The present invention relates to a spatula device useful as a culinary utensil. It has particular, but not exclusive, usefulness in turning eggs and the like which, after having been cooked on one side, are to be turned over so that the uncooked side may then be fried. Such turning or flipping operations with conventional implements require a great deal of skill and cannot be performed rapidly where, as in the case of eggs, the turning or flipping process has a tendency to injure or break the egg yolk which is undesirable.
One such conventional utensil is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,091 (Whitnah et al). This device has two disadvantages. First, although the patent discloses that the egg is flipped (col. 3, lines 17-25), the present inventor has found such use to be not completely successful. In this regard, he has found that the egg may merely slip along the curved edge of the side wall (without the egg turning over) and that the flipping operation quite often results in a breaking of the egg yolk due to the distance the egg must drop during the flipping operation.
Second, the Whitnah et al patent has the added disadvantage of an extra manipulation. That is, as the cook turns the utensil, he must retract the utensil quickly to deposit the egg on the frying surface (col. 3, lines 17-25). This retraction step (plus the drop that the egg must make onto the frying pan) must be properly coordinated and, hence, the chance of damage to the egg is increased.
The principal objects of the novel device described and claimed herein are to expedite and facilitate successful turning operations of this kind, and to reduce the skill required in the turning process.