Quizzes & Puzzles11 mins ago
Wooden spoon
11 Answers
Whenever I cook a stew/casserole I always remove the wooden spoon from the saucepan. I always think if I leave it in simmering away the wooden spoon will get cooked as well! I'm sure this isnt possible but my thinking is that the spoon is organic so therefore theoretically could soften under prolonged heat.
Is this possible?
Is this possible?
Answers
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.It will soften through being left in the pot ,you're absolutely right. Also, depending on how long you've had the wooden spoon and what you've used it for in the past, it can and will impart flavour into whatever you're cooking if you leave it in the saucepan. One of the very first things I was taught as a commis chef many, many (too many!) years ago was to never leave a spoon in a saucepan.
Some recipes differentiate between wooden and metal spoons because each has a different effect upon certain ingredients. For example, when folding whisked egg whites into a mixture a recipe will call for a metal spoon to be used, as a wooden one can knock the air out of the mix (due to the tiny air pockets clinging to the wood grain). When baking things such as sourdough recipes, certain strains of sourdough culture can be affected by contact to metal, causing them to rise poorly. Many sourdough recipes will recommend the use of a ceramic bowl and wooden implements.