Wooden spoons: like or dislike?
Welcome to Like or Dislike, where you get to share how you really feel about ingredients from the pantry, ingredients I'm thinking about adding to my pantry, other seasonal foods, and favorite cooking gear. The things you like are sure to find their way to the recipes here on The Perfect Pantry, so do tell.
When we downsized our kitchen in the move from the log house to Boston, I had to sacrifice some of my beloved 200+ wooden spoons. (I've shared some of my favorite spoon stories here on The Perfect Pantry.) The small collection (two dozen) I now have sitting in a crock adjacent to the stove represents spoons that are most used, and most loved. Some came home with me from my travels -- to Nicaragua, Italy, Malaysia -- and one is the spoon I made to celebrate a big-O birthday some years ago. Wooden spoons are both utilitarian and beautiful; over time, they acquire the patina of everything they've touched, and I can't imagine cooking without them. How about you? [PS: my friend Bob made the ceramic crock. Isn't it lovely?]
Wooden spoons: like or dislike?
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Looks like my spoon holder! Yes, "Like". :)
Wooden spoons get a real workout here! Some date from earliest marriage, well used, even split or burnt - still in use. In the last 10 years I have felt compelled to add to them (not replace, of course), so there's an Ikea set, a supermarket checkout bamboo set, a stir-fry set... From the early days there's a fork which gets constant use, usually as the left hand for saute. There's a slotted spoon and a flat bottom slotted spatula (bank promo, oddly). I'll never have the PP exotica, but I love them all.
Definitely a big LIKE for wooden spoons of all kinds. I have about the same amount you have left, and I can't imagine cooking without them.
And love the crock too, beautiful!
Will NOT use. I know it is probably just my own phobia, but I never think of them as truly clean.
I love having wooden spoons but I never cook with them. I tried a couple of times to cook w/them but never seemed to become a habit.
Like them and use them often. Also good for swatting the kids out of the kitchen.
Wooden spoons are absolutely a necessity in my kitchen. Love them, have dozens of them, and use them every,single day!
I love my wooden spoons and use them daily and they always look beat. Time for some mineral oil right now!
200+ wooden spoons?? wowzers! i've got maybe 17-18 in various lengths/sizes, types (what's the one with the hole in the middle used for? i've never figured that one out--i just use it for whatever lol); i have a couple that are flat with slits in them, like a spatula, that i use when i stir fry or make gravy....i LIKE my wooden spoons and use them regularly....makes me think of my great grandmother's crock of wooden spoons when i was little....she'd let me "take out and rearrange" the spoons while the women cooked and gossiped preparing for the holiday feast(s) ;0). but i do understand mary maurer's concerns about whether or not they really get clean...i've wondered that myself at times; however, am still here, so i guess they got clean HA
Love them and use them all the time. I also pick them up while traveling and love to give them as gifts.
I love wooden utensils of all kinds. They don't scratch, great for taste testing since they won't burn your lips or tongue. They are strong, rarely break no matter how stiff the dough you are mixing. Oh,almost forgot, they are beautiful.
I have three such crocks next to my stove...I love my wooden spoon/utensils. Couldn't cook without them.
Was actually holding one of my favorites when I opened up the PP for my Sat. morn "ritual"... Couldn't do without mine. I have some bamboo and some olive wood ones from France and some dinky sweet banged up ones from I forget where.
Now back to stirring the split pea and barley soup...(smiling)
Not particularly fond of wooden spoons because I do not believe them to be too hygienic. The same goes for wooden cutting boards.
Greatly like wood utensils, particularly olive wood.
Lots of good science on hygiene associated with wood. Good stuff.
Well, I can see that I have to go out and buy another dozen or so wooden spoons! I have five or six or so, worn, split, burned but I love them. I love the way they look and the way they feel and I think they are the perfect utensil for cooking. I bought a huge wooden spoon and a wooden risotto paddle when we lived in Italy and that wooden spoon has become the utensil I use when making jam. And I love that ceramic utensil holder!
Definitely love them especially the wooden spatulas.They seem to work the best.
Just remembered: very frequently used are 2 Japanese rice paddles. Great shape and size, feel right in the hand, for all kinds of things. After a while you just know what's the right tool for the task.
LOVE wooden spoons! I probably have 15 of them plus wooden spatulas and wooden forks. My wooden forks are indispensable. When my favorite one goes missing from time to time, I am at a loss until it reappears.
I rarely use a mixer, preferring instead to use my wooden spoons. Upper arm strength builder for sure! :-)
Studies have shown wooden utensils and cutting boards to be as clean as ones made from other materials.
I have more wooden spatulas than spoons, but between my collection and the addition of my mother's when she passed away I have too many to count. I use them every day.
I have a few, but never think to use them. Sort of feel uneasy about how clean they actually are and they seem cumbersome to stir. Reading some of the posts, maybe I will try again, especially because they won't scratch my cookware. I am about to make my own spoon oil/butter mostly to treat my wood cutting board which I adore, so will probably treat the spoons too. Maybe that will encourage more use!
I love them. Use them every time I cook. I have a crock with about 10 of them.
Had one or two years ago, but rarely used them, they seemed bulky somehow to me. Pitched them and don't miss them at all. I prefer silicone spoons and spatulas, especially the ones that are bright colors!
No, just no. They soak up water and get all stained. I worry about splinters, too. Maybe it was that my parents never used them and I just grew up without them. Steel and plastic are my go-tos.
I use them virtually every time I cook beyond boiling an egg. My only "single purpose" one is for making a roux. And nothing beats it!
Like, but I don't use them all that often.
Love them, but my dogs do too, so I need to keep replacing them. Your crock is beautiful! I keep my stoveside utensils in an empty coffee canister.
Funny this question now, I am a chef moving from one yacht to another. I am DEFINITELY taking my wooden cooking spatulas with me. Could not cook with out them!
LOVE, definitely! I have about 10 different wooden spoons, and more wooden utensils. I like to support independent artists so I buy gorgeous hand carved ones off Etsy.