People struggle with what materials they should use to cook. To me, it's all based on what your cookware is coated with. The breakdown is really this:

• Raw carbon steel or hardened stainless steel — Use anything you want. You can't scratch this.
• Coated "non-stick" metal of any kind — Use plastic or wood. The coating is going to come off eventually, and scratching the non-stick coating is only going to make that happen more quickly.

If you have a real hammered carbon steel wok or an uncoated roasting pan, or the coveted carbon steel deep dish pizza pan for example, feel free to use metal tools. You may have noticed the chef at a Chinese food restaurant cooking with a giant wok and a metal turner. The wok may be seasoned or covered in blackened carbon, but the wok isn't going to be hurt by a metal tool. The steel is far too hard for that to happen. You can still use wood — I use bamboo whenever I can because it's sturdy but lightweight, but metal would be fine if that's your preference.

Image source: Conger Design, Pixabay