One of wood’s best qualities is that it’s a poor conductor of heat: You can use it in a hot pot without burning yourself, then plunge it into a cold mixture without transferring the heat. The same can’t be said of flavors, though: Don’t use the same spatula to stir, say, both tomato sauce and ice cream base. Wood spatulas are best used as stirrers and scrapers in tin-lined copper and nonstick cookware. Slotted ones can help incorporate air during beating; angled edges are good for scraping pans during deglazing and roux making (registration required); and a wooden spatula with a round, concave head is ideal for making and spreading sushi rice (a metal tool could damage the soft grains and scratch the traditional wooden bowl in which the rice is mixed). For cooking, seek out closely grained hardwood like beech, cherry, and boxwood. Never use pine (which splinters easily) or lacquered woods.
(12" Wooden spatula, $3.22; bridgekitchenware.com)
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