Back to Basics with Wood Kitchen Utensils – Earlywood

Jul 1, 2026 by Chef David

By The Jewish Voice And Opinion Staff

Go retro with wood serving and cooking utensils. Wood is timeless, durable, and aesthetically pleasing. With the concern about eliminating plastics and being environmentally conscious, wood is natural, eliminating exposure to microplastics, chemicals, and hazardous coatings. Wood is an excellent insulator, which means it stays cool to the touch. It does not melt if left on a hot surface (it can burn or scorch if placed directly in a fire) and will not scratch your pans. Wood will not react with acidic foods like tomato sauce, lemon juice, or vinegar, where metal spoons can leave a faint taste. Wood utensils get scratched, but when they do, they can be sanded down to look like new, removing nicks. Because hardwoods are fine-grained, they absorb and dry out moisture, making them naturally antibacterial.

For home chefs, handmade kitchen utensils like Earlywood are a great choice. They are artisan-quality, elevating your cooking experience, beautiful to look at, and easy to use.

Earlywood

Our Experience

Wood utensils are the most reached tool in our kitchen. They are strong enough for heavy lifting and mixing. Where plastic and silicon may flex under pressure, wood is sturdy and rigid, but forgiving enough for scraping pots without causing damage. Wooden utensils are designed to be comfortable to cook with, with a handle that won’t slip, even when your hands are wet or oily. They are made last, with proper maintenance, wood kitchen tools can become family heirlooms. Earlywood

Earlywood kitchen utensils are designed to look great and work better. Their high-quality, artesian serving utensils are a functional work of art, beautifully crafted, sleek, and practical.

We used their classic ladle, which is light, well-balanced, and attractive. The bowl is large enough to show off the beauty of the wood. It comes in either Jatoba (Brazilian cherry) or hard maple. This sturdy ladle is designed to scoop and serve large portions (2/3 a cup level and ½ cup heaping). Their other serving spoons were similarly simple, elegant, and well-proportioned. Their Long and Short Servers have comfortable, thick, rounded handles and generous bowls that show off the grain. Each piece is made from a single piece of wood, discreetly bearing the Earlywood name on the handle.

Earlywood well-crafted serving utensils are ideal for your Shabbos or Yom Tov table.

Earlywood

We enjoyed using their serving set. It was very well made with handles that were easy to hold. But we were skeptical about their signature piece, which is a flat wooden spatula set (flat sauté). At first glance, it looks like a paint stirrer. The simple appearance was deceptive. We discovered that this flat wooden spatula is versatile and has become our kitchen must-have. This unconventional shape is designed with the ideal reach for our pans. It has a thin edge that slides under everything and is solid and firm, able to break apart food while cooking, great for sautéing with its rounded bottom, letting you get into the corners. Experiment with two spatulas together for serving salad, or just about anything.

The Tera Scraper is made to be used on cast iron. It has a flat bottom and a wider more comfortable handle. We made this one meat differentiating it by color and wood type.

The spatulas are comfortable to hold, feeling more like an extension of your hand than a kitchen tool. We understood why they are one of Earlywood’s best sellers.

Earlywood

Earlywood is founded by Brad Bernhart, a mechanical engineer by training. Bernhart began carving wooden spoons as a creative outlet from the structured world of mathematics in the early 2000’s. His dream was to produce special family heirlooms, wooden utensils to be passed down for generations, which is exactly what Earlywood does.

Wood Care Basics

Wash wooden utensils by hand in hot soapy water, using the scratchy side of your sponge. Oil them using mineral oil if they look dry, lathering them in as much oil as they will absorb. Let them sit overnight, and wipe off any extra oil.

Food grade mineral oil is odorless, food-safe, and non-toxic. It has no expiration and will not degrade or get rancid like edible oils. Mineral oil will just soak into the wood. Earlywood sells a wood oil made with lemon peel oil and mineral oil, with a soft citrus scent.
New wooden utensils often have fuzz (raised grain) after their first few exposures to water. A quick rub with a Scotch-Brite pad will make your utensils fuzz-free for life.

The Right Utensils

Having the right utensils for cooking and serving makes cooking more enjoyable. Finding high-quality, well-made, and beautifully designed utensils is like winning the trifecta.

Earlywood utensils are artisan and practical.