The Best Wooden Spoons
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Equipment expert Adam Ried shares his top pick for wooden spoons.
Buy FAAY 13.5" Teak Cooking Spoon: cooks.io/3LNVaBn
Buy Jonathan's Spootle: cooks.io/3N20ykg
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I'm a little disappointed there wasn't a comparison of cleaning and staining with these spoons. My only real gripe with wooden spoons is that they need more careful attention after use, and my family has a habit of leaving them dirty or sitting in water. I have found that not all woods handle this abuse equally, or even when used carefully.
I find that using hard woods and wiping them down with food grade mineral oil before initial use and periodically helps with this.
Some come pre-seasoned, but, yeah, seasoning your spoon like it was a cutting board makes them easy to keep clean.
@@C2C. Oh I am in full agreement with you on this! I am 75 and I have and still use about three different wooden spoons for years! I have always said that wooden spoons of any shape need to be “seasoned” like a cast iron pan! You need to make them ready before you ever use them! They are not like plastic utensils and you should not treat them that way? They cannot be used “as is”. Proper handling, they will last you for tears!
NEVER ever put them in a dishwasher or toss them to soak in the dishwater! Take care of them, they will take care of you!
If your family leaves them dirty or sitting in water, they are not for you! They do need some tlc to last and not crack!
Wooden spoons will stain. Accept it. Like wooden cutting boards, they are naturally anti-microbial, so you really do not have to worry about it. I have light coloured plastic utensils as well, and they also stain when cooking tomato based sauces. I have a number of wooden spoons and spatulas, made from various woods, and a quick wash with some dish soap on a sponge followed by a quick rinse, and they get along very well. NEVER let wooden utensils soak in water for any length of time, do not clean them in the dishwasher, and they will last close to forever. In fact, I have one wooden spoon that is older than I am, and I am 65, and it is in better shape than I am! 🤣
How could you not discuss the depth and shape of the bowl of the spoon? My favorite spoon for baking and cooking has a very shallow bowl. Of my several wooden spoons,the biggest variable for me is the shape and depth of the spoon’s bowl, more than the other factors in your video, which are also important.
For $25 you can get the Teak round and square head spoons....granted the square is only 9.5 in......but its still useable as you just want to move things around and it was 13 it might be a little cumbersome......Also no mention of "conditioning" these spoons ????
The best wooden spoon material isn't made from wood at all. Get bamboo instead, and hang your pretty wood spoons on the wall as art.
I discovered Jonathan's wooden cooking utensils over 25 years ago and have used them ever since. They are beautiful, functional, and clean well. Pricey, yes, but I still have and use every one I ever purchased. A little mineral oil on the cherry wood occasionally and they stay beautiful.
Teak or olive wood are hard woods that are your best choice for their ability to stand up to liquids for a long time.
True. You can also get American-made ones made of mesquite which is a very hard and tough wood. Teak comes from tropical forests and is less sustainable than mesquite, which grows like a weed in the Southwest US.
Don't forget bamboo, which is actually a grass, not wood. I have forgotten a bamboo utensil in the sink overnight in a glass or bowl or pot of water with no detrimental effect at all. I would not recommend doing that on a regular basis, but considering what I paid for them, I don't worry about it.
I use one piece bamboo spoon, and so far it's been a year and a half, still going strong.
I've found, for me, most of my really nice wooden spoons (that look similar to ATK winners) at my local Asian markets and only paid $1-4 a piece. I've had no problems with soaking, washing, even put them on the top dish rack, they all come out fine, no cracking or splits. Some I've have some for 20 years. The wood is also very sturdy, not the cheap wood spoons at found at Walmart and other stores.
My favorite wood spoon is straight edged and 2 1/2 inches wide it’s held it’s edge for almost five years now use it everyday if not just for scrambling eggs.I think it was around $6 at Walmart.I liked it so much I went back and bought 2 more and glad I did because I haven’t seen them back since Covid.
I've found the same, you don't need to pay a lot for wooden utensils. Paying $28 or even $11 for one is way too much. I use a set of four I payed about $13 for years ago and they're all still working great.
