Wooden Spoons

[insomniac]

I echo the praise on the wooden spoon. I grew up seeing my mom stir, fry, mix, etc. with her worn down wooden spoon. Hers was rubbed down about an inch shorter than it's original length and had developed a fine sheen on it. I would wait for that special moment when she would turn to me and tell me "Here, taste this". In that moment, a mother-daughter connection is made. I get to taste first-hand whatever food she is cooking and I get to make an important decision - "add more salt? / Not sweet enough? / Just right!".

I vowed that when I grew up and had my own kitchen, I would have my own wooden spoon. Now I do and it's my turn to connect with my sons by having them taste the food and make an important decision. When my sons grow up and get married, they're getting a package of wooden spoons and spatulas from me, for their kitchen.

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that was always a good memory for me as well

however, a bad one involved the wooden spoon meeting my butt or my arm when I did something bad as kid

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that MAY be how I broke one of mine ......my son MAY remind me of it every now and then (no wonder he ended up working in a kitchen)

[tafkap4d]

Honoring one of my favorite utensils with a moment of silence

[azurite]

Four or five years ago, a guy I've known for years started making and selling flat spatulas and small spoons out of whatever wood he comes across. He sold them at my local farmers' market at first, but has since shifted to a smaller and newer farmers' market in a town that might be about 10 miles closer to where he lives, or perhaps he just likes the ambiance more. I think the larger spatula/flat spoons go for anywhere from $10 to $15, depending on the size and the wood. The shapes vary, I think because he allows the grain of the wood to determine the size and shape of the spatula or spoon. When a friend's son moved out (he was 17 and he likes to cook when he has time) to attend school in a city (the friend lives in a rural area), she asked Peter (the guy) to bring a box of his spoons over so her son could pick out one or two to take with him. Peter gave him one of his choices as a going away present. I thought that was a nice way of sending someone off to start a new chapter of his life.

Since Peter's worked for years in the woods of foothills of the Oregon Coast Range and the CR itself, he sees a fair number of different kinds of wood. I can't remember now what my two spatulas are made of (or the spoon--holds about a teaspoon of whatever), I think one might be holly (hollywood?). I really like both of the spatulas--you can use them for almost all the same things you can use a spatula and a big spoon for and they are so easy to hold and use. Never have to worry about scratching anything. I don't use the small spoon much, perhaps because it's in a drawer, so I don't remember I have it. My set of measuring spoons hang from a hook on the wall, easy to see.

azurite

[scubadoo97]

I use the cheap pine wood spoons and spatulas and like the fact that they won't scratch polished stainless cookware. Just don't use them when making black beans if you want them retain the natural wood color.

[HannaBanana]

My much beloved wooden spoon (pine) has now been so used, that the spoon-y bit is becoming transparent in the middle.

I worry about the day when it makes the transformation from spoon to strainer, and is consigned to the dustbin.

[srhcb]

I don't know if this is possible, but in light of the stories and opinions expressed in the posts so far, maybe we should consider changing the title of this topic to, "In Praise of the NOBLE unfinished wooden spoon"?

SB

[Fat Guy]

My collection:

Who's next?

[Richard Kilgore]

My much beloved wooden spoon (pine) has now been so used, that the spoon-y bit is becoming transparent in the middle. 

I worry about the day when it makes the transformation from spoon to strainer, and is consigned to the dustbin.

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Perhaps no need to throw it away. Use it in place of a slotted spoon?

[chezcherie]

not my collection--just one. i love these "lazy" spoons. i think katieloeb mentioned them upthread. we carry them in our cooking school, and as a left-hander, i especially appreciate that they come in left and right handed....there is also a squared off model for scraping-deglazing-etc. they feel great in the hand, are made of cherry wood, and take on a little "personaliity" if you use high flame on a gas burner often.

jonathan's spoons

[HannaBanana]

Perhaps no need to throw it away. Use it in place of a slotted spoon?

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A cunning plan. tbh, I'm too attached to it to have thrown it away.

I might consider framing it!

[Marlene]

not my collection--just one. i love these "lazy" spoons. i think katieloeb mentioned them upthread. we carry them in our cooking school, and as a left-hander, i especially appreciate that they come in left and right handed....there is also a squared off model for scraping-deglazing-etc. they feel great in the hand, are made of cherry wood, and take on a little "personaliity" if you use high flame on a gas burner often. 

jonathan's spoons

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Oh! Oh! I want those! As a left hander myself, they'd be perfect.

[Kent Wang]

I find that bamboo has less of a taste than wood. I also treat my spoons like crap and stick them in the dishwasher. Bamboo seems to hold up much better than wood after a hundred or more dishes.

[hummingbirdkiss]

My son-in-law is phobic about wooden spoons and cutting boards (his mother is an odd one that is for sure) ..(I can deal with any cutting board but not with out my spoons when I cook) ...so when I go see them I take my own spoons with me ...good thing his love of my cooking over powers his phobia about wooden spoons ...because he eats everything and never ever complains ...at least not to my face!!!

[The Blissful Glutton]

All hail the rustic wooden spoon.

There is a Jamaican woman here in Atlanta who hand-carves these spoons that look very similar to a tear drop. It is my favorite risotto spoon. Heck, I use it for everything. She recently closed her shop and I cannot find her any more (wanted to get some for holiday gifts for my chef friends). I will post a picture if I remember.

