Buy it for life: Durable, Quality, Practical

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'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.

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.

Most sets are pretty lackluster, imo. If you're looking for long lasting gear, I think piecemealing is the better way to go even if it is a little more spendy and tedious.

If you're trying to avoid scratching your cookware, you'll probably want to chiose silicone or wood or a mix since they excel at different things. For example, I find it easier using a wooden turner to scrape up fond to make a pan sauce, but I also find silicone easier for more delicate tasks like scrambling or flipping eggs. Food-grade silicone is safe up to like 500F, so you'll be safe with either.

If you go the wood route, I prefer hardwood like teak over bamboo for longevity. Earlywood makes nice wood products, but there are many other brands that are cheaper and will still last a long time with care. For silicone, OXO and GIR are solid and pretty budget friendly. If you don't already have a grater in mind, Microplane is god-tier.

I know you're not particularly interested in stainless steel, but for those who are, Lamson, Wusthof, and Cuisinart will all take abuse and last.

Not a specific brand, but more of an idea for you. I live somewhat close to a restaurant supply store. The options they have there are of much higher quality and a much more reasonable price than you will find in your typical department store/Williams Sonoma/Sur La Table etc. Some of the common brands they carry are Update/Choice (silicone spatulas) Vollrath (pots/ice cream scoops/dishers)

Here is an example of a slotted spoon ($0.89) It's Less than a $1 they have a bunch of other options.

Not sure if they are still the same quality, but i enjoy using my All Clad Utensils They are heavy duty and also look nice hanging on my wall above my wire shelves in my kitchen corner.

Restaurant supply places are great to get utility pots and pans / extra spoons/slotted spoons/covers/plastic storage bins etc.

Also forgot: Oxo tongs, the rest are crap The Fully Metal Ones

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.