I have a set of 4 bamboo utensils, a spoon, slotted spoon, flat edge spatula type spoon, and a slotted flat edge spatula type spoon. I use one or another each and every day, and they have lasted me 15 years so far. I think the entire set cost me less than $5 at my local dollar store.
I enjoy all the different personalities at ATK, and enjoy their presentations ... and I _TRUST_ their reviews (and have bought stuff based on them).
Keep up the good work, ATK.
I will vouch for the cherry wood Jonathan's spoons. Been using them for over 25 years and they are the best!
I have the Le Crueset flat ended olive wood one in this video, and I hate it. The corners rounded down very quickly, and it's very thick for what it's used for. I'd be OK with the thickness if not for the rounded corners. I wouldn't mind spending $30 on the winner, but it looks like it's slightly angled for right handed use--and I'm left handed. Too many things in the kitchen are designed for right handed people.
It comes in either right or left handed style
Le Creuset makes great cooking vessels, but their tools all suck. At least every tool I've used in my kitchen.
@@thatguythatdoesstuff7448 Agreed! Their crockery is mediore (and made in China) and the utensils are cheap. I like the Spider Skimmer or "Wire Strainer" is pretty decent, but the wooden utenils are garbage.
Love Adam's reports. He never lets me down.
Hey look at me I'm da Waterboy I got a wooden spoon. Duuuuuhhh
That is one giant faucet and tiny sink combo you got going on there
I have 4 kinds of wooden spoon. The one I use all the time is the 3rd one from our left. It's the handle that sealed the deal for me. And at $3, oh yeah!
The winning “spoon” would be harder to scoop/SPOON anything from a pot bc of the design of the head!
How was the spoon with that corner scraper bit? Seems interesting.
You are right; I have not made note of the diversity in this basic utensil. I would not call the spurdle (not sure if I spelled that right) a spoon, as it cannot scoop things up like a spoon.
I’m not absolutely positive, but I think I grab different wooden spoons/implements depending what I’m doing. Sometimes the perfectly flat one you showed, sometimes a more “spoonish” one. I rarely buy a really expensive one unless it’s got a great unique look, and then it’s usually not about utility! 😏
I’ve heard that wood from the olive tree makes for the most durable wooden utensils. I have checked them out, and they are very expensive. I agree with others who’ve commented here that “seasoning” wooden utensils is the most important thing you can do for durability, and, of course, NOT putting them in dishwasher or soaking in water. I use a food-grade oil on them before first use, and reapply oil after every cleaning. It is the same oil I use on my wood cutting boards. While I like wooden utensils, I actually prefer the new silicone utensils.
I've made a couple of red oak japanese spatulas, the wood grain looks amazing but I can't find any advice on the suitability of red oak.
One has been treated with mineral oil but not sure what to use to treat the other as I've been told to use coconut oil.
Any ideas?
Any help would be much appreciated 👍
@@Mrleejunman Fractionated coconut oil, aka MCT oil. That's the best oil for wood spoons. It is more resistant to going rancid than anything food-safe oil other than mineral oil. And unlike mineral oil which is just a food-safe indigestible petroleum product, MCT oil is edible. The amount you'll absorb from your wooden spoon won't make a difference in your diet, but it's sold as a nutritional supplement and people put it into their morning coffee or smoothies. It's just purified coconut oil with the fat that more quickly goes rancid removed by distillation (that's what gives it the name of MCT oil: Medium-Chain Triglycerides, as the long-chain triglycerides spoil much faster and are removed). I recommend buying MCT oil, as it's sold for human consumption, but you can also pay more and buy it as wood cutting board and kitchen utensil oil from brands like Caron & Doucet and Clark's. Same thing, more expensive bottle.
Caron & Doucet has some essential oils for fragrance, mostly lemongrass. Smells nice, though lemongrass oil goes rancid after a few years. In the small amount in the board oil, it probably doesn't matter. If I were making a large quantity of cutting board oil for sale, I'd might use a more antioxidant essential oil like clove oil. But I just use an inexpensive bottle of MCT oil. 16oz will last me years. I make a wax for my boards and some other wood kitchen items, but I wouldn't use it on spoons and spatulas. The wax is made by melting some beeswax in the oil. You can add a little bit of carnauba wax to the beeswax if you feel fancy, just for sheen. I'm not sure I can tell the difference.
