While most have gone out the door, a few spoons have stuck around over the years. With the oldest of the lot creeping up on a decade old, it’s satisfying to see the way the shapes have evolved as my hand has slowly steadied, but equally fun to see the ways in which they all share an inevitable common tie, as if in spite of the practice.
About once a year, far too long after they’ve begun to look dried out and pale, I give them a little spruce up with a fresh coat of oil. I’ve tried plenty of different oils—and combinations of oils—over the years, but have settled on using whatever I have on hand at the time of need. This year was tung oil because I still have an abundance of it leftover from a large table project. Whether it be tung oil, linseed oil (unboiled!), walnut oil, coconut oil, or mineral oil, I can’t say I have any earnest recommendation between them, only perhaps to avoid the ubiquitously marketed mineral oil, as it’s a byproduct of petroleum/ crude oil distilling into fuel…any wooden utensil in use will need to be tended to eventually, so I’ve stopped seeking out a perfect “one-and-done” finish for cooking spoons or cutting boards.
Day to day, nothing is quite as gratifying as having a few of these small practical tokens that a past self made kicking around the house. The small family of spoons I’ve held onto through the years are a sweet reminder of all the cousin and sibling spoons that live in drawers and stick out of crocks in the homes of people I love.
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