Best wood for spoon to be used for cooking soups, stir frys, general kitchen spoon?

[whale_omelette]

I made a spoontula (spoon/spatula) in soft wood to try out how it would fare and I love it.
I would now like to would like to make another in a wood that is going to be up to the job long term.

What woods would you recommend?

If any one has any suitable wood i would buy a piece from you, unusual woods are good too
Thanks

 

[tombear]

I rate sycamore very highly, it carves well can be used green and is the traditional wood used for spoons in Wales. It's very plain unless its spalted but that's no bad thing, you can see when it's clean.

ATB

Tom

 

[Two Socks]

Nearly any hard wood will do fine. Birch, Cherry, Hazel, Sycamore, Beech to name but a few. The season for windfall is here, so keep an eye out for fallen branches!

 

[GGTBod]

I love spoons made from walnut, nice to carve too.

 

[Toddy]

Sycamore. It's the reason that it's in the UK anyway; it was the preferred kitchen utensil and bowls, etc., timber of the ancients. It's believed that the Romans introduced it because of that.
It's a clean wood, doesn't taint food, doesn't stain 'too' easily, is close grained so it doesn't trap particles the way timbers like oak can do, it's easily carved, and it can be both scoured with salt and with boiling water to clean it without cracking (when properly seasoned that is)
I have sycamore platters, boards, rolling pins and utensils that have been in daily use for over forty years and they're still sound. I have used early Victorian bread troughs that though only quarter of an inch thick had lasted over a hundred years of use and were still the best dough kneading bowls I have ever used, and they were made of sycamore.

M

 

[sgtoutback]

interesting about the sycamore never knew it was an introduces species. thanks

 

[whale_omelette]

Thanks everyone, really helpful replies.

Sycamore is high my list then and I would probably be able to find some here so that is a plus.

Not many decent/big trees here (moors- irony, fertile as buggery but kept intentionally barren) but the local forest does open 3 days a week (!) so i'll have a look for some fallen branches there after a blustery day.
If there is one thing North Yorkshire does well its 40+ mph gusts so I shouldn't have to wait too long.