I use MCT oil for wood spoons and cutting boards. For wood handles specifically, mineral oil may be a better choice as it may truly never spoil and handles don't come into direct contact with food, anyway. But I'd prefer to stir my sauces and soups with edible MCT oil (fractionated coconut oil) over mineral oil, even though I believe a little mineral oil in the diet is probably totally safe.
@@Paelorian You seem very knowledgeable, can you tell me the MCT oil you use? How often do I put the oil on the Wooden spoon?
May you use TH-cam chapters please
So we can share each chapter
"Testers gravitated towards the longer ones".... damn size queens.
Don't say anything bad about Adam! He's great!
As a spoon carver, mass production spoons simply cannot compete with the work being done today by talented carvers all over the world.
What type of woods do you use?
@@Lughnerson I work green, so I get all sorts of stuff most people never even heard of. Of the common stuff, I am a fan of apple, cherry, and butternut.
I used a piece of scrap oak that I got from the trash to hand carve a cooking fork years ago. Cost me nothing and I have used it for years.
@@santonucci Agreed. I sell handmade utensils made of mesquite that I harvest of our property in South Texas. Mostly flat spatulas. mass production cannot replicate the character of handmade. They are a little pricey, but I sell everything I make with no problem.
I have thrown my wooden spoons the the dishwasher for every use for YEARS! I have had the same 2 spoons for decades and they are easily to most used item in the kitchen.
"Years" or "decades"
Pick one...
@@SansAziza decades consist of years, right? 🥴
0:57. I make those out of mesquite wood. It is a very durable and beautiful wood. I have sold close to 3,000 of them and have had almost no complaints. I occasionally make spoons and bigger spatulas. it is a wonderful material.
“Five different types of wood, plus bamboo.” Because they know that the nerds watching will call them out for not recognizing that bamboo’s a grass, but since they’re nerds themselves, they don’t bother to explain the distinction because they assume nerds already know 😅
I'm a fan of the Epicurean wooden spoons in natural (not slate) but sadly these were not tested. I've had mine for ten plus years and love that I can put them in the dishwasher. I have the small, medium, large spoons and use them all. In addition, I have 2 of the angled turners that are great for cooking up ground beef or turkey - using one in each hand to crumble it up. They are a bit pricey, so that is the only down side.
Ouch! The dishwasher? I wash mine by hand (soap, water, & scrubbie-no special way) but make sure they get to dry fairly quickly. My family tends to leaves them in water if I’m not paying attention. I oil my spoons about once a year with walnut oil from the grocery store. (A woodworking friend suggested the walnut oil. It doesn’t seem to get rancid.)
So...? The types of wood? Honestly, the type of wood and the finish are more important than the shape. In the mediterranean countries, we like olive wood.
I use the bamboo spoons and bought mine at Amazon. I like that they are smooth and don't hold smells. I always wash mine on the top shelf of my dishwasher. No problems. No need to buy a fancy model.
That's not at all what affordance means... An affordance is the way that an object invites for a specific way to interact with it, not that there's many different ways to do it.
One winner is made from teak wood. Can we assume that this wood is food safe at room and high temperatures? I have not seen this wood used this wood outside of deck & patio furniture.
What brand of wood utensils would you recommend?
I don't like those pointed edges on the choosen Spoodle. They're for pans with straight walls. I do most of my cooking in skillets and other pans with sloped walls, and therefore a rounded edge on the wood spoon/spatula is important. A good design can scrape the corners of rounded and straight walls! One side curved, one side pointed. That Spoodle looks excellent, but because both corners are pointed like a spatula it will not scrape a curved wall well and therefore it's not a do-it-all utensil. Not that there's anything wrong with having a couple of wood/bamboo stirring spoons and spatulas.
