Dear CL,
How do you clean wooden spoons? I know they are used often, and sometimes they are used to mix things such as ground raw turkey! I would like to know how to effectively clean a wooden spoon after using it. The dishwasher is a “no,no”, right?
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-Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth,
You should definitely not put wooden spoons or anything else wooden in the dishwasher. As a general rule, you shouldn’t let wood spend too much time in water, so also don’t throw them in a bowl of soapy suds. Take the spoon and if you have used it for raw meat or anything that concerns you, give it a good wash with soap and water and them let it dry in the drying rack. Otherwise, if you used it to stir flour, for instance, just rinse the spoon and scrub it with a sponge but go easy on using any additional soap as you don’t want to strip the wood away.
01.06.09 @ 5:30 pm
I don’t put wooden spoons in the dishwasher, and clean them with soap right after I use them. They look new.
01.06.09 @ 7:45 pm
I’m a recently laid off couch potatoe , who has found your show . I would like to know what the heck EVOO is !!!! Olive oil and what ? a brand name …..I’m a newbie so no laughing …..lol
01.07.09 @ 10:03 am
EVOO just stands for Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Hope that helps.
01.07.09 @ 10:20 am
Hey Rachael how you doing i just wanted to tell you i truely love your show and your 30 min meals hope your holiday were good have a nice day TONY PS I THINK YOU ARE SMOKEN HOT
01.07.09 @ 11:21 am
Daryn EVOO is extra virgin olive oil,took me a while also good luck dolly
01.07.09 @ 11:48 am
EVOO is extra virgin olive oil….I just found that out too!
01.07.09 @ 12:00 pm
Hi Daryn: Well, you guessed half of it correctly.
EVOO is an acronym for Extra Virgin Olive Oil
01.07.09 @ 12:01 pm
EVOO is Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Any brand is good…
01.07.09 @ 12:21 pm
EVOO stands for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
01.07.09 @ 3:23 pm
Daryn, EVOO is Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
As for Wooden spoons, wash them with with some dishwashing soap on a sponge and rinse well then just leave them to dry in a drying rack.
01.07.09 @ 3:35 pm
“EVOO” is Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I watch way too many 30 minute meals..lol
01.07.09 @ 3:47 pm
Hi…does anyone remember the recipe with fennel, onions, assorted peppers and such? Called something like good fellas pasta, I cannot locate it anywhere and would really appreciate some help. Thanks, Linda
01.07.09 @ 5:03 pm
Linda: It’s called ‘Good Fennels Pasta’…click the FOOD tab at the top of the page and then search for the recipe.
01.07.09 @ 8:49 pm
Thank you Lise!! with your help I found it.
01.07.09 @ 11:39 pm
Dear Cooks,
THANKS for the cleaning tips about wooden spoons. Now, I will feel I can use them safely and not stress about “contamination.” Yuck! I have two pans that do not allow metal cookware, so the wooden spoons seems to be the next best move.
01.08.09 @ 3:59 am
Thanks Rachel. I have wooden utensils and I have always wondered if I am cleaning them right. Also, as a full time student with a full time job your 30 minute meals save me from too much take out. I also just discovered the $10 meals which I love.
01.10.09 @ 12:50 am
My husband said he watched a show within the last two weeks and Rachel made a dish with spagetti squash, I can’t find it anywhere on the sit. Can anyone help me out?
01.10.09 @ 3:45 pm
Rachel,
What was the website for the pillow that someone had made for you with your dog on it? I have a pit bull too (Drey) and he is a sweet heart. I just discovered your dog food and I am going to have him try it.
01.10.09 @ 9:58 pm
I have been putting my wooden spoons in the dishwasher for years and they are just fine.
01.12.09 @ 10:25 pm
I had to come home from work and caught the last half of your show with Bob Greene and stylist Anya Sarre. I don’t know if this was a repeat but how can I find the Rx for the “Make your own takeout.” with the woked chicken breast and wheat noodles?
I agree with Tony. To quote Steve Martin ” You’re so hot, how do you keep from meltin all this stuff?”
About the spoons, if you put them in the dishwasher you open the pores with the hot water and can drive germs deeper into the wood then when they cool you trap the particles in the wood. When you use them again in hot liqued you can theoretically taint the dish. On the other side boiling water should kill the germs. I’ve never gotten sick because of wooden spoons. Has anyone here?
01.13.09 @ 2:42 pm
let em soak in a jar of watered down bleach every now and then.
01.14.09 @ 6:23 pm
Michelle the spaghetti squash recipe is Spaghetti Squash with Super-Thick Bolognese Sauce. Couldn’t be too much easier, just bake the squash scrape it out and dress it like spaghetti.
01.15.09 @ 1:33 pm
EVOO is Rachael’s signature description for the wonderful thing called, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It’s Olive Oil, but lighter. Enjoy RR she is wonderful.
01.16.09 @ 10:23 pm
Like Ejay, I,too, have been putting my wooden spoons in the dishwasher with no prob. I’ve not gotten sick from using them…..yet.
Bwhahahahaha I’ve also never used them to mix raw meat though just for things like veggies and roux and sauces. Invest in a spoonula for mixing meat or just use the best tools out there, clean hands.
01.17.09 @ 4:20 am
rachael got the word EVOO put in the dictionary as a new word, for real
01.17.09 @ 9:41 pm
Did you really use acai? Loved the article about cleaning wooden spoons.
01.17.09 @ 10:35 pm
I have the EVOO tee shirt and love that even kids realize that it’s another way to say Rachael Ray.
01.18.09 @ 11:01 am
hey rachel i was really searching for the tv show i had seen earlier but due to some diturbance i could not watch the complete episode so can u tell me where can i look for the episode where u recognize the fresh fruits, vegetables nd meat from the NOT fresh one…hope to ghet ur reply as soon as possible !
01.19.09 @ 11:15 am
Hi Rachael -
My husband & I watch your show in Qatar, the Middle East. We like the cooking segments & have used some of your ideas. I suspect the shows we see are not this season’s. Tonight, you had Bob Greene on, some wild animals and you made smokey tomato soup. You said we could sign up on-line to win a set of your cookware but I can’t see where to do this. Are we way out-of-date? Keep cookin’. Kathy
01.20.09 @ 6:22 pm
I have All-Clad cookware and also a set of Rachael Ray Hard-anodized non-stick cookware. I always reach for the Rachael Ray hard-anodized non-stick cookware because it is lighter and makes cooking and cleanup easy. Rachael uses both non-stick and stainless cookware on her show. How does she decide when to use which type of cookware?
02.03.09 @ 11:48 am
About cleaning those wood spoons…washing them with hot, soapy water is good; but, if you want to remove all trace of germs–especially if you’ve used those spoons to mix raw meat–wash ‘em then pour a little bleach over them, wait 30 seconds, rinse and dry.
Denise from Michigan
03.16.09 @ 7:19 pm
I’ve heard that someone (Cornell U?) researched on wooden cutting board vs plastic board and found that the wood inhibits bacterial growth. Bacteria seem to like feeding on plastic board and thus make it harder to clean. Best to clean both boards right away with hot soapy water.