When is the last time you thoroughly cleaned your wooden spoons? No, I mean REALLY cleaned them. I use my wooden spoons daily and all those sarma, paprikas, and pasulj flavors soak into the wood. I avoid leaving wooden spoons in the pot while the food cooks for this reason, but sometimes they fall in when I’m not looking and inevitably end up cooking with the food for a few minutes. Over time, grease and spices clog the porous material, so I love to deep clean them by boiling them all together. Yup, boiling them.
Boiling your wooden spoons in water and vinegar is the easiest and most effective way to extract all grease and spices from your wooden spoons. The first time you try this, you will be shocked at how much grease comes out. You may also want to open a window in your kitchen if possible because the smell is not very pleasant, especially if you cook with a lot of onion, garlic, and other pungent ingredients. I’ll spare you the photos of the end result.
Here’s what you need to do to deep clean your wooden spoons:
- Gather all of your wooden spoons and put them in a deep pot, preferably an older one or one you don’t care about. Depending on the types of spices you cook with, it may end up staining the pot. Or use a stainless steel one and you’re good!
- Add in enough water to cover the tops of the spoons and part of the handle. This will depend on the size of your pot. Remember, you only need to boil the portion of the spoon that goes in the food.
- Add vinegar to your water. The formula is 2 parts water 1 part vinegar, so for every 2 cups of water, use 1 cup vinegar.
- Bring the wooden spoons to a boil. When they come to a boil, reduce the heat but make sure to maintain a gentle boil. Continue to boil for 45 minutes to an hour. Add water if the water level drops too low during boiling.
- When time is up, dump the water and wash the spoons really well with plenty of dish soap.
I hope you give this cleaning method a try! If you do, let me know how it worked for you by sending me a DM on Instagram!
