For practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last.
I'm very happy with the orka brand silicone tipped tongs I got back around 2008. I think they may be the same as the ones made by mastrad now, but I can't be sure without seeing them in person.
The set I have has held up extremely well over the years, and still looks and works like new.
This feels like the wrong place to shout out plastic IKEA utensils, but I have had a FULLÄNDAD ladle and pasta spoon for years now and they show no signs of wear.
They are made of a single piece of smooth plastic, so there is nowhere for gunk or water to get trapped, and they are heat proof up to around 400*F.
The worst things I have found for the longevity of kitchen utensils are seams, and hollow handles which trap water, and having non heat proof handles because the end that's not supposed to touch the pan will at some point touch the pan.
I really love the Dreamfarm stuff I have had a bunch of their utensils for years now and they are still really good condition quality. Their Chopula and Clongs I use almost daily and they are still going strong, really good quality and really great features that you don't find anywhere else. Also their Garject is amazing too, if a bit pricey. https://dreamfarm.com/products/
I haven’t found a one-brand-fits-all, really. I’ve found that it’s good to go by certain design concepts.
As an example, especially for stuff like scoops and ladles, I vastly prefer when the utensil is one continuous piece of material. If it is made of different materials joined together, water might get in, or the material will detach/delaminate over time. A lot of utensils have handles that are like that, and they always eventually fail for me.
Absolutely this!
Also price often does not predict quality for utensils.
Is there a reason that you'd prefer to not have exposed metal? Unless you have PTFE (Teflon) coated cookware, that's not an issue. I mean, I've got stainless steel pots that have gotten dinged up over the years, but I can buff that out with 400 grit sandpaper, and when I manage to burn something to cast iron and have to scrub it, I can freshen up the surface with any drying oil. And if you do have PTFE coated pots, I'd be more worried about the PTFE than about the utensils. Pots and pans that are PTFE coated are more or less disposable, and I would recommend against them in most cases. PTFE frying pans can be a real risk, because when heated, PTFE can release toxic gasses.
Metal utensils are also not great for enameled cast iron
IDK. I've never had a kitchen utensil break on me. Not sure it matters what brand you buy. When it comes to kitchen utensils I think the vast majority are buy it for life.