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Finland, Helsinki
1 Level
514 Review
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Review on πŸ₯„ Norpro NOR-SCOOP with Santoprene Handle - 42mm (2 Tablespoon) - Efficient Kitchen Measuring Tool by Felicia Evans

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Excellent spoon for making truffle ganache

I was looking for a size 100 spoon to scoop chocolate ganache for making truffles. I tried four scoops: a 100-gauge Vollrath 47161 S/S scoop, a Jenaluca Mini cookie scoop, a 1.5 teaspoon Norpro 675 scoop, and a 2 teaspoon Norpro 701 Grip-EZ scoop. Bottom line: Of those four scoops, I preferred 2 teaspoons of Norpro 701 Grip-EZ (the one on this page). It had the strongest mechanism, was the right size, and was best suited for scooping thick ganache. (1) Vollrath 47161 S/S Squeeze Shovel, size 100 (one star). This shovel turned out to be flimsy. It had a weak ratcheting mechanism that couldn't handle the hardness of the ganache I was scooping up. When the scoop's flange collided with the ganache, the gear jumped over several holes and the flange shifted. The flange's pivot had to be on the outside of the bowl, and when I squeezed the handles it only moved part way across the back of the bowl. I was able to fix this by manually reinserting the gear into the correct hole, but this misalignment occurred the first, second, and third use of this blade. The scoop was useless for the ganache. I returned it. See my specific review on this scoop for more details. (2) Jenaluca Mini Cookie Scoop (three stars). This shovel shared the same gear and ratchet design as the Vollrath, but had a small metal lip that pretty much stopped the gear from jumping holes. He was stronger than Vollrath and a better scoop overall. He was able to pick up the ganache and let go without stalling most of the time. However, it had a few problems: (a) it was REALLY misaligned once - despite the metal lip, the gear had holes in it, although I was able to fix it by hand. (b) The return spring was sometimes not strong enough to push the flange back through the thick ganache, resulting in me having to spread the handles with my fingers to return the flange to its original position. Finally (c) there was a relatively large gap (about 1/16+ inch) between the flange and the back of the bowl, resulting in a thick coating of ganache on the back of the bowl and either that gap or the ganache coating it left impeded the release of subsequent balls. I often just took out the torn half of my ganache truffles, leaving the rest stuck to the rim or back of the bowl. I had to take it out with my fingers and glue it to the other half. I was able to scoop my ganache this way, but it was tedious and I had to struggle with a shovel and fix a lot of my truffles. I sent this one back too. (3) Norpro 675 1.5 teaspoons (four stars). It's a quality shovel with a strong spring and solid mechanism, but the 675 was too small for my needs. The size of a measuring spoon is quite difficult to determine - Norpro does not list the official size on the packaging of a measuring spoon. But this Norpro 675 scoop was noticeably smaller than the Vollrath and Jenaluca size 100 scoops. After a little research, I found that a size 100 scoop holds about 2 teaspoons, while a Norpro 675 scoop holds about 1.5 teaspoons . And the 675 blade itself has "110" written on the flange, so I think that's the official size. So for me it was too small. I kept it though as it is a good solid spoon and the return postage was almost the same as for the spoon itself. (4) Norpro 701 Grip-EZ 2 teaspoons (five stars). This is a strong, sturdy, and simple shovel. It feels heavy in hand and its mechanism feels smooth and powerful. Its gear mechanism differs slightly from that of Jenaluca and Vollrath: instead of a gear running on a metal belt with holes, it has a gear running on the edge of a metal belt with square teeth. The metal tongue prevents the teeth from skipping. Norpro 701 is almost certainly a size 100 (although that size isn't listed on the box). But its two-teaspoon capacity is a size 100, and the flange says '100', so I think that's the official size. When I tried this spoon on hard ganache, the gear never slipped, so it never moved. Also, the spring that returns the flange to its original position is stronger than on the Jenaluca. In the vast majority of cases, the spring was strong enough to push the flange back through the ganache. Sometimes it took a second to go back, but only once or twice did I have to spread the grips. Finally, the flange is positioned to run very close to the back of the bowl, meaning less interference when releasing subsequent portions. The vanes are relatively easy to detach, either falling out on their own or requiring only a light touch of your finger to complete the release. This scoop turned out to be a whole tray of hemispherical portions of ganache, uniform in size and shape, which is what I wanted. I found my spoon! So out of those four scoops, I preferred the 2 teaspoon Norpro 701 Grip-EZ scoop for scooping up the truffle chocolate ganache centers.

Pros
  • Kitchen Utensils and Utensils
Cons
  • Easy Maintenance