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I use silicone spatulas for a lot of things. They're especially nice for scrambled eggs in a nonstick skillet. However, over the years, they've taken on a really nasty soapy taste. Now my eggs taste like soap.

Is there a way to prevent silicone from inheriting nasty tastes? Is there a way to remove the taste? Someone told me that I should buy "platinum grade" silicone spatulas because they don't have this problem. Is that true?

Edit: I usually wash them in a dishwasher with Cascade Complete powder or Cascade Platinum pods. I use a rinse aid as well. I sometimes wash them by hand with blue Dawn detergent.

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    How do you wash them? By hand or in a dishwasher?
    – Chris H
    Commented Sep 12, 2023 at 15:02
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    Great question. Added an edit.
    – aswine
    Commented Sep 12, 2023 at 15:16
  • More likely "Platinum cured" but that's not usually called out for kitchenwares.
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Sep 12, 2023 at 15:17
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    I have no answer how to get rid of your smells, but can add another datapoint: this doesn't seem to be unavoidable. I have three no-name silicone spatulas, and just did a sniff test. One of them has a vague "cooked food" (oniony?) odor when I hold it directly under my nose, the other two practically none. I've never noticed any smell transfer, even though I use them for patisserie, where it would be very obvious. I also run them through the dishwasher.
    – rumtscho ♦
    Commented Sep 12, 2023 at 15:26

3 Answers 3

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It seems the culprit is that the silicone absorbs oils/fats when it's heated and then locks them in, so to speak, when it cools. What that means is that over time, it will start to taste weird or give off funky flavors to other foods you cook with them.

This article recommends cleaning with the good old household ingredients white vinegar and baking soda. If you really can't get the flavors out, toss the spatulas. For really smelly foods you could also have a dedicated spatula or something that doesn't absorb the flavors as much such as stainless steel - not on your non-stick pans, of course.

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    I did this and it seemed to help: 1. Poured a boiling baking soda solution over them and let them soak overnight. 2. Rinsed them off. 3. Poured a boiling citric acid solution over them and let them soak for a couple days (simply because that's when I found the time to deal with them). I don't know if it was 1 or 3 that did it, and I don't think the taste is completely gone, but it's much better.
    – aswine
    Commented Sep 21, 2023 at 15:23
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Silicone can absorb flavors, if your spatulas are getting a soapy flavor then it could be because of over-exposure to soap. Wash them by hand instead of the dishwasher, and don't soak them in soapy water as soaking will give them more opportunity to absorb soap. You can try putting them in boiling water, or rubbing vinegar on them to get rid of the taste, I've had limited success with those methods in the past. The taste may go if you change your cleaning method, or you may have to get new ones.

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Lemon juice and baking soda worked for me. I made a paste of ReaLemon lemon juice and baking soda, rubbed it on, let it stand for about 30 minutes, and rinsed well. Helped a lot. I don't think it was a complete fix, and I should have probably left it on a bit longer, but I will do that next time I am ambitious enough to take on all that.

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