With my car in the shop for past few days and relying at times on public transportation (limited to buses right now in my corner of New Jersey) this morning had side benefits.
I had time to finally put my nose in Consider the Fork 'A History of How We Cook and Eat' (Basic Books, October 2012) by Bee Wilson, who is known to UK readers for 'The Kitchen Thinker' food column in he Sunday Telegraph's Stella magazine.
Book opens in the introduction with her ode to the wooden spoon.
Bee Wilson reminds us how invisible-taken for granted it has become.
"The wooden spoon is a quiet ensemble player in so many meals that we take it for granted. We do not give it credit for the eggs it has scrambled, the chocolate it has helped to melt, the onions it has saved from burning with a quick twirl."
She then goes on to highlight the practical reasons why we should wood spoons over other types of utensils.
"Wood is nonabrasive and therefore gentle on pans-you can scrape away without fear of scarring the metal surface. It is nonreactive: you need not worry that it will leave a metallic taste or that its surface with degrade on contact with acidic citrus or tomatoes. It is also a poor conductor of heat, which is why you can stir hot soup with a wooden spoon without burning your hand."
Time to get back to my reading.
(* Quotes excerpted from 'Consider the Fork' by Bee Wilson -Basic Books, October 2012- all rights reserved, illustrations by Annabel Lee)