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Wooden spoons are one of the oldest and most basic cooking utensils and a must-have in every kitchen. The benefits of cooking with spoons made from wood—as opposed to metal or plastic—are many: They won’t scratch pots and pans and are safe to use with nonstick surfaces, they won’t melt in boiling soups and stay cool to the touch even when left in a hot pot, and they’re strong and durable, sturdy enough to stir stiff batters and scrape cooked-on food from the bottom of a pot.
Solid wood spoons need to be hand-washed since dishwashers can dry them out and cause them to crack or split, but they should last for many years with the proper care. Just because wooden spoons are simple, however, doesn’t mean they’re all created equal. In general, look for spoons made of dense hardwood, like beech, maple, olive, walnut, or cherry, and from a single solid piece that won’t fall apart.
Here, our picks for the best wooden spoons in several categories.
Best Overall: Le Creuset Revolution Solid Wood Spoon
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Courtesy of Le Creuset
This elegantly curved spoon, carved from solid beechwood, features a tapered handle that’s comfortable to hold, with grooves that provide a more solid grip for your thumb. The head of the spoon has a tip that’s thin enough to scrape food from the bottom of a pot and slightly straight sides, which make it easier to scrape along the walls of a straight-sided Dutch oven. The bowl of the spoon is deep enough to scoop liquids for tasting or mixing. At 12.5 inches, the spoon is long enough to keep your hand safely away from heat while stirring, and the handle has a large hole at the end so you can hang the spoon near your stove for easy access.
Best Ergonomic: Chef Craft Silicone Wooden Spoon
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Courtesy of Amazon
This reasonably priced solid beechwood spoon is 14 inches long, so it’s great for deeper pots or stir-frying at high temperatures. The rounded handle has a silicone inset (available in red, green, or purple) for a comfortable, non-slip grip, great for mixing stiff doughs or batters or making things that require constant stirring, like risotto or fudge.
Best Corner Spoon: OXO Good Grips Wooden Corner Spoon
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Courtesy of OXO
The broad, deep head of this solid beechwood spoon has a flat edge that tapers into an angled corner, specially designed for scraping pot bottoms and reaching into corners. It’s best for deglazing pots for making gravy and would also be good for stir-frying or sautéing as the wide, paddle-shaped head can move a lot of food around quickly. The handle is sturdy, with rounded corners and a flattened top and sides, so that it’s comfortable to hold in a solid grip.
On the downside, the shape of the head means it would work best for right-handed cooks and it’s thicker and bulkier than some of our other picks, making it less ideal for tasks that would require a finer tool for more precision.
Best with Notch: Jonathan's Family Spoons 11-Inch Lazy Spoon with Spoon Rest Notch
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Courtesy of Amazon
Handmade in Pennsylvania from solid pieces of cherry wood, these 11-inch-long “lazy” spoons feature a built-in notch designed to slip over the edge of a pot. That way the spoon can drip back into the pot when you need to set it down for a moment to get ingredients or tend to another dish, instead of leaving a mess all over your kitchen counter. It’s a clever design that’s available in both a right-handed and left-handed version.
Best Dishwasher-Safe: Epicurean Chef Series Large Spoon
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Courtesy of Aventuron
All kitchen utensils made from solid wood require hand washing because dishwashers can dry them out and quickly lead to cracking or splitting, but this unique spoon, made from Richlite, a resin-coated, BPA-free wood fiber composite, offers the look and feel of wood with the convenience of a dishwasher-safe material. It’s heat resistant up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and resistant to fading, cracking, and splitting. Because it’s non-porous, it’s less prone than wood to harboring bacteria or retaining stains or odors.
The flat handle can be less comfortable to hold than a rounded one, but in exchange, the spoon is lightweight and comes with a limited lifetime warranty.
Best Slotted: Sabatier 14-inch Olivewood Slotted Spoon
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Courtesy of Amazon
This 14-inch slotted spoon from French brand Sabatier is built from solid olive wood, which gives it an attractive, swirling grain. Olivewood is particularly dense and sturdy and less prone to splitting or cracking than softer woods. The handle is rounded and tapered, so it’s comfortable to hold, and it features a leather loop at the end so it’s easy to hang from a kitchen hook or rail for easy access and space-saving storage.
