Wooden Utensils: Restoring Their Shine and Longevity

You probably have at least a few wooden spoons and spatulas in your kitchen that you’ve had for a few years. While you may clean them regularly, you likely also find that some of them just don’t seem to ever truly get clean, particularly if they’re stained from some sort of seasoning or food. While wooden kitchen utensils are a great alternative to toxic black plastic utensils, they require a little more care to help them last.

I spoke to multiple cleaning experts to learn how to clean wooden kitchen utensils and accessories, like spoons, cutting boards, spatulas and more. Below, they share the best methods for getting rid of stains and smells, and how to actually keep your utensils clean over time.

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The best products for cleaning wooden kitchen utensils Before you can get to the steps for cleaning your utensils, you’ll need to gather your supplies, like the ones below. The picks on this list are highly reviewed and have at least a four-star rating from 500 or more shoppers on Amazon and/or are direct recommendations from our staff of wooden utensils users.

This food-safe mineral oil is free of fragrances or smells and it’s safe to use on kitchen utensils made from all different types of wood, as well as other products made from bamboo, according to the brand. While you can use it for many different types of wooden kitchen utensils, the brand recommends it mainly for cleaning and moisturizing wooden cutting boards, butcher blocks and even some non-wooden surfaces like a stainless steel oven or fridge. Plus, shoppers say that it’s easy to apply (you simply add some of the oil to a kitchen towel and rub into the surface) and doesn’t leave a sticky feeling behind.

If you want an entirely new set of utensils to start with, this set is a great place to start; each piece is BPA-free and the set includes a mix of spoons and spatulas made from teak wood, as well as a holder to keep them all in one place and a wooden spoon rest for when you’re cooking. It also comes with metal hooks so that you can hang them using the small loops on the handles of the spoons and spatulas. You can get a set with six, eight or 10 pieces, and a popular cutting board set.