I currently use a cheap bamboo spatula ("Helen's Asian Kitchen" brand, maybe) that's straight with no curve, and pointed on one side of the head and curved on the other side, so it's great for stirring. I have a "highest-quality" OXO spoon that is just too heavy in comparison and doesn't scrape as well. I'd upgrade to a spoon that could hold some liquid and yet maintain a finer edge for scraping. But it would have to still have perfect curves for getting into the corners and edges of pots and pans, and be lightweight.
I agree, he uses these spoons like spatulas, that's not what they're for. Good wooden spoons need to be rounded.
Thanks for this. I've been in need of a new wooden spoon for a while now. I like the more traditional $11 dollar one. Later alligator.
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pheu pheu
that is brawny ; CORRECT pheu pheu
You gotta be careful with your wooden spoons. Keep them clean and take care of them. After all, it’s not like they grow on trees.
Flat-bottomed paddle (bamboo), but that’s. 3sec video.
sister ; as in ma'am no. Ms. B please
no. 1 phys ed specialist there you go ; bought that time
After trying a variety, I really like Pakka wood. You can sometimes find them around $5 at Ross.
Why you like Pakka wood? Is there a label that says Pakka?? Is it a brand or type of wood
@@pilarq7886 I like how sturdy it feels and it also has a hefty weight to it. Even with using it with force, it has been durable. It's also very easy to keep clean. It's an engineered wood, so it may be listed on a label.
Can you add the playlist in description please
I’ll stay with my Spurtle , thank you very much !
I am now curious about the "finish" especially on the "Spurtle" type scrapers and spoons, etc.
On mine, I use a combination of food grade mineral oil and beeswax.
Just get an inexpensive wooden utensil. But smell it first. If you can smell it (wood/resin smells) it may effect the final flavor of the dish. Skip the woody smelling ones and just buy cheap utensils.
Totally agree. It needs to not smell and not splinter. Once this covered, any cheap spoon you like the shape of will do.
v neck t shirt ; be curious not too curious enough
bouyancy of completed before timers
why not wood ; on the market one point five and he sleeping in his store across from intangible casino and iguazu meaning lagoon
Anyone who spends $28 for a wooden spoon has got more money than brains. Dollar tree bamboo wooden spoons $1.25 I use them for everything almost.
Those cheap made in China bamboo products are often made with a lot of glues and resins that I wouldn't want leaching into my food.
Looks like Faay has a 13.5” corner spoon too in Amazon fir $11.99
You wanna be more careful with typos such as "fir" when discussing wood. 🤔
What happened to the reigning champion wood spoon that I still have? I love it!
For $28 I would like to know if it survived the dishwasher...
I’m not sure if anything wood survives the dishwasher, but would love to be proved wrong.
@@SingleBladedRonin They usually outlive teflon pans...
@@SingleBladedRonin You just need more intimate time with wood and a dishwasher. 😎
Thanks for this. Could you also talk more about the different woods and finishes and how to care for them?
You want a guy called Paul Sellers. Heh
at a buffet, i personally sneak corndogs into the buffet so others can enjoy them. I hide 6 corndogs in my jacket pockets. it then, is a joy for me to see other patrons of the establishment eat my corndogs thinking they were part of the buffet.
Wow! So clever!
Well, I mean it's been done, but it was clever when the first guy did it... so more like clever adjacent I guess. But that's still something.
I got a trophy cabinet full of them ..
Why do you own a trophy cabinet at all?
This review is not very informative at all. Disappointing. Bob Vila has an excellent article on the best wooden spoons for cooking. Much better than this one. All Adam does is tell which one was the winner. Surprised it wasn't Oxo.
The Jonathan spoon spoodle looks like an amazing spoon. Definitely a smart buy. 20 bucks 30 bucks.. you'll be using that one every day.
I bought a bunch of Jonathan’s seconds many years ago at a fair. Wonderful products; no idea what made them seconds.
Yes, I have one just like that & I reach for it all the time!
I feel like some of these utensils were designed for specific tasks like the spurtle, which is used for scraping porridge off the entire height of a cooking pot, or the saute scraper, which is designed specifically for saute dishes made in cast iron. The spootle by Jonathan's Woodspoon is definitely the best all-rounder. He has an ever bigger version called the Dad spoon.
