I suck at sciences so can anyone please tell me why my stainless steel spoon was bent when I took it out from stirring my tomato soup for 5 minutes? It’s still bendy now when I tried to put it back in shape. Have I just eaten a bowl of metals? Can cutlery melt/leech? It wasn’t bendy before I stirred my soup, so my health anxiety is going wild now and I’d love someone smarter to explain
In: Chemistry
Relax, your spoon didn’t melt. If your soup was hot enough to melt metal, it would have burned through your pot. Apparently though, your soup was hot enough to make the metal bend. Which is what happens when metal gets hot, no need to panic there, but I’m wondering how cheap your Cutlery is. Regardless, unless you’ve been eating with lead utensils, you’re perfectly safe.
Did you wanna provide a picture or something? That doesn’t sound like a metal spoon
Stupid question but is it possible it was bendy before but you did not realize it bc you weren’t in the habit of trying to bend it?! Lots of cheap eating utensils are very bendable.
If your soup was hot enough to make the metal flexible, it’s either only a stainless steel cladding over a MUCH softer metal, or whoever sold you that utensil straight-up lied to you.
Getting actual steel to be flexible like that requires heating it up to something like 300 C and keeping it there for a long time. Water can’t get that hot.
Do you know the manufacturer? Often utensils will have a maker’s mark or some other brand indicator on them, on the handle part.
Were you cooking on gas or an induction hob? Metal utensils shouldn’t be left in induction-cooking pots because they’ll get currents induced in themselves (if they’re the right metal) and get very very hot.
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