100°C, both well past that 70°C line, and a spoon left resting in the pot is exactly the long contact the BfR warns against. Silicone does the same job without the caveat.
Nylon also shows its age. Edges go thin and wavy where they have touched a hot pan, and that rough, melted edge is a sign to throw the tool away.
Stainless Steel Utensils: The Few You Still Need
Stainless steel is the only material that does not care about heat. It does not melt, stain, hold smells or wear out. It will also scratch any coated pan it touches, which rules it out as your everyday set if you cook on non-stick or granite.
A few steel tools are still worth keeping:
- A thin steel turner for searing on stainless steel or cast iron. Its sharp edge gets under a crust that a silicone turner rolls over.
- A steel ladle and slotted spoon for serving, where pan contact is not an issue.
- Steel tongs for the braai, which is too hot for most silicone tips.
Which Utensil for Which Pan
The pans you own decide the utensils you need. Match them like this:
| Pan | Use | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Granite and non-stick | Silicone, wood | Steel of any kind |
| Enamel and ceramic | Silicone, wood | Steel, which chips and marks the glaze |
| Stainless steel | Anything; steel turner for searing | Nothing, but nylon is the weakest choice |
| Cast iron | Steel turner, wood | Nothing, though silicone is less useful here |
If your cupboard is mostly granite or non-stick, as many South African kitchens are, a silicone set will handle almost everything. Our comparison of granite vs stainless steel pots explains why the coating is worth protecting.
Handles and Joints: Where Utensil Sets Fail
Most silicone kitchen utensils do not fail at the head. They fail where the head meets the handle. Heads that slide over a stick can trap water and food in the gap, loosen over time, and eventually pull off in a pot of soup.
Before you buy, check three things:
- The joint. Squeeze and twist the head. It should not move or rotate on the handle.
- The handle material. Steel handles go in the dishwasher. Wooden handles look good but crack and loosen in a dishwasher, so a wood-handled set means hand washing.
- The core. A steel core running into the head stops spatulas and spoons from flopping.
One-piece tools, moulded around a steel core with no gap, avoid the joint problem entirely.
Which Silicone Kitchen Utensils Set to Buy
Buy a silicone set if you cook mostly on non-stick or granite pans, use a dishwasher, or are kitting out a first kitchen. Add a wooden spoon for heavy stirring and a steel turner if you own stainless or cast iron.
Our 33 Pcs Cooking Utensils Set has silicone heads on stainless steel handles, so the whole set goes in the dishwasher. At R799 it works out to R24.21 per piece, covering prep, mixing and cooking tools in one go. That suits a new home or someone replacing a drawer of worn-out plastic.
Signs your current utensils need replacing
Before you buy anything, check what is already in the drawer. Each material shows wear differently:
- Silicone: tears or nicks in the edge, a head that spins on the handle, or a sticky film that will not wash off.
- Wood: deep cracks, a split near the tip, a fuzzy grain that stays rough after drying, or dark spots that do not scrub out.
- Nylon: thin, wavy or melted edges, or any flakes in the food. Replace these first.
- Stainless steel: rarely wears out. Replace it if a weld or rivet comes loose, or if the edge of a turner is bent.
If most of the drawer fails this check, replacing it with one matching set is simpler than hunting down tools one at a time. If only one or two fail, replace just those.
When not to buy a big set
Straight up: if you cook mainly on stainless steel or cast iron and you already have a decent spatula, you do not need 33 pieces. A steel turner, two wooden spoons and one silicone spatula will cover it. And if your current tools are silicone and still in good shape (no tears, no loose heads, no sticky film), keep using them. A full set makes sense when you are starting from scratch or replacing nylon and plastic tools.
Heads up: whatever you buy, give silicone a wash before first use, and keep any tool away from an open gas flame or a braai grid unless it says it can take it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is silicone or wood better for cooking utensils?
For most kitchens, silicone. It goes in the dishwasher, does not absorb smells, and the flexible edge scrapes pans and bowls clean. Wood is just as gentle on non-stick and is better for stirring thick, heavy food, but it needs hand washing and occasional oiling. Many cooks keep a silicone set and one or two wooden spoons.
Are nylon cooking utensils safe?
They are allowed for food contact, but they are not ideal for hot food. Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) advises keeping contact between nylon (polyamide) utensils and food above 70 degrees Celsius as short as possible. Do not leave a nylon spoon resting in a simmering pot, and replace any nylon tool that is melted, cracked or rough at the edge.
Can you use silicone utensils on stainless steel pans?
Yes. Silicone is safe on every pan surface. It is just less useful on stainless steel and cast iron, where a thin steel spatula gets under seared food more cleanly. Use silicone for sauces, eggs and scraping, and keep one steel turner for searing.
Should a silicone cooking utensils set have wooden or steel handles?
Steel handles are the better choice if you use a dishwasher, because wooden handles dry out and crack when machine washed. Wooden handles stay cooler and feel warmer in the hand, but they need hand washing. One-piece silicone tools with a steel core avoid the handle joint altogether.
What utensils should I use on a granite or non-stick pan?
Silicone or wood. Both are softer than the coating, so they will not scratch it. Avoid metal spoons, whisks and turners, which cut into the coating and shorten the life of the pan. Nylon is also soft enough, but it is the weakest of the three at high heat.
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