That chunky Oxo one is terrible. Cheap, rough finishing and it split all over the first time I washed it.
This guys looking ruff
This is the best segment of the show.
I like a flat edge spoon
It would be great if you guys could treat “bread slicer guides” they help you slice bread every but the one I like is so lightweight me sliding will move it around, AND it broke after about 1.5 years.
Where's Lisa? I thought she did the reviews. I like her and I trust her reviews. I really hope they didn't get rid of her. Say it ain't so.
Oh yes, now I know what I will be aiming for while I am carving with random pieces of wood at the campfire.
Lol, how did I know where choosing a wooden spoon, the winner was going to priced insanely high. $28 for a wooden spoon!
Aldi’s have a knockoff $30 for a wooden spoon is an insult.
I’d be surprised if it was there but I wished he mentioned the disciplinary uses of a wooden spoon.
I don't use wooden spoons because they can't be sanitized and they stain
I made mine.
I forgot to add that the whole bowl end of the spoon is thin as well not just a shallow bowl.
👋hi
BAMBOO
Mmmmmm nope. I’m not paying more that $2 for a multi-pack. They get burned, broken, stained or damaged too easily, and it’s not worth it to me.
Too bad they don't make whole magazines of armor piercing spoons for idiots.
Bit of a half baked comparison
Cordless hand appliances?
I've made a couple of red oak japanese spatulas and looked everywhere for advice on the best oil to use and the best way to season them.
Any idea?
Is coconut oil ok to use?
The only advice I got was to use mineral oil but should I warm up the spatula first?
I finish my mesquite utensils with food grade mineral oil and beeswax. But they can be refinished with coconut oil as it is stable and will not turn rancid.
Thank you for video very helpful
So many varieties :) this was informative, thanks.
I prefer the French made wooden spoons and agree on the 12-13" length of the handles for most tasks, but one exception, and that is when making stock in anything bigger than an 8Qt pot, you may need the 16" handle to keep your hands out of the pot while it's simmering on the back burner (or in my case today, the front large burner). Otherwise, it also will get used if clean and the only preferred choice for other tasks and like the Earlywood products and plan on getting a saute stick, in the large size hopefully before too long.
The main thing I don't like is the spoons are not as well sanded down and thus may cause the occasional splinter unless you lightly sand them down at first, then keep them oiled.
Most of spoons and scraper/spatulas have black edges from being left in the pan while cooking at times when it's not placed in the spoon rest on the counter. I first saw French style wooden spoons over on the Victory Garden about 35 or so years ago when Mariam Morash used them in her cooking segment on the show. I like them because the handles are thicker than most of the lower (read, cheap) wooden spoons that come with something like 5 spoons of various sizes for less then $5, usually and the handles of those are often rather thin in diameter. Yes, the French spoons are more, but they are less than $10 for the longer ones, closer to $5 for the 12" size each.
I don’t know what a French spoon is. Must do some research.
@@jvallas If you look up French wooden spoon, you will see what it is. I got mine at Sir La Table years ago when still living in Seattle. I had to replace one when a dog I sit ate my 16" handled one once and it was my fault for leaving it where she could get it (it had food on it, and she's a black lab), so took it out back and ate the bowl off the handle. So replaced it via Amazon.
In fact, if you looked at the video here, you can see it. It's on Adam's left (our right) in the spoon lineup. I think the second to the end one. Also, they come with a stamp of France on the handle
@@johnhpalmer6098 Thank you for all the detail - and the amusing canine escapade (assuming the lab was ok, of course).
3:14
2:38
Just carve your own. Simple and you get what you want.
My babysitter went through a ton of wooden spoons. We could have just asked her.
Thank you! 👍🏾
Thanks for your sharing and I from Hongkong
Is that a country? (I'll wait.)
Collingwood!?
Okay.
never understood the wood spoon why not the silicone and metal spoons?
Metal scratches pans. Silicone rips on edges allowing the metal underneath to scratch your pan. You can apply as much force as you want with a wooden spoon, it won’t scratch your pan.
