Cooking Utensils - Wooden Spoons - Bacteria - Thoughts
 

Bacteria aren't going to go away whatever you do, even if you autoclaved your cooking utensils. Stuff that lives in the open air like on the surface of a wood cutting board is probably safe enough, it's the buggers that live where there's no oxygen that you want to be careful of. I'd go with wood given the choice.

I'd go for wooden spoons over plastic ones any day. Especially since the wooden ones don't melt :winkwink:

Also, bacteria (in your wooden spoon or from your cooking board) won't survive any temperature at which you cook your food anyway - so I wouldn't worry about that so much.
Besides, a few bacteria won't kill you instantly, as HentaiKid said. If you wash your wooden cutting boards after use I can't see any problems. Well, never had any problems at any rate.

Plastic cutting boards in my exp. over time get cut up w/ use and eventually have more little cracks and crannies than wooden ones.

IMO the best to use there is glass. I don't always like the sound it makes using one, but the knives never leave and cuts on the surface.

For your spoons, and other wooden kitchen items, if you put a spot of oil on a paper towel and rub them down every now and then they keep nicer, longer.

We obviously cook with different knives - I use the layered japanese knives (insanely sharp) - and they cut into glass :|

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I have a plastic cutting board I use exclusively for uncooked chicken and meat. I use a bamboo cutting board for everything else.

I have smaller plastic cutting boards that I run through the dishwasher after I use them. Wooden spoons that I also run through the dishwasher.
I have a sanitize cycle and beyond that, I don't worry about it.

Question, if you dont cook meat with wooden spoon still have the bacteria? LOL

I love my wooden spoons and you simply need clean them with vinegar, I think bacteria scare mostly of this comes from bacteria from meat, people who dont eat it or cut it need not worry.

Use vinegar. All the kitchen sites Ive read simply say use vinegar to clean your wooden spoons and wooden cutting boards... veggies dont carry all this bacteria though, that is from meat.

For cutting boards, rub a lemon on it... simple. Or wipe with vinegar, it sterilizes wood very well, but dont soak the wooden boards.

stick the wooden spoons inside the food you're cooking and the bacteria will go kaboom

Many great tips. Many thanks. Some suggestions are tried and true, while a few are new.

:thumbsup

Keep your wooden ones or switch to silicon ones, and no the heat will not release anything out of the silicon ones that are rated for kitchen/oven use. I use silicon baking containers in an oven that gets close to 600 degrees.

Plastic does get cut up - they are cheap, and also dishwasher safe. Ideally one should have one for poultry and another for other meats.
Wooden cutting boards are fantastic for all other items like veggies, herbs, and stuff. Easy to clean, expensive to purchase (cheap ones suck), and should never be put in the dishwasher. By the way they are the fastest to cut on.

Glass is horrible for ones knives. Every time you cut on a glass board you are dulling and chipping the blade of your knife, same with marble, porcelain, ceramic, and other such surfaces.
Bamboo just is a horror to keep clean. Should not go in dishwasher and the ways you clean wooden boards do not work the same on bamboo.


For your wooden utensils, bowls, and boards - use a 10-1 ratio of either a bleach and water or vinegar and water solution kept in a spray bottle. Spritz them and rub them down. Air drying is fine. Your plastic boards just go in the dishwasher.