Thursday 28 April 2016

Spoons Glorious Spoons - What Is There More Handsome? and so on...

Yep I couldn't resist a wee tribute to Oliver The Musical there.  As some fellow bloggers would know - yes I'm looking at you Tiffin Fiona - I adore wooden spoons in all their glorious forms.  When you come into my kitchen and pantry, you will be able to divine this very readily.  Long, short, round, oval, thin and fat, I have them all.  So here is a brief introduction to my collection:



glorious spoons!


On the left is my fragrant Huon pine ladle all the way from gorgeous Tasmania.  I adore Huon pine, so sweet smelling, so smooth to the touch, so ancient.  Next comes my spurtle; some of you may have seen it on an IMK post.  I think it is pine but not Huon. Perfect for porridge and sauces, and getting into the nooks and crannies of your saucepans.

In pride of place is my beautiful, handcrafted walnut spoon/ladle all the way from Colorado, USA.  The very talented Robert from KitchenCarvings hand carves all his spoons and kitchen utensils from trees that have either blown down or had to be felled due to old age.   

Then you can see my cute small-bowled spoon which came from the bloggers' conference in Canberra last October.  It comes from The Essential Ingredient, and is a handy little fella.  And on the end you can see an olive wood ladle from Israel.  Or maybe Greece.  I bought it in a deli cum kitchenware shop in Brisbane.



and more


The first 2 come from Stanthorpe, bought on one of our annual trips out there.  The first one is made from the mantelpiece of a historic home that was being demolished.  It is actually very long, perfect for stirring big pots of jam.  The second is from an old wine barrel. The black marks you can see along the handle are due to one of the local wineries having a fire.  The burnt barrels were made into spoons and other implements.   

Next we have another hand carved spoon by Robert, this time made from sugar maple. He carves them, and his wife sands and polishes them so it is a real family affair.  That is why it takes so long for them to turn up!  Then you can see a one-cup beech wood measuring spoon, which is from the Hairy Bikers' range.  Their stuff is big and robust, just like them.




lots of wee ones


I would be lying if I told you where these come from.  I haven't a clue!  They have been collected or given to me, over time.  They are all very small and just so cute.



this gives you a sense of the scale 



a rimu stirrer from New Zealand 


This is such a handy implement, made from native NZ rimu wood. We bought it on one of our trups there (that's a little joke for any non-Antipodeans reading, referring to the NZ love of mangling their vowels).  Sorry Kiwis!




another spurtle 


And last but not least is another long, heavy spoon - not sure of its provenance, and a spurtle given to me by a Scottish friend way back when.  Notice the traditional thistle on top.

Well folks, there you have a look into my crazy collection, and this is by no means all of them.  I have lots of others, made from various woods.  I forgot to show you my French beech spoon.  Ah well, another time...


8 comments:

  1. Very cool Sherry. I love using wooden spoons for most of my cooking. My collection (and meaning behind them) does pale in comparison to yours. WOODEN SPOON ENVY!

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    1. I love them Jem. I think it is because my mother only ever had one wooden spoon that we used for everything so I am now compensating in a huge way :)

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  2. You definitely have all the wooden spoons covered. :-D
    I have been searching for the small one like you are holding in your hand for the longest time but alas have yet to find any. My Pete even has it on his list for when he travels.
    Have a super day.
    :-) Mandy xo

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    1. I usually find them in craft markets. They have such great woodworkers in tassie and NZ so that's often where I find them.

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  3. What a lovely collection! I love wooden spoons too. And I have a spurtle too which reminds me I should use it when I make porridge!

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    1. oh yes spurtles are the best for porridge lorraine!

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  4. Well I smiled when I saw this on FB and laughed when I saw my name in the opening paragraph. What a collection! And now, you will no doubt receive more. They are great lightweight souvenirs. I'm particularly fond of your olive wood ladle. I have a very cheap pine stirrer like your rimu wood one and it is absolutely my fave - particularly good for onions in the frying pan and pots of sauce. Thanks for the fun tour!

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    1. funny how i have millions of wooden implements and usually end up using just one or 2 most of the time. creatures of habit! oh yes i love olive wood. it is such a pretty wood but huon pine has to be my fave cos it smells and feels so damn wonderful:)

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