But still, they're pretty much the same spoons. My favorite wooden has lasted longer than many tools that were more expensive, and since then I've acquired even more wooden spoons. It's an unusual day in the kitchen when I don't use a wooden spoon to stir something. But wooden spoons are useful for things other than stirring.
Here are a few of my favorites. When you make focaccia, you need to dimple the surface just before baking. If you don't want to get your fingers all greasy again, just use the handle end of a wooden spoon to do the poking. And, bonus! It's kind of fun to randomly stab the dough. There are times when you want to leave the lid of a pot slightly open during cooking to allow a little steam to escape, but trying to position a lid just-so on a pot isn't always easy. A wooden spoon in the pot or laid crosswise on the rim can serve to keep the lid vented.
The great thing about using a wooden spoon is that it won't get hot, so you can still move it easily if needed. If you like making decorative foodstuffs, like bite-sized appetizers, a wooden spoon can come in handy for shaping things. For example, parmesan crisps. You can roll them around the handle for a tube, drape them over the handle for taco-shaped crisps, or lay them on the spoon for gently curved bowls.
Other foods that start off soft and pliable—like ice cream cone shells, pizzelles, or krumkake—can be draped over a wooden spoon handle to create a fillable taco-like shape. When a recipe calls for reducing a liquid by half or any amount , how do you actually judge that reduction?
If you're looking down into a pot, it's hard to judge the depth of liquid. But you can measure it. You don't need a ruler, though.
Just dip the handle of your wooden spoon into the liquid, just like you use a dipstick to measure the oil in your car. Then mark the line - use a rubber band, or make a little mark with a food-safe marker. Or some liquids will stick to the handle well enough that you might not need to mark it at all. Then, when you think you've reduced enough, just let that spoon take another dip and compare the new line to the old one. There's an old joke: when is a door not a door?
When it's ajar. Sometimes you need to leave your oven door slightly ajar for a recipe after you turn off the heat, but if you're moving around in the kitchen, there's always a chance you'll bump the door and close it accidentally. A wooden spoon stuck in the door will keep it open.
Poke cakes were popular years ago, but I've noticed them coming back into fashion. Pro tip: Avoid using a metal spoon or spatula on a nonstick pan. A lot of non-stick pans are made from Teflon , which is a brand of the man-made chemical PTFE that could be problematic to your health if consumed. A metal utensil could scratch the surface of this kind of pan and contaminate the food. Wooden spoons are also good tools for more delicate cooking, too, such as stirring soups and sauces.
However, the chef says it will be your go-to kitchen tool when you have to stir a particularly dense blend of ingredients. The chef says that while there are many models of wooden spoons out there and they are such a versatile kitchen tool, there are a few dishes that a wooden spoon just isn't cut out for.
I still have some from my grandmother," says Terhune. The chef also advises to always hand-wash wooden spoons. Some metal utensils can react with acidic foods, like tomato sauces and lemon curds. Wooden spoons have been used for decades, centuries even. They started to fall out of favor in the bacteria-phobic s and were replaced with cheaper plastics and harsher stainless steel.
However, research suggests wooden spoons are safe to use in your kitchen. Those bacteria also do not multiply and eventually die. The best way to eliminate bacteria from the surface of a spoon—wooden or otherwise—is to wash it after cooking with soap and hot water. Anything on the outside of the spoon will be rinsed away. If you want, you can also use a diluted bleach solution to disinfect your wooden spoons.
Restaurants employ this step, plus a high-temp dishwasher cycle, to eliminate bacteria on the surface of these versatile utensils.
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