Twenty years ago, in his book Pot on the Fire, the cooking writer John Thorne argued that cooks could be broadly divided into knife cooks and pan cooks. I have preferences for both, but if I were to classify myself based on my longest and most established relationship with my kitchen tool, I'd say I'm a wooden spoon cook.
Of the kitchen gadgets I bought when I first became an adult in the 1990s, I still have two that I try to make last. One is a basic model I bought for 25 cents at the now-defunct Thriftko in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood. The other is a fancier gift I bought at Pike Place Market. Made of olive wood, it fits my hand perfectly and is angled for left-handed use.
In addition to gently washing my hands, for decades I have used cooking oils I had on hand to give them a moisturizing spa treatment. I have read cookbooks that sometimes warn against using cooking oils because they can spoil, but because I use and wash these cookware so often, I never paid any attention to it.
This basic method is better than nothing, but spoon butter is definitely an upgrade. Sometimes called board butter, this mixture of refined oils and beeswax has nothing in common with actual butter, except that it's spreadable at room temperature. This butter first made its way into my kitchen on the recommendation of Federal Way pyrographer Rachel Rubalcaba Wilfs (@artafire on Instagram), who decorated a vintage solid-wood knife block I picked up at the Dearborn Street Goodwill. She recommended spoon butter, which is as useful as boot polish or skin moisturizer.
Her current recommendations haven't changed much since our initial conversation. “I've used both food-grade mineral oil and refined liquid coconut oil when making my spoon butters with great results,” she says. “These days, I tend to err on the side of caution and use mineral oil. Allergic reactions to coconut oil are rare, from what I've read, but I don't know who will be receiving my creations, so I don't want to take the risk. Personally, I prefer coconut oil; as an added bonus, the oil on my hands is also effective at smoothing out rough skin.”
Spoon Butter has become a staple in the maintenance of not only my knife blocks, but all my beloved wooden tools, including spoons, bamboo cutting boards, meat cutting boards, rolling pins, and raw cedar cheese boards. I also use it on unvarnished kitchen nooks and dining room tables, antique plant stands, and my oak porch rocking chair. Spoon Butter lasts longer on my everyday spoons than an oil-only method, and the beeswax keeps everything shining beautifully.
You can find jars of Spoon Butter anywhere, from hardware store chains to Etsy, once you know where to look. As with skin care and snack foods, check the ingredients. Many brands, even those that tout their hippie naturalness, use food-safe mineral oils. They won't oxidize or pose food allergies, but they're still petroleum products and should be avoided. Some use essential oils for scent, but unscented is best.
Making your own jar takes less than 20 minutes, even if you cut up your beeswax candle leftovers into small pieces to make the wax components (beeswax pellets are also available online). Refined sunflower oil is a popular choice in food blogger recipes for spoon butter, but it's less commonly found among woodworkers, and Ruvalcaba-Wilfs warns to “beware of oils that can easily go rancid.”
My translation: Feel free to experiment, but if you store the oil in the fridge, don't use it to spoon butter. Walgreens' store-brand mineral oil and PCC's cheapest refined coconut oil cost basically the same, so that takes cost out of the “which oil to use” pros and cons list.
Spoon butter
Makes about 1/2 cup
1/2 cup (4 ounces) food-safe mineral oil or refined coconut oil
3½ tablespoons (1 ounce) beeswax pellets
1. Fill a small saucepan with water to a depth of 1.5 inches. Place the saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Once the water is hot, add the oil and beeswax pellets to a wide, shallow glass jar. Place the jar, without the lid, in the pot and fill with water.
3. As the oil and wax mixture heats, stir it occasionally with a wooden skewer, disposable chopsticks, or a wooden popsicle stick. The wax should be completely soft after about 15 minutes. Stir until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove from heat.
Four. Once the mixture has cooled, it will be creamy and opaque, like shortening. Use immediately or store, covered, at cool room temperature for later use.
