the most valuable tool in my kitchen, or, in defense of the wooden spoon

August 9th, 2008

the most valuable tool in my kitchen, or, in defense of the wooden spoon

have you ever seen those people in bed bath and beyond or sur la table wandering around the kitchen appliances? staring longingly into the stainless steel bowl of a kitchenaid mixer, drool pooling up at their feet - you know the type. well, stop staring at us, it’s not polite.

really, it’s harder than it looks to resist the shiny gleam of kitchen gadgets. how many times have you been walking through the store, hefted some industrial marvel of kitchen gadgetry in your hands and thought, “i make pretty a good sandwich, but if i had this panini press then i could make a really professional sandwich,” or “why get a regular toaster when i could have one that makes 10 slices at a time and cooks eggs and bacon for me when i wake up - and does my taxes while i wait!”

the at-home amateur cook is tempted by the promise that somehow an elaborate and expensive tool can help their cooking rise out of mediocrity. the only problem is that good chefs and bakers don’t get better by using gadgets - they get better by practicing and testing themselves, mastering simple techniques and experimenting to break through culinary barriers that they or others have put up. in other words, it’s got nothing to do with gadgets.

the only gadgets i need are wooden spoons. the three above have saved me countless times in the kitchen. the one on the far left is the longest, my soup spoon, used exclusively for my giant soup pot (it’s about time i made some summer corn chowder…). the middle one is…pink. why? black cherry kool-aid! this spoon is used only to mix kool-aid which, if you didn’t know, stains anything it touches before it’s completely dissolved.

the spoon on the far right - this is my best friend. this one, the smallest, was used in every single recipe on this site. even with a food processor and standing mixer, this wooden spoon is still my perfect kitchen tool. we’ve been through everything together - doughs, icings, sauces (tomato and alfredo), stir-frys, cakes, cookies, soups, custards, tarts - i’ve even whipped cream with it and gotten stiff peaks. i can say with confidence that no matter what the recipe says, it can be done with little more than a wooden spoon and a bowl.

so tell me, what’s your most indispensable kitchen tool?

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7 comments so far ↓

Peebs | Aug 10, 2008 at 12:05 pm

I can’t work in my kitchen without my wooden spoons, either. I love them…and my santoku knives. No other knives are needed, since I bought the 5″ and 7″ Santoku’s, they’re fab.
Y | Aug 11, 2008 at 10:57 am

I was wondering about that pink spoon! It’s so pretty, it actually looks like it was manufactured pink. I’m a big fan of my little heat resistant spatula which manages to get at every corner of a pot or container.
Sally | Aug 11, 2008 at 9:00 pm

I too love my wooden spoons, but also made of wood and very much loved and used is my SPURTLE. What is that? I hear you say. lol
Granny gave me my first one from http://teandwheatenbread.blogspot.com
and now have 5 or 6 in constant use.
Try googling it for more info.
Must spread the word re SPURTLES.
Firefly | Aug 11, 2008 at 9:43 pm

Ah yes, the wooden spoon. What would we do without them?
However, they take second place for me.

I don’t think I could live without my absolutely ginormous and ancient measuring cup.
It’s huge!
Large enough in fact that it is my number one mixing bowl and I’m able to do the majority of my measuing right in it.
And of course, since it’s a measuring cup, it has a handle and a spout.
I love it.
Matthew | Aug 12, 2008 at 7:50 am

I have an orange spoon- from curries!, how many wooden spoons have you guys broken, they are quite deadly when stirring a stiff custard and a mid piece hurtles towards your eye!
tara | Aug 13, 2008 at 4:26 pm

I do love my wooden utensils; a particular fave is an olive wood spatula like piece, which I use almost daily. It is perfect for stirring or scraping the bottom of a pan. I use it so much that I sought to get a second one for those times that it is dirty; evidently the original is one of a kind, as the second snapped the first time I attempted to make polenta with it!
mike d | Aug 14, 2008 at 4:21 am

I am in wholehearted solidarity with the wooden spoon. This summer, I’ve made some of the best bread of my life, and the only baking utensils I have are a spoon, a pyrex crock pot, and two mason jars.

Perhaps this is latent germophobia, but over the winter I became paranoid of my wooden spoons, and thought that there could be something lurking the porous material. I’ve grown out of it, but wonder if this has occurred to anyone else.