Cooker & eater

[Kepis]

Cherry cooking spoon that i made yesterday, tried something a little different to make the handle, instead of carving it, i used one of my rounding planes to take the handle diameter down, worked really well, all it needed was a very light sanding after to take the remnants of the shavings away from the handle, the rest of the spoon has a tooled finish.

3 by Mark D Emery, on Flickr

Then went on and made a small eating spoon

7 by Mark D Emery, on Flickr

 

[bopdude]

Very nice, like the second one in particular

 

[Janne]

Awesome.
How would the wood look like if you oiled it?

 

[Kepis]

Awesome.
How would the wood look like if you oiled it?

it would be a nice shade of red, but i dont tend to oil anything these days unless it is strictly decorative

 

[Janne]

But do you not find the wood absorbs whatever you are cooking the first months or so?

I always buy wooden cooking utensils ( beech wood) and unless I oil them they go ugly. Specially is you use Turmeric.

 

[Kepis]

But do you not find the wood absorbs whatever you are cooking the first months or so?

I always buy wooden cooking utensils ( beech wood) and unless I oil them they go ugly. Specially is you use Turmeric.

if it does, it does, just wash it and its fine, in the years i've been carving, i've never had a spoon go rancid because of what it may absorbed, i prefer to let time, tide and food acids give a natural patina, not only that as i also sell them i'm not limiting my market due to peoples allergies, if a customer wants to oil the spoon once they have bought it, then that's their perogative.

 

[Robson Valley]

Preheat your oven to 325F. Slather your fresh raw wooden carvings with the veg oil of your choice.
On a wire rack, over a sheet pan, into the hot oven for 3 minutes 30 seconds.
Out of the oven = see the foaming bubbles from the wood? Let cool. Done forever.

Charles' Law of gas physics states that gases expand as they are heated.
Gases contract as they cool. The exact principle used in every hot air balloon.

The wood air in the spoon expands when heated.
As the spoon cools, the remaining wood air contracts and sucks the oil down into the wood.
Unless you reheat the spoon to 325 or hotter, you cannot wash out the oil with soap & hot water.

Each to their own. I did the oven baking for 70 spoons and 30 forks, I kept a few in my kitchen
They get lots of use and look as bright as when I carved them.
Kepis has his way of doing things, fine by me.

 

[HillBill]

Very nice Mark.

 

[Nice65]

Supermarket wooden spoons aren't oiled either. I'll Walnut oil my Beech bowls, but wouldn't really bother with a spoon.

That Cherry is awesome Mark, I'd probably make an exception for that and oil it for display.

 

[Kepis]

Very nice Mark.

Thanks mate

 

[Kepis]

That Cherry is awesome Mark, I'd probably make an exception for that and oil it for display.

Naah, keeping this one though

1 by Mark D Emery, on Flickr

 

[Muddypaws]

Nice spoons. I can't see any difference between that handle done with a rounding plane and your hand carved ones. I suppose the rounding plane is quicker though.

I don't bother with oil much. I just have several spoons - separate ones for stirring brown food and red food. If I made heavily spiced Indian food I would have a separate one for that too.

 

[Kepis]

Nice spoons. I can't see any difference between that handle done with a rounding plane and your hand carved ones. I suppose the rounding plane is quicker though.

I don't bother with oil much. I just have several spoons - separate ones for stirring brown food and red food. If I made heavily spiced Indian food I would have a separate one for that too.

Main difference is the handle made with the plane is of a uniform diameter, whereas the hard carved ones are a little thicker and tend to be slightly oval rather than round, both work though, i much prefer the thicker, chunkier handle, other people prefer the thinner handles, guess i'll just have to make both

 

[Kepis]

I don't bother with oil much. I just have several spoons - separate ones for stirring brown food and red food. If I made heavily spiced Indian food I would have a separate one for that too.

This is one i made years ago, cooked myself some curry for lunch when out on a bimble and the previously white spoon, turned a glorious turmeric yellow, all adds to its character and history.

DSCN0293 by Mark D Emery, on Flickr