What kind of spoon is this?

February 2, 2019 4:57 AM

This is a weird spoon! (Bananas for scale). What kind of spoon is it, and where can I buy one?
posted by woodvine to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

It looks like a scoop to me, the way it's angled would make stuff slide more neatly into a narrow container without spilling.
posted by kitten magic at 5:02 AM on February 2, 2019

Ice cream scoop
posted by XtineHutch at 5:35 AM on February 2, 2019 [12 favorites]

Ice cream scoop

The text in the link makes it clear the seller has no faint foggy clue what kind of spoon it was, but speculates it could be used for ice cream--or anything else, please buy this spoon! I am impressed you found a listing for it.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 6:47 AM on February 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

There are a bunch of listings online; most people seem to think it's for ice cream.

On the other hand, here's one from the same manufacturer that is similarly slanted, on the original card saying "Slanted for quick stirring."
posted by beandip at 7:18 AM on February 2, 2019

So yes, it's a Foley spoon, and they're apparently sought after. I could easily see them used for midwest hotdish-style meals -- Foley was based in Minneapolis -- to divvy out portions.
posted by holgate at 7:20 AM on February 2, 2019 [8 favorites]

beandip beat me to it (thanks, imgur, for taking forever to actually show the image I uploaded) -- the keyword is "slanted for quick stirring", and lots of old ads show up in newspaper archives.

As for the "where can I buy one", searching "asymmetrical scoop utensil" pulls up a variety of similar and not-so-similar items.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:24 AM on February 2, 2019 [4 favorites]

Here's a similar thing from a restaurant supply company. Search for 'slanted utility spoon' and you'll find plenty of options.
posted by essexjan at 9:44 AM on February 2, 2019

I've had one of these, and it was super handy. I don't think it's so much for ice cream as for scooping food from the flat bottom of a casserole dish or large pot - what holgate says. The flat side works like a spatula to scrape the bottom evenly, and the spoon edges keep everything in place. The acute angle gets yummy little bits out of corners. This is an right-handed spoon, btw.

Vintage ice cream scoops have a short thick handle for better strength and control, and smaller rounded scoop, that produces the traditional modest-size neat balls of ice cream people ate mid-century.
posted by tula at 10:28 AM on February 2, 2019 [5 favorites]