Edited February 24, 2007 by The Blissful Glutton (log)

[srhcb]

not my collection--just one. i love these "lazy" spoons. i think katieloeb mentioned them upthread. we carry them in our cooking school, and as a left-hander, i especially appreciate that they come in left and right handed....there is also a squared off model for scraping-deglazing-etc. they feel great in the hand, are made of cherry wood, and take on a little "personaliity" if you use high flame on a gas burner often. 

jonathan's spoons

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Oh! Oh! I want those! As a left hander myself, they'd be perfect.

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I'm always impressed when somebody bothers to offer a product designed for the sinistral 10% of the population.

The so-called "Right"-Handed tend to take these things for granted, but it they look closely at the picture, and try to imagine using that spoon, they'll have some glimpse into what the "sinister" among us deal with every day.

Recalling the trouble I had ordering promotional Left-Handed-Flying-Pink-Pig-Pens for my business, I'm willing to bet the owner of the company that makes/sells these spoons is a southpaw themselves.

SB (Left-Handed eGullet Members may PM me about obtaining a free Left-Handed-Flying-Pink-Pig-Pen, while supplies last )

[The Blissful Glutton]

I finally got around to taking a pic. My fave spoon. I broke the pointed tip off in the drawer years ago. Still love it though-it is completely smooth and feels great in hand.

Edited March 3, 2007 by The Blissful Glutton (log)

[Fat Guy]

Now that's a spoon.

[KatieLoeb]

not my collection--just one. i love these "lazy" spoons. i think katieloeb mentioned them upthread. we carry them in our cooking school, and as a left-hander, i especially appreciate that they come in left and right handed....there is also a squared off model for scraping-deglazing-etc. they feel great in the hand, are made of cherry wood, and take on a little "personaliity" if you use high flame on a gas burner often. 

jonathan's spoons

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Yup! That's the one! I don't recall if mine is left-handed or not. I myself am sinister by design, but I'm certain if there had been that option I would have eagerly purchased the proper spoon for myself. I'll have to go give mine a better look tomorrow and report back.

Did you know that about 1500 hundred left-handed people die every year, using tools designed for righties? I doubt that any of them suffered "Death By Spoon", but still, it's a scary statistic. I hate not having a proper left handed zester.

[Baggy]

I seem to get through a lot of wooden spoon. Most often the bowl part breaks off, usually when I’m tapping the side a basin to get rid of some of the stuff stuck to the spoon. Maybe I shouldn’t put wooden spoons in the dishwasher.

One thing that I’ve noticed is that every time we go to stay at a self-catering rental, there are some items that are never in the kitchen. It really doesn’t matter if it’s a visit to some pretty place in the UK (anywhere where there are trees and open spaces), France, the US…

1. A wooden spoon. Actually, I don’t mind buying these. They’re not expensive and always slightly different shapes and lengths. The best one I picked up was in Arizona - a heavy spoon made of beech with a quite round bowl. It was made in France.

2. A bread knife. Apparently they just aren’t used anymore.

[DCP]

Yup!  That's the one!  I don't recall if mine is left-handed or not.  I myself am sinister by design, but I'm certain if there had been that option I would have eagerly purchased the proper spoon for myself.  I'll have to go give mine a better look tomorrow and report back.

Did you know that about 1500 hundred left-handed people die every year, using tools designed for righties?  I doubt that any of them suffered "Death By Spoon", but still, it's a scary statistic.  I hate not having a proper left handed zester.

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To anyone looking for these spoons: you're not the only one. Walter Drake sold them last year, but they've since mysteriously disappeared. See Smart Stuff for a picture and a bit more info.

Embarrassingly enough, I had these on my wish list until reading this thread - I suppose the dextral among us don't easily notice when a product isn't made for them!

KatieLoeb, I'd be interested to know more about these (150,000?) deaths per annum due to wrong-handed tools.

[srhcb]

KatieLoeb, I'd be interested to know more about these deaths per annum due to wrong-handed tools.

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I doubt if wrong-handed spoons directly cause many deaths either, but if you're a left-handed person who has worked in a restaurant kitchen, or a right-handed person who had to work with a southpaw, you probably can recall occasions where the thought crossed your mind.

this article provides some shocking details on health risks of being left-handed, along with some little known advantages:

"Statistics show left-handed people are more likely to be schizophrenic, alcoholic, delinquent, dyslexic, and have Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as mental disabilities. They're also more likely to die young and get into accidents."

But, then again:

"For example, when they singled out the Dioula of Burkina Faso in West Africa, where the murder rate was only 0.013 murders per 1,000 residents each year, they found only 3.4 percent of the population were left-handers. Data from the Eipo of Indonesia, meanwhile, where there are three murders per 1,000 people each year, show 27 percent of the population is left-handed."

SB (thinking of exporting left-handed spoons to Eipo)

PS: Did you know that knives are sharpened either right of left handed?

[DesertTinker]

Google "lazy spoon" seem to be lots of sources for both right and left handers.

[Susie Q]

I have my mama's wooden spoon. It has the shape of a regular tablespoon but it's much much bigger.

For some reason it split right up the middle of the bowl. I've kept it hoping to find some one to carve me another. I may have to do it myself but it's been 3 decades since I made a wooden spoon in jr. high woodshop class.

[Domestic Goddess]

Here's my collection...

My stirring/tasting spoon, rice ladle and frying spatula.

[CaliPoutine]

I picked these up today. On clearance for 2 bucks each, olivewood, Made in Italy.

For the Canadians, I got them at Hansen's( an Independent grocery store, you could probably find them at Loblaws)