Mercer Culinary18-8 Stainless Steel Plating Spoon, 7-7/8 Inch, Matte Black

When considering how to rate a product I have purchased on Amazon, I boil it down to two matters: form and function. With that in mind, let me start out by saying that these spoons amazed us from the moment we opened the package.Upon opening the box, the spoons glistened. There was a small sparkle from within the exquisitely wrapped package. The clear plastic wrapping allowed one to see immediately just how beautiful these spoons really are. The plastic was perfectly form-fitted to allow the spoon to show through but not get damaged. It was held in place by a sturdy cardboard backer. The spoon was secured to the backer by two small ties. One can infer a lot about a product from the packaging. If time and energy goes into the thinking of the packaging, one can only imagine the time and energy that goes into the product itself! After carefully taking the spoon out of the see-through wrapper, we carefully untied it from the cardboard backer.It was at this point we knew just how fortunate we were in purchasing this spoon. Released from its' bindings, the spoon took on a functional appearance. It was clear what its' purpose was. In today's 'some assembly required' world, it was nice to see that all we had to do was remove the spoon from its' packaging in order to use it.Safety first. We quickly washed our spoon to remove any potential bacteria. Upon drying it, we could tell just how magnificent this spoon is. The perfect arch of the handle, the perfectly formed bowl of the spoon and the strategically placed slots were literally shining now! We couldn't wait to use the spoon so we quickly sifted through the plastic containers in our fridge to find the appropriate foods to test it.We started with an easy test. First was some golden hominy. We slowly sipped the spoon into the hominy,slowly lifting it out of the plastic container. We watched in amazement as the hominy quickly drained the water! Bingo...one for one! The hominy sat perfectly in the bowl of the spoon and the water drained quickly into the plastic container. We tried other items in the fridge only to realize we had hit the jackpot. The spoon worked perfectly on each item we tried.We wanted to put it to the ultimate test. We had some leftover gravy. I gently heated the gravy in the microwave to give it a liquid consistency. I dipped the slotted spoon into the gravy and slowly raised it above the plastic container. Amazing, not a drop of gravy went through the slots! Perfect! Clearly the slots were engineered precisely to allow more viscous fluids to drain and keep the heavier liquids, like gravy, with a higher specific gravity to stay in the bowl. Wow, they thought of everything!To say this spoon was life transforming would be an understatement. We no longer have to eat peas with murky pea-water. We no longer have to eat soggy spinach. We no longer worry about whether the gravy will slip through and make a mess on the table. We prepare our meals with complete confidence.This purchase has allowed us to resume entertaining our friends, something we had put on hiatus until we found a solution. We have given the spoons there own slot in the flatware drawer. I even put a small foam backing down to make sure they don't slide around and scratch each other. While you can wash these beauties in the dishwasher, we feel compelled to wash and dry them by hand. This will be a family heirloom that I can see our great grandchildren fighting over.What more can I say? I highly recommend this product!

Hi Im a professional cook, I boughtvthis to replace one I returned. The handle is thick and sturdy, it's the length of a small serving spoon which are usually like 7 inches or so. I use it primarily for desserts, I didn't quite like how our spoons hit the lines on my desserts I wanted, so I was looking for something that would. I found a similar brand Bonigour for similar price range prior but they only had the big 1.5 oz, so I got this instead. Now if only they came in black, if they do I'm absolutely down to do an exchange!

Totally recommend buy it!

Bigger than a large soup spoon, but smaller than a soup ladle.I think you always get what you pay for and this slightly-larger-than-usual slotted spoon is terrific !I'm using it constantly in the kitchen now for draining veggies out of cans and soup veggies and meat from the pot.Highly recommend !

I noticed a chef on TV use a similar spoon and since I enjoy using various kitchen gadgets, I looked for one. This spoon works well when you want to drizzle a sauce over an entree or dessert. Not a necessity, but it is useful.

I cook and my grandfather had a restaurant. So, I have been very interested in Mercer Cutlery's line of professional chef quality flatware, scissors...and (well) they do other items in the same mode. At first, I needed new kitchen scissors (review to follow). Next I wanted to upgrade my plating spoons. "Upgrade" meant moving from silver items that tarnished too easily and it meant moving up from almost 'historic' Oneida Silversmiths stainless steel spoons that were not quite sturdy enough...but worked for me at home for many years. I have also used high-quality German products and a line of Japanese stainless steel products that are not 'made in Japan' any more and are not available in the same fine designs.Back to Mercer: This is a short (7-inch) spoon so it gives very good control. It has a 'medium' bowl so it holds 'something' but not 'too much,' in keeping with today's plating theories. For me, working to present decent cuisine at home, this slotted spoon drained very well and it holds 'just the right amount' of product to place a good number of pearl onions or peas on a plate (for example). Move to a larger size if you are looking to drain vegetables and to move portions of them onto a plate from a serving vessel.Mercer's 'professional' touch is not only its stiffness but also ridges to provide a 'grippy' surface toward the end of the spoon. This element of design does work if you choose to use it but many of us will grip a bit back of the ridges. Construction and polish on this unit are wonderful and are a delight to the eye. My grandchildren could still be using this spoon if they wanted to.

This is a great spoon, thick and sturdy, smooth edges, equally comparable to my Oneida and Cambridge servers in quality. I was in need of something just a wee bit smaller than my standard servers and during some extensive research I came across this Mercer slotted spoon. I bought two and am 100 percent satisfied with how these look and work. The little ripples on the handle really do help with holding the spoon while dishing up the fare. I'm going to buy some more for gifts to family members. When comparing these to well known brands, these are a steal for the price!

I bought two packs of spoons as Christmas gifts, and the recipients loved them! Everytime there's a family party, they're using the spoons. The spoons really help in getting the excess liquid out. Wish I bought more of these.