@@jimgsewell To be honest, never had that issue with silicone, though I will admit I don't have silicone spoons, all wooden, or melamine, and one that is a plastic, but was from Coleman and is for camping, bought it with a plastic lexan bowl one year to use at a picnic for a salad I took and it gets used at home for serving from a hot pan. I cook with wood, be it a spoon, or a wooden spatula/scraper and they almost all have burnt marks across the bottoms from using them in hot pans. They do show the saute stick in small, medium and large from Earlywood. Kenji Lopez-Alt uses them on his channel all the time and I've been thinking about getting one to try. They only run about $18-20 so reasonable in my estimation.
because metal scratches and silicone can release siloxanes
For a pan like the one in the video, a "lazy spoon" is unnecessary. The hole at the end of the handle is the spoon rest -- just slide the spoon handle into it, with the spoon over the "vessel." Many pans are designed this way for this reason.
I'm pretty sure the hole in the handle is to reduce heat conduction into the handle, being able to reliably hold a spoon is probably just a bonus.
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
This review acts like the viewership has no wooden spoons and no experience with them. We all own a dozen and have a favorite. Getting in corners is for rubber spatulas. The handle length depends on the size of the pot and the viscosity of the food. Flat edged things are not spoons, they are wooden spatulas.
I have a wooden spoon I bought at Target 20 years ago. It seems fine. What am I missing? Should I throw it out.
demand a refund and show them this video to convince them.
Some of your test examples seemed more like a wooden spatula not a spoon so I wasn't as impressed with the test results. My favorite spoon is from Joyce Chen, made from bamboo and polished smooth. It has no flat edge but great at stirring.
I only use spoons made from the wood of the Pennantia Baylisiana tree, native to the Three Kings Islands off the coast of New Zealand. There is a sect of hobbits there that have truly amazing milling and carving skills, and every one is handcrafted and unique! And for a just a tiny bit extra they will encrust the handle in rare gems of your choice (ruby, diamond, pearl, emerald, or my favorite, sapphire!) Positively exquisite!
I mean yes they are ridiculously expensive, but only the best will do for my family! And my goodness, you wouldn't want guests to see an ordinary wooden spoon on your table, would you???
Do they do custom? I’d like one to match my special kitchen tiara.
@@reenahtabounnaah8820 Everything is hand-crafted, unlike the overpriced mass market junk that ATK recommends, so I'm sure they can create exactly what you're looking for!
Lmao. Also a wonderful way to correct a child
Making videos for ai bots to be more convincing, hu?
I could sure go for a spoon right about now. How about you, fellow human? Ha ha. Yes. First we will settle on a task.
Let's face it, we all use wooden spoons just to scrape crap from our stainless pans LOL
How clean can you get wooden spoons?
I read that wooden spoons are not allowed in commercial kitchens 🤔.
Are you so afraid of bacteria? Drink 2 gallons of vodka, and sterilize your intestines. We both win.
Question. Why using a wooden spoon? They are porous, get smells, are difficult to clean, some are quite fragile. A good steel spoon does everything as well or better and lasts for ever. So, why?
Feel, and gentleness to cooking surfaces (e.g., non-stick or enameled).
@@DaveBroTube Thanks. The care of surfaces makes some sense... although not quite. I have seen recipes requesting for wooden spoons that predate by far non-stick pans, and in specific recipes like jams, some are recommended to be made in copper pots - stirring them with a wooden spoon.
The feel of imagining oneself as a magician stirring a potion, maybe? 😄
@@emaarredondo-librarian It's not just for non-stick surfaces, good ol' enamel cookware do better with wooden utensils as well. Metal will scratch them.
$28 for a wooden spoon? Paint stirrer sticks are free at Home Depot. 😜
Yep, $28....
Suckers are why I woodwork. 👌
You guys need to review left handed utensils.
wooden spoons… the day after doomsday hit. 👎🏽
When not just use your hands? Stick them in and get to work! Cost: $0
We are also talking about HOT pans so one's hand would not work there.
@@johnhpalmer6098 What are you a California liberal? Man up!
@@johnhpalmer6098exactly 😂
ماشاء الله تبارك الرحمان اللهم بارك بالتوفيق