Key points
- Pick a spoon that reaches the bottom and clears the rim by about two inches.
- 7.6 inches suits rocks glasses, cups and short tumblers.
- 8.8 inches suits highballs, tall tumblers, mugs and carafes.
- 10.3 inches clears the rim of a tall jar and stirs deep into a pitcher.
Why length matters
Sweet things sink. Sugar, syrup, honey and the last of a cold brew concentrate all settle at the bottom of a glass, and a drink that tastes thin at the top can be sickly at the bottom. A spoon that reaches all the way down and lifts that layer through the drink is the whole point of stirring.
The other half of the job is your hand. You want to hold the spoon above the rim, not in the ice. When a spoon is too short, your fingers end up wet and the spoon slides into the glass. When it is too long, it leans out over the side and tips the glass when you set it down.
A simple rule covers almost every case: measure the height of the glass and add about two inches. That gives you a spoon that touches the bottom and leaves a comfortable handle above the rim.
Three lengths, matched to the glass
Our stainless stirring spoons come four to a set in three lengths. The table below sets each length against the glasses it suits, from our own product descriptions.
If you only buy one length, the 8.8-inch spoon is the safe middle. It reaches the bottom of a highball and still sits comfortably in a mug. Buy the 10.3-inch set if you mix drinks in a pitcher or a tall jar, and the 7.6-inch set if most of your glasses are short.
| Length | Best for | Typical drinks |
|---|---|---|
| 7.6 in | Rocks glasses, short tumblers, cups | Iced coffee in a short glass, an old fashioned, tea in a cup |
| 8.8 in | Highballs, tall tumblers, mugs, carafes | Iced tea, highballs, milkshakes, floats |
| 10.3 in | Pitchers, tall jars, carafes | Lemonade or sangria in a pitcher, cold brew in a jar |
Iced coffee and iced tea
Iced coffee is where a long spoon proves itself. Syrup and sugar do not dissolve well in cold liquid, so they sink to the bottom and stay there unless you stir from below. Stir before you add the ice, while there is room to move, and again after the ice is in.
Iced tea behaves the same way. If you sweeten tea after it has cooled, stir from the bottom for longer than feels necessary. If you brew it hot, add the sugar while it is still warm, and it will dissolve almost at once.
The tiny bowl at the end of our spoons is there for exactly this. It holds a pinch of sugar or a few grains of salt, so you can add a little and stir without reaching for a teaspoon. A pinch of salt in a glass of iced coffee softens the bitterness, if you have never tried it.
Cocktails and highballs
Spirit-only cocktails such as a martini are stirred rather than shaken, because stirring chills and dilutes the drink without clouding it. A long spoon lets you stir in a mixing glass full of ice with your hand well above the rim. Hold the spoon near the top and let the bowl run around the inside of the glass, rather than churning straight up and down.
For a highball, a few gentle turns after the soda goes in is enough. Stir too hard and the soda goes flat. The slim handle of our spoons slides between ice cubes in a tall glass without lifting them out.
Milkshakes, floats and smoothies
Thick drinks ask something different of a spoon. A milkshake or a smoothie is too dense to stir in quick circles, and a root beer float is half ice cream. Here the spoon works more like a long scoop: push it down the side of the glass, lift a little of the bottom up, and fold it back in.
That is where the tiny bowl at the end earns a second job. It is small enough to slide down between the glass and a scoop of ice cream, and it lifts a mouthful of float from the bottom of a tall glass that a teaspoon could never reach. For a sundae glass or a milkshake in a tall fountain glass, the 8.8-inch length is about right.
Kids like the long spoons for exactly this reason, and the rounded handles have no edge to catch a lip. Rinse the spoons soon after a milkshake, before the dairy dries on the steel, and they come clean in a normal dishwasher run.
Pitchers and tall jars
A two-liter pitcher is about eleven inches tall, and the sweet layer at the bottom is a long way from the rim. That is where the 10.3-inch spoon comes in. Our pitchers stand just over 11 inches, so hold the spoon by its very end, push it down the side and give lemonade, sangria or sweet tea a few slow turns.
Stir a pitcher right before you pour, since fruit and sugar keep settling as it sits. The same spoon reaches the bottom of a quart Mason jar of cold brew or overnight oats.
A pitcher of anything with sugar, juice or milk should go back in the fridge between rounds. USDA FSIS says food and drink should not stay out of the fridge for more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour above 90°F. Our guide to iced tea and fruit water in a glass pitcher goes into that in more detail.
Steel, and how to care for it
Our spoons are 18/8 stainless steel, the grade used for a lot of good flatware. The handles are thick and rounded, with no sharp edge to dig into a finger or a lip. They sit next to your forks and knives in a drawer without looking like a bar tool.
They go in the dishwasher, without harsh detergents. Lay them flat in the cutlery basket or the top rack so the long handles do not catch the spray arm. If water spots build up, a wipe with a little vinegar brings the shine back.
Four spoons of one length come in each set, so there is one for every glass at the table. You can see every length with its current price on Delove stirring spoons.
Every product named here is part of the Delove lineup.
