A wooden spoon is a spoon

Spoon

A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...

 made from wood, commonly used in food preparation.

History

The word spoon derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of wood or horn carved from a larger piece. Wooden spoons were easy to carve and thus inexpensive, making them common throughout history.

The Iron Age Celts (C. 250BC) of Britain used them. This is evidenced by an example of a small ladle discovered during archaeological excavations at the Glastonbury Lake Village

Glastonbury Lake Village

Glastonbury Lake Village was an iron age village on the Somerset Levels near Godney, some north west of Glastonbury, Somerset, England. It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument and covers an area of north to south by east to west....

. Roman period spoons have been recovered from excavations in the City of London. The Anglo Saxons were great workers of wood, as were the Vikings, and both these groups of settlers to the British Isles produced wooden spoons for domestic uses.

Cooking

Today, wooden spoons in western cultures are generally large spoons used for mixing ingredients for cooking or baking.
Before electric mixers

Mixer (cooking)

A mixer is a kitchen appliance intended for mixing, folding, beating, and whipping food ingredients. Mixers come in two major variations, hand mixers and stand mixers....

 became common, wooden spoons were often used to cream

Creaming (food)

Creaming is used to refer to several different culinary processes.- In baking :Creaming, in baking, is the technique of blending ingredients — usually granulated sugar — together with a solid fat like shortening or butter. The technique is most often used in making buttercream, cake...

 together butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...

 and sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

 in recipes such as shortbread

Shortbread

Shortbread is a type of unleavened biscuit which is traditionally made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oatmeal flour. The use of plain white flour is common today, and other ingredients like ground rice or cornflour are sometimes added to alter the texture...

 or Victoria sponge cake

Sponge cake

Sponge cake is a cake based on flour , sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder which has a firm, yet well aerated structure, similar to a sea sponge. A sponge cake may be produced by either the batter method, or the foam method. Typicially the batter method in the U.S. is known as a...

.

They are still used for stirring many different kinds of food and beverages especially soup

Soup

Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...

s and casserole

Casserole

A casserole, from the French for "saucepan", is a large, deep dish used both in the oven and as a serving vessel. The word casserole is also used for the food cooked and served in such a vessel, with the cookware itself called a casserole dish or casserole pan...

s during preparation, although they tend to absorb strong smells such as onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

 and garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

. Some cooks prefer to use wooden spoons when preparing risotto

Risotto

Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-, fish-, or vegetable-based; many kinds include Parmesan cheese, butter, and onion...

 because they do not transfer heat

Thermal conductivity

In physics, thermal conductivity, k, is the property of a material's ability to conduct heat. It appears primarily in Fourier's Law for heat conduction....

 as much as metal spoons. Unlike metal spoons, they can also be safely used without scratching the bottom of the saucepan. This is useful when making dishes such as scrambled eggs.

Wooden spoons can be treated to protect from cold liquid absorption with coconut or mineral oil. Edible drying oil

Drying oil

A drying oil is an oil that hardens to a tough, solid film after a period of exposure to air. The oil hardens through a chemical reaction in which the components crosslink by the action of oxygen . Drying oils are a key component of oil paint and some varnishes...

s such as hempseed oil, walnut oil

Walnut oil

Walnut oil is oil extracted from English walnuts . It is about 50% linoleic acid, an essential omega-6 fatty acid. Walnut oil is also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids which are also essential to human nutrition....

, and flax oil are used to create a more durable finish. For best results drying oils should be given adequate time to polymerize after application before the spoon is used. Other vegetable oils should be avoided because they will undergo rancidification

Rancidification

Rancidification is the chemical decomposition of fats, oils and other lipids . When these processes occur in food, undesirable odors and flavors can result. In some cases, however, the flavors can be desirable . In processed meats, these flavors are collectively known as "warmed over flavor"...

 and leech into food during use. If the wood grain

Wood grain

In speaking of wood the term grain refers to the alternating regions of relatively darker and lighter wood resulting from the differing growth parameters occurring in different seasons . The term is used in several ways. Perhaps most important is that in woodworking techniques...

 raises up after boiling or washing a light sanding and application of coconut oil will prevent the spoon from becoming fuzzy and harboring bacteria.

Folk art

Wooden spoons have been made in virtually every nation on earth and (compared to silver or pewter or gold spoons) represent the ordinary artisan and reflect the life of ordinary folk: this is their "folk art".

Each region, sometimes each village, will produce its own very distinct style and type of spoon. Many African examples are carved with wild animals and are aimed at the tourist market; there are others that are ceremonial and contain much symbolism. Distinctive painted spoons have been made in the Khokhloma

Khokhloma

Khokhloma or Khokhloma painting is the name of a Russian wood painting handicraft style, known for its vivid flower patterns, red and gold colors over a black background, and the distinctive effect it has when applied to cheap and light wooden tableware or furniture, making it look heavier,...

 region of Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 for nearly 200 years, originally for domestic use and in more recent times as tourist objects.

Traditionally, the intricately-carved wooden lovespoon has been used as a token of affection in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. Each spoon could contain different meaning as shown by the use of various symbols, for instance: a chain would mean a wish to be together forever; a diamond would mean wealth or good fortune; a cross would mean faith; a flower would mean affection; or a dragon for protection. Many sailors carved spoons as they had much free time at sea on their long voyages, they would carve such symbols as anchors or ships into the spoon. Although the Welsh lovespoon has its unique qualities, other styles of lovespoons have been made in Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

 and Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

, notably Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

.

Sporting culture

In some regions, particularly British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

-influenced ones of the Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 and the United States, "wooden spoon award

Wooden spoon (award)

A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...

" is a booby prize

Booby prize

A booby prize is a joke prize usually given in recognition of a terrible performance or last-place finish. A person who finishes last, for example, may get a booby prize such as a worthless coin. Booby prizes are sometimes humorously and jokingly coveted as an object of pride.Booby prizes, however,...

 for the team or individual finishing a competition in last position.

See also

• Treen
• Wooden Spoon
  Wooden Spoon Society
  Wooden Spoon is a children's charity founded in 1983, when the England rugby team received the Wooden Spoon in the 5 Nations. Spoon is dedicated to helping children and young people who are disadvantaged physically, mentally or socially by using sport as a method of improving lives while...
  
  the charity of British and Irish rugby