A short, practical guide from the family that imports them. Teak asks less of you than most wooden utensils — but the little it asks matters.

Why teak is different

Teak carries a high concentration of its own natural oils and a tight, dense grain. That combination is why it has been used for boat decks for centuries: it resists moisture from the inside out rather than relying on a surface coating.

For your kitchen this means two things. Teak needs oiling far less often than acacia, beech or bamboo. And because the grain is tight, there is very little room for food, water or bacteria to work their way in.

Our pieces are left unvarnished. There is no lacquer to chip or peel — what you are touching is the wood itself.

The everyday routine

This is the whole of it, and it takes about thirty seconds.

1. Wash by hand in warm water with a little mild washing-up liquid, soon after cooking.
2. Rinse and dry straight away with a tea towel. Do not leave pieces sitting in a puddle on the draining board.
3. Store somewhere airy — a crock or utensil pot is ideal. A sealed drawer traps residual moisture.

Three things to avoid

The dishwasher. This is the one that genuinely ruins teak. Prolonged heat, aggressive detergent and a long wet cycle strip the natural oils and open the grain. A piece that has been through a few cycles will look grey, feel rough, and may split.

Soaking. Leaving a utensil submerged while you deal with the rest of the washing up is the second most common cause of damage. Wood swells as it absorbs water and shrinks as it dries; do that repeatedly and it eventually cracks.

Direct heat. Resting a spoon against the side of a hot pan, or storing utensils above a radiator or next to the hob, dries the wood unevenly.

Oiling: when and how

Teak does not need oiling on a schedule. It needs oiling when it tells you to.

The test: run a dry thumb along the handle. If it feels smooth and faintly waxy, leave it. If it feels dry, chalky or looks pale and thirsty compared to when it arrived, it is ready.

For most kitchens that works out at every two to three months. If you cook daily and wash often, closer to monthly.

1. Start with a clean, completely dry utensil.
2. Put a little food-grade mineral oil on a soft cloth — less than you think.
3. Work it along the grain, covering the whole piece including the end grain at the tip and handle, which drink the most.
4. Leave it to soak in for twenty minutes or so.
5. Buff off anything that has not absorbed. The piece should feel dry to the touch, not greasy.

Use food-grade mineral oil — sold as butcher block oil or liquid paraffin BP. Avoid olive, vegetable and sunflower oil: they are not stable and turn rancid in the grain, which leaves a stale smell that will not wash out. Avoid linseed and tung oil unless the tin explicitly says food-safe.

Reviving a piece that has dried out

Grey, rough or slightly fuzzy teak is almost always recoverable.

1. Wash and dry it thoroughly.
2. Sand lightly along the grain with fine paper — 220 grit or finer. A few passes is enough; you are lifting raised fibres, not reshaping.
3. Wipe away all dust with a barely damp cloth, then let it dry completely.
4. Oil as above. It may take two applications a day apart to come back fully.

Stains and smells

Turmeric, tomato and beetroot stain wood. Wash promptly and most of it lifts; what remains usually fades. A paste of bicarbonate of soda and water, left on for ten minutes, helps.

Garlic, onion and fish can linger. Half a lemon rubbed over the surface, left for a few minutes, then rinsed and dried, clears it. Coarse salt with the lemon works on stubborn cases.

A dark patch that will not shift is oxidation from contact with metal or a mineral-rich food, not mould. Sand lightly and re-oil.

How long should they last?

Properly kept, teak utensils outlast the pans they are used on — a decade or more of daily cooking is normal. Retire a piece if it develops a crack deep enough to trap food, or if the surface stays rough after sanding and oiling.

Made by an artisan family group in Thailand, dispatched from Yorkshire. If anything here does not match what you are seeing on your own pieces, email us at info@willowtreedecor.com and we will help.