Mum reveals the gunk that's come out of her wooden spoon after trying Matt Preston's handy 20-minute boiling water trick. Photo / Supplied via Facebook
Mum reveals the gunk that's come out of her wooden spoon after trying Matt Preston's handy 20-minute boiling water trick. Photo / Supplied via Facebook
If you thought a few quick scrubs would rid your wooden spoon of any oil and food stains — think again.
An Aussie woman vowed to toss her kitchen utensil straight in the bin after she uncovered something "revolting" about it.
Taking to her Facebook, the woman explained how she soaked her wooden spoon in boiling water for up to 20 minutes, a tip she learned from former MasterChef judge Matt Preston several years ago.
"Does anyone soak their wooden spoons in boiling water? Mine always go into the dishwasher every night but that doesn't stop what gets absorbed," she said alongside a photo of her spoon in discoloured water.
As well as leaving behind a cup of filthy, murky water, the trick also left a film of grubby oil floating on the water and gripping to the sides of the container.
Her post attracted nearly 200 comments from friends and family with some revealing they too tried the method and were also left disgusted by what they discovered.
"I find they have a funky taste if they have been soaked in water so I just grab cheap ones often, chuck them after a few uses or else the taste leaches into foods or they crack," one person commented.
One follower suggested to lay the utensil in the sun instead, claiming it does "wonders for bacteria".
Have you tried soaking your wooden in boiling water to see what it uncovers? Photo / 123RF
But not everyone shared concerns over using the utensil, with one saying she has been using wooden spoons for almost 50 years.
"No one has been sick from it. I just wash and dry it," she said.
"Have used wooden spoons for decades. I am still here," another added, while others said they refuse to use the item because of the bacteria it collects.
"That's why I use silicon spatulas! I know they are clean," a mum said.
"No wooden spoons or boards in my kitchen at all for this reason," said another.
WOODEN SPOON TEST
Preston revealed the handy tip to Delicious magazine back in 2016 and it continues to attract attention four years on.
He explained that while on the surface a wooden spoon looks like a "perfect present", the real test comes when you stick it in a cup of boiling water.
"Give it a sniff. Phew, stinky! And you were going to stir your custard with that," Preston told the publication.
"Ask for a $10 silicon spatula instead. They're hygienic, heat-resistant and flexible, so they are great for getting into the corner of a pan or getting every last skerrick out of a bowl," he suggested.
