Best Wood For Cooking Utensils (Pros And Cons)

When cooking in your kitchen you want to only use safe and reliable utensils. As you are normally dealing with hot water, hot ovens and hot surfaces.

Wood is the best choice for a utensil as it is a natural free from chemicals.

Here Is The Best Wood For Your Cooking Utensils:

You want to look for a tight grained wood that doesn’t contain pores. Maple, Cherry wood or Bamboo is the best choice for a cooking utensil.

This is the short answer. This article we are going to go over what types of wood is best to use as a spoon, knife or spatula and whether teak or bamboo is better choice for your kitchen. Let’s get going!

What Wood Is Best For Spoons?

With all types of wooden spoons in the market it is always hard to know which one is best. Wooden spoons are great for non stick pans and won’t melt in any boiling water. This is why wood is the favourite over plastic and stainless steel.

As Spoons are used mainly in cooking for stirring hot water and even hot sauces, using the correct type of wood is really important.

Using wood that is harder in nature is better as this stops cracks and splits within the wood (nasty bacteria can develop inside the cracks within the spoon so it is super important to choose the correct wood).

The recommended wood for cooking with a wooden spoon is:

Maple: Is a light coloured wood, has a close grain and is a considered a very hard wood. For this reason it makes a very strong and tough spoon. Great for all of those soups or stews.

Bamboo: Is used widely in countries like Japan and China, and also in the United States. Bamboo is exptremely durable and are considered antibacterial by nature which is really good when you are using a spoon for cooking.

Cherry: Is a light but durable wooden spoon. This type of wood will be gentle on your cookware.

These above wood types will mean no melting or cracking while you are cooking!

Please Note : You want to avoid any wood that are high in tannins which can add flavours (from the wood) directly into your food. Woods that contain this is Sweet Chestnut, Walnut and any fruit wood.

Is Teak Or Bamboo Better For Cooking Utensils?

Teak Wooden spoons (most of the time) are produced in Thailand from the Golden Teak , and are heat and moist resistant making them a choice for your new wooden spoon.

When a teak spoon is produced it normally is either a light colour but sometimes can have darker lines throughout, and is naturally oiled with coconut oil.

Some people find that using teak in hot boiling water can change the texture of the wood. Teak is not as good quality as other woods being Cherry or Maple.

Many people are turning to bamboo over any wood (as Bamboo is actually made of grass and not wood). It is also:

Safe to use on hot surfaces
Free from toxic dyes or colours
Less Porous than wooden spoons.
Lighter than wooden spoons.

So in our eyes Bamboo is great choice for a spoon for cooking.

Which Wood Is Best For A Spatula?

Wooden spatulas are a must for many cooking tasks in the kitchen including sautéing a onion in a pan or flipping a pancake.

A Spatula is used for different tasks then say a wooden spoon because it is generally not submerged in water, but it is still subjected to heat.

We recommend using a:

Teak Spatula: A teak wood spatula will not scratch any surface of a pan. It is a sturdy wood that is smooth and comfortable and easy to hold (without being too heavy).

Bamboo Spatula: Bamboo is a fully sustainable source and alternative to using wood (as it is grass made). A Bamboo spatula is great because it will not scratch or ruin your cooking pans and is free from any toxic dyes.

Out of both above we would recommend the bamboo as it is very easy to clean and maintain, and is lighter than other wooden spatulas.

Is Basswood Good For Spoons For The Kitchen?

Basswood is used by many people who are learning to carve and learn woodworking. It is a very soft wood that is easily shaped with the right tools. Is it ok and food safe?

Yes it is, Basswood is a hardwood but is classified as a softwood. It is used for spoons, spatulas and other kitchen utensils.

Most manufacturers usually use mineral oil after making this type of spoon to give it some protection. As basswood can sometimes pick up food stains within the wood.

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