JimShow Test Kitchen – Your Wooden Spoons Are Filthy!

So you just pulled your wooden spoons from the dishwasher. You assume they are clean? Sorry to burst your bubble. They are filthy.

My brother is a quasi-chef. He knows his way around the kitchen. He called the other day to catch up. I mentioned I was making spaghetti using a wooden spoon.

 He then asked me a curious question - "When was the last time you cleaned your wooden spoons?" I told him indignantly, "I just pulled them out of the dishwasher." He answered, "Throw them in some boiling water and see what happens."

That sounded  a lot like a dare. More importantly, it sounded like something I would be interested in finding out more about.

I found the biggest pot we had, filled it with just water, set it boil, and then added all five of my wooden spoons.

We don't use wooden spoons much here, but enough to warrant concern. After just a few minutes, I already saw some sediment in the boil. My brother was right. My wooden spoons were dirty.

The principle here is, wood is porous. The dishwasher does not "immerse" the spoons nor does it get hot enough to allow the wood to expand to rid itself of small food particles. As the wood swells, the sediment is freed and the result is what I see in the top of the pot.

I let my spoons boil for about 30 minutes.

As you can see, my wooden spoons were dirty and this clean was long overdue. The water was a hazy light tan hue. There was also sediment akin to pepper specs, garlic and a bunch of other stuff that could not be identified without a microscope - and a biologist. Perhaps a botanist as well.

All I know is, this was long overdue. 

Now, here they are. Clean spoons! You can see the difference. Should have done this a long time ago. Special thanks to my brother! Great tip!

It reminds me a few years ago when we found out that our kitchen sponges were some of the most bacteria ridden items in your house besides your light switches.

I will just add boiling spoons to my seasonal cleaning that I do - add to the list - boil my wooden spoons. You should too.

All My Best,

The JimShow