The Right Cooking Tools for the Job: Jonathan's Spoons

I am picky about my kitchen tools. Any old thing will not do. And any old thing shouldn't do for you, either. A lot of the time, in my line of work, I run into people who think that a tool you use two or three times a day isn't important. Ask any carpenter or plumber if they'd be able to put out a professional result with substandard tools. Probably not.

If you are going to cook daily, it pays in the long run to get the best kitchen tools you can. A tool not only has to work properly, but also should work with you. It also helps if it's beautiful to look at. There is a certain aesthetic to good tools. You can see it in a kitchen with a rack full of well-used and polished copper pots. A 90 year old black cast iron frying pan. A vintage mortar and pestle.

My favorite spoons and wooden tools come from a company in my home state of Pennsylvania, called Jonathan's Spoons. They feel good in your hand, have graceful, ergonomic shapes, and the cherry wood ages to a beautiful dark patina. I love them. Now just so you know, I don't work for them, and I am not getting paid by them in any way. I just bought another cooking spoon from them this past weekend at the Philadelphia Flower Show, and over the years I've bought five or six, and I have never had any others as beautiful and as functional. They're also a small company owned by real people who make great tools, not a conglomerate. You find them either at the link I've provided above, or at www.woodspoon.com. Go look...and get yourself one or two.

The top spoon is my new one, and the spatula below is one of my older, beautiful pieces
 that have darkened with age,  use, and the occasional coating of mineral oil.