How to Clean and Disinfect Wooden Cooking Utensils

Steps

1. Analyze just what kind of dirty your utensil is. If you find a wooden spoon floating down the street during a flood, burn that spoon. There is no process of cleaning that will remove deadly toxins from this utensil. This type of wooden utensil should be considered dangerous.
2. Prepare for disinfecting your wooden utensil. When cleaning wood, remember that washing by hand is most thorough and that bleach is your friend.
3. Place some bleach into a soaking tub (sink, large bowl, dish pan) and fill the remainder with hot water. A good ratio is one part bleach to 20 parts water. Place the utensil in the water.
4. Allow your utensil to soak for at least an hour. As a rule, you do not want to soak wooden utensils often, but periodically it is important to thoroughly disinfect a utensil, and the initial disinfecting is critical.
5. Remove the bleach solution and fill the same tub with a mixture of mild detergent, such as dish soap, and hot water.
6. Wash the utensil by hand, and then allow it to sit in the soapy water for 15 minutes or so. Allow sufficient soaking time to remove any bleach smell on the utensil.
7. Feel the utensil. If it feels fuzzy, it is probably because the grain of the wood has been raised from the soaking. Simply take a fine grit sandpaper (or even steel wool) and gently smooth the utensil.
8. Rinse the utensil off again. This time, you can wash it like you would any other utensil in your kitchen. Only follow the above steps if you need to thoroughly disinfect a utensil. Otherwise, wash wood with a gentle detergent and dry it off quickly.
9. Renew and retain the vibrancy of the wood in your utensil by periodically oiling it. You can use a paper towel or a small piece of clean cloth to administer the oil to the utensil. Use mineral oil, a food safe oil that is commonly used by restaurants to increase the longevity of wooden utensils. Mineral oil is a minor laxative, but even regular use of such small quantities will cause no adverse effects. If you are worried, you can simply allow the oil to soak in and then re-wash the utensil.
   
   
   

Tips

• If a spoon is rancid, don’t try too hard to disinfect it. The cost of a new utensil is generally less than the possible adverse affects of using a contaminated kitchen tool when preparing food.
• Taking care of your wooden utensils will pay off in the long run. Wooden utensils are among the first cooking utensils, and with proper care they can last a lifetime.
• Don’t be afraid to allow your utensil to soak for a spell. Because wood is porous, it may take a while for your cleaning solution to thoroughly sanitize the utensil. Do not, however, make a habit of soaking wood utensils, as soaking can shorten their useful lives.
• Some say that lemon juice is a great way to keep your wooden utensil constantly fresh and sanitized. Use this method only after thoroughly sanitizing with bleach, though.
• Hard wood utensils are the easiest to sanitize, and they also last the longest. The tight grains in the wood make for a less porous and more rigid construction.
• Consider using a microwave to both dry out and sanitize a wooden utensil. You can also place a wooden utensil in boiling water to help in the disinfecting process.

Warnings

• Wooden utensils are more porous than their plastic or metal counterparts. They are therefore more susceptible to carrying germs and bacteria.
• Don’t put wooden spoons in the dishwasher, especially not on a regular basis. They may crack. They are also a fire hazard if they fall on the heating element during the drying cycle.
• Do not use a wooden utensil if any part of the wood is soft or dark and mushy. These characteristics are often associated with rotten wood, and wood in this state will attract and retain germs and bacteria.

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