Accidentally cooked wooden spoon in sauce

[Softkittysillykitty]

Was cooking a batch of bolognaise when the phone rang. Turned sauce down and chatted for half an hour. Came back to sauce and found I'd left a wooden spoon simmering in it.

AIBU to keep on cooking? My DM told me to throw it away and start again. I think she's mad! What a waste! I mean what's the worst that could happen? It tastes a little wooden?

Who is right?

I'm obviously odd, because I can taste the difference between baked beans or soup that have been heated leaving the spoon in the pan and the spoon taken out...

But I wouldn't waste a whole batch of bolognaise - I'd still eat it. Extra parmesan and no-one will know

Last year I microwaved a large cup of coffee with a little teaspoon in and only noticed a third of the way down when its handle poked out. After a brief ponder on why it hadn't exploded (isn't metal supposed to upset microwaves?) my coffee and I both lived happily ever after.

Spoon rests happen to you after you choose wooden work surfaces.

These are spoon rests.

I have no idea who invented them or who buys them though.

Ah we had a spoon rest as a wedding present. Sadly it died it our great fire of 2011 Enjoy the bolognese!

Good lord, i'd be dead hundreds of times over if this was an issue. The only thing you might find is that if you've left it in the sauce and its got a strong flavour, I wouldn't recommend using the same spoon to then make cakes with. Was told that by my cousin who is a chef.

I just stick my spoon through the hole in the handle of my pot. Spoon rest looks awful fancy though

Adds spoon rest to shopping list...

Isn't that what the hole in the handle is for?

Channel your inner beaver

Good one joffrey

I thought the hole in the handle was so you could hang them up?

Or is it a dual purpose hole?

My spoons don't fit in the hole in the handle, so I don't think that it applies to all pans.

I have three spoon rests.

Each one from a different holiday city.

If you had to throw away your food if a wooden spoon was left in it, half of us would have starved to death by now.

Just watch the dish doesn't run away with the spoon. Although I think that only happens in conjunction with a cat playing the fiddle, a cow jumping over the moon and a little dog laughing, you can't be too careful about these things.

Dual purpose hole

I left a spoon in a pot once and it caught fire from the gas flames. I have no idea how but luckily I could smell burning from the other room

The hole in the handle is for spoons? How does that work then?

Take a chill pill, maaaaan! Daily
Mail link about research on wooden vs plastic chopping board hygiene, but the important bit is:

A study by University of Wisconsin study found that bacteria including salmonella did not survive on wooden cutting boards when left overnight. However on a plastic board, the bacteria thrived and multiplied.

I think wood has natural anti-baterial properties.

I've left wooden spoons simmering in food hundreds of times. I have no idea why it would ever be an issue! I love a nicely seasoned spoon!

Meh. Leaving a plastic spoon/spatula in the pan is a Bad Idea but wooden ones don't secrete anything. Though I also have the Wooden Spoon For Savoury and the Wooden Spoon For Sweet.

I served uncooked rice for dinner so I think a wooden sauce would've been much nicer!

My mum has Savoury spoons. There's also a Sweet spoon. The Savoury spoons mustn't be used in sweet things as they have gradually absorbed flavours over the years. I like to think they secrete them back into the food. Like the story about stone soup.

Isn't that how you are meant to cook it

My wooden spoon has been left in so many sauces I'm fairly sure I could eat the spoon and still be ok.