Things I love: flat-edged wooden spoons

One of the most important tools in my kitchen is a flat-edged wooden spoon.

That straight edge is perfect for scraping the bottom of a pot, loosening the browned bits before they burn, so they can melt into the liquid in the pot, adding their browned flavor to my sauce. (Those browned bits are what the French call “fond”, and are the key flavoring classic sauces and stews.)

It is also my go-to for breaking up ground meat in the pot, where I use it as a chopping edge while the meat is losing its pink color.

And, of course, it’s a spoon - it works for stirring too.

For such a simple tool, I do have some picky details that I prefer:

It has to be wood: Wood helps me feel the bottom of the pot, even when the pot is full of liquid. If the pot feels smooth, then I’m good, but if the bottom feels rough, I need to keep scraping. Also, wood won’t scratch the bottom of the pot, no matter if it’s steel, cast iron, ceramic, or nonstick.

It has to have a flat edge: The flat edge is important for scraping. A round edge only touches the pot at one point; the flat edge touches much more of the pot with each scrape.

Speaking of picky details: the rest of what I look for are not deal breakers; if it’s wood, with a flat edge, I can use it. But the spoons I keep in my utensil crock have these features:

• Angled head - a leading edge with an angle makes it easier to get into corners - my hand is not right up against the edge of the pot.
• Short(ish) - 12-inch long handles are my preferred size. Longer handles are harder to maneuver in a tall pressure cooker pot.
• Round, thin handle - I don’t need bulbous “ergonomic” handles, where the thicker handle makes it harder to squeeze into my overflowing utensil crock. A straight stick is perfect for me.
• Not a turner - I mean, I can use a wooden turner in a pinch, but the angle in the handle makes it awkward to scrape with. (I find myself flipping turners upside down when I need to scrape.)

My favorite for years was the Dalton-Ruhlman 12-inch paddle, which sadly is no longer made. I still use the ones I have, but they’re getting a bit worn. After a lot of tryouts, I have a two new favorites:

• ​de Buyer Risotto Spoon: Yes, it has a hole in it, so it doesn’t work as a spoon. (The hole is supposed to reduce resistance, so you don’t break rice grains while you stir your risotto.) As a scraper and stirrer, though, which is what I usually use it for? It is perfect, and the short 12-inch length makes it maneuverable in my Instant Pots. The only downside is they are hard to find online - I got mine in person at Urban Herbs in Cleveland’s West Side Market.

• ​FAAY Right Hand Chopper: It’s a little longer than I would like, but has two big advantages: One, it is made out of teak, so it doesn’t need to be oiled to protect it from the dishwasher. (I'm supposed to oil all my wood cooking utensils occasionally. I never do, and they all look neglected. Teak’s natural oiliness helps this spoon stand up to my laziness.)
  Two, that chopping edge is great for breaking up ground meat as well as scraping the pot. It's thinner than most other spoons. I reach for this spoon whenever I'm making a ground meat chili.

Do you have a favorite wooden spoon? I’d love to hear about it.

March Post Roundup

What’s new on DadCooksDinner in the last month?

Instant Pot Cowboy Beans

​Instant Pot Cowboy Beans Recipe: Is it a chili? Are they baked beans? Sort of both? Pinto beans with a sweet and spicy southwestern barbecue slant.

Instant Pot Lentil and Bacon Soup

​Instant Pot Lentil and Bacon Soup Recipe: I updated one of my personal favorites, a pressure cooker adaptation of a recipe from Laurie Colwin’s “More Home Cooking”. Mrs. Colwin’s food writing is like curling up under a warm blanket, and her recipes are simple and unfussy. I updated this recipe because I was craving it as a late spring meal, to get me through the cold snaps of late March.

Instant Pot Oxtail

​Instant Pot Oxtail Recipe: Another update of one of my go-to recipes. I can occasionally find Cryovac packages of whole oxtails at local stores; when I do, I immediately turn to this recipe.

Instant Pot Piloy Beans

​Instant Pot Piloy Beans Recipe: I think of myself as a knowledgeable cook, and I know a lot about beans. But these dark red Piloy beans from La Loma Market in Akron are a bean I had never heard of. They’re the backbone of Guatemalan cooking, used the same way Mexican cooks use black beans or pinto beans. (If you can’t find Piloy beans, check out my Instant Pot Scarlet Runner Beans recipe.)

Q&A

If you have a question you’d like answered in a future newsletter, email me. If it’s a good one, and useful for other people, I’ll answer it in next month’s newsletter. (I’ll try to answer directly if it is more specific to you.)

Here’s a question from Krista:

Can I substitute curry powder for Thai Curry Paste?

I don’t have Thai red curry paste. Do you think Instant Pot Coconut Curry Chicken would work with yellow curry powder instead? If so, how would you recommend swapping them?

TLDR: Substitute 2 tablespoons of curry powder or garam masala for the ¼ cup of Thai curry paste. Toast it with the aromatics before adding the coconut milk.

Details: I have a lot of curry recipes that use coconut milk and Thai curry paste, and all of them can substitute Indian-style dry curry powder or garam masala for the curry paste. (My favorites are Pressure Cooker Thai Red Beef Curry, Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry, and Instant Pot Shrimp Curry). The taste will change, obviously - Thai curry pastes have a very different flavor profile from curry powder - but they will still be good.

In these recipes, I sauté aromatics (onions, garlic, ginger, usually peppers) in oil before adding ¼ cup of curry paste and coconut milk.

To use a curry powder: Sauté the aromatics as directed. Before adding the coconut milk, stir 2 tablespoons of curry powder or garam masala into the aromatics and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute to bloom the powdered spices. Then, stir in the coconut milk and continue with the recipe.

What do you think?

If you have any other ideas about this newsletter, please let me know! Questions, comments, and ideas are welcome. (I can’t promise I’ll do anything with them, but I am definitely open to ideas, since this newsletter is so new.)

Thanks again, and see you next month!

Mike Vrobel - ​DadCooksDinner.com​​

April 1, 2026 (no fooling)