Most Versatile: Mason Cash Innovative Solid Spoon and Jar Scraper Innovative Solid Spoon and Jar Scraper
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Courtesy of World Market
This cleverly designed, 13-inch-long spoon is a real multitasker and a perfect tool for bakers. It’s made from solid beechwood and features markings on the bowl of the spoon for 1-tablespoon, 1-teaspoon, and ½-teaspoon measurements so there’s no need to stop and search for measuring spoons while you cook. The spoon's other end features a mini-spatula in heat-resistant silicone, ideal for getting every last bit of jam, honey, or peanut butter out of narrow jars or prep bowls as well as for icing cupcakes or spreading sauces.
Best Long-Handled: ECOSALL Heavy-Duty 18-Inch Wooden Spoon
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Courtesy of Amazon
If you regularly stir-fry in a searing-hot wok or cook up extra-large batches of soup or chili, a standard-length wooden spoon just won’t cut it. This durable, heavy-duty spoon has a deep, 3-inch-wide bowl and an extra-long, 18-inch handle that will keep your fingers safely away from the blazing heat of a wok while stir-frying or reach to the bottom of even the deepest stockpot. It’s made in Poland from solid beechwood and features a handy hanging loop at one end.
Best Set: Williams Sonoma FSC Certified Walnut Spoons, Set of 4
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Courtesy of Williams Sonoma
This handsome set of spoons, crafted in Italy from solid, FSC-certified walnut, would make a great wedding or housewarming gift and includes every essential type of spoon for a home kitchen: a large and wide 14-inch spoon, a standard 12-inch spoon, a 12-inch slotted spoon, and a 12-inch blunt-ended spoon for scraping and stir-frying. The rounded handles are tapered for a natural grip.
Best Budget: IKEA Rört Beech Spoon
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Courtesy of IKEA
This is a sturdy and well-crafted spoon in solid beechwood that offers great quality for a low price. At 12.5 inches long, this spoon is a good length for keeping your hand a safe distance from a blazing burner, and the tapered handle is smooth and rounded but slightly flattened on top, making it easy to rest your thumb on top for a solid grip and good leverage. The 2.5-inch-wide bowl of the spoon is wide enough for stirring and deep enough for sampling tastes, and the end of the handle has a small hole for hanging the spoon from a hook.
The tip of the spoon is a bit thick, so it’s not as good for fine maneuvering as our top overall pick, but that’s a small tradeoff at less than a tenth of the price.
For overall best quality and design, the Le Creuset Revolution Solid Spoon (view at Wayfair) is our top pick, but for those on a budget, the RÖRT Beech Spoon (view at IKEA) offers durability and a comfortable handle for a fraction of the price.
What to Look for When Buying Wooden Spoons
Durability
A wooden spoon should be durable enough to last for many years and not crack or split easily. Choose a wood known for its durability and high quality, such as beechwood, maple, olive, cherry, bamboo, oak, and teak.
Design
The old familiar basic wooden spoon with the straight handle and the rounded spoon head is still around and as popular as ever, but many other designs are available. There are a number of options, from curved handles to ones with comfort grips, or from round or slotted to flat edge heads. Select the spoon, or spoons, that feel comfortable in your hand and will do the tasks you want and need it to do.
Functionality
The shape and size of the head, along with the length of the handle, are key features to how well the spoon functions in your cooking environment. Is the head of the spoon big enough for tasting? Is the handle long enough to stir the food in that pot you have on the stovetop? Can the spoon scrape or get into the corners of that dish you're using? These are just some of the functions you should take under consideration when choosing a wooden spoon.
FAQs
How do you clean wooden spoons?
Handwashing with hot water and mild dish soap is the best way to clean wooden spoons and other wooden utensils. You might be tempted to put them in the dishwasher, but this will eventually cause damage including cracking, splitting, and warping. Instead, washing by hand and letting your spoons air dry is the best way to clean them.
Should you oil wooden spoons?
If you see your wooden spoons looking dry or feeling rough, rub them with some food-grade mineral oil. Let them fully dry before using. Periodic oiling will help prolong the life of your wooden spoons.
When should you replace a wooden spoon?
Eventually, wooden spoons and other wooden utensils need to be retired. Toss any that are split or cracked and replace them.
Why Trust The Spruce Eats?
This article was written by Danette St. Onge, formerly the Italian Food Expert for The Spruce Eats and a features editor at Cook’s Illustrated magazine (part of America’s Test Kitchen). An avid kitchen appliance and utensil junkie, she spends hours combing the Internet, comparing options, reading reviews, and testing to find the best tool for every job.
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