Everybody needs kitchen accessories and kitchen gadgets for making food preparation, serving, and storage easier. Presented here are several kitchen ideas for wood kitchen accessories that you can make (or purchase) for your home.

Cutting Board - A good cutting board is important for food preparation. Selecting a good hardwood is the first step. Most any good hardwood can be used for a cutting board, however, some woods may "bleed" color or add taste to foods. Mahogany, for example, will add a red color to chopped onions if left in place for a short time. This may not harm you, but it would not be appetizing. Other exotic woods with strong odors might add unwanted flavors in the same way. Maple, Birch, or Beech are woods with little or no offensive characteristics and are commonly used for cutting boards. Some woods with high tannic acid content, such as Oak, will acquire black stains if left in contact with steel or iron and water. These stains are iron oxide and can be removed with wood bleach, (oxalic acid) available in hardware stores.

Once you have selected your wood, a size and style of cutting board is the next consideration. The board can be a wide solid board or a laminated board. It can be thick or thin, large or small, shaped round, rectangular, square, or cut in the shape of an animal or object. A small fish-shaped board may be perfect for slicing limes on the bartop while a large laminated board may be perfect if cut to fit over the sink for preparing vegetables.

Maintenance on a cutting board is essential. Occasionally, a food grade oil, such as mineral oil, should be applied liberally to keep the board from absorbing water, drying out, and cracking. The board should always be wet and washed on both sides equally, or it will warp, twist, or cup. The board should never be put in a dishwasher, but rather handwashed, re-oiled, and dried after use.

Wood Bowls - There are many uses for wooden bowls in the kitchen, such as for salads, fruit ripening, mixed nuts, storage of small spice or herb packets, and for junk stuff storage. By junk stuff storage, I mean a a place to keep twist ties, rubber bands, spare keys, toothpicks, seeds, and what-have-you. Bowls can be kept in drawers, in cabinets, or on countertops. Wood bowls are great kitchen organizers; they can be used for storage, mixing, or serving and they come in all sizes, shapes, and types of wood. If you are interested in purchasing wooden bowls, WoodShop 102 can make what you need or you can choose from our selection of bowls in stock. Please contact us.

Wood Utensils - Wooden tools in the kitchen have been around since the beginning of history. The great thing about wood utensils is that when you wear one out, break it, or accidentally burn it up, it is a simple thing to just make a new one. Some useful wooden kitchen tools would be a poker, a fork, a spoon, a spatula, a ladle, a mayonaise spreader, a stir-fry or wok tool, and a meat tenderizer mallet. These can be made in any size needed. If you are cooking on a campfire for a troop of scouts, long handled large tools can be made. On the other hand, if you need a serving utensil for hot mustard perhaps a popsicle stick will work just fine. A really great place to keep your wood kitchen utensils is in a magnetic utensil & tool basket. This product is available for a reasonable price and keeps your utensils handy while saving drawer space for other things. Another useful kitchen accessory would be a wooden mortar and pestle. This mortar and pestle is used for grinding dried herbs or hardened spices for cooking and making teas.

Spice Rack - Herb Rack - Vitamin Rack - Sauce Rack - It is good to keep your herbs, spices, sauces, and supplements out in the kitchen where they can be reached easily. These things are good for your health and can be forgotton if left stored in a cabinet or drawer. A good shelf or rack for these items is a necessary kitchen accessory for any good cook or health conscious person. Garlic, pepper, ginger, cinnamon, and many spices are also sold as health supplements. These things make your food taste better and help keep your body working correctly. Many spice racks hang on a wall but many kitchens do not offer much wall space. One solution to this problem is to design your own wooden rack for use on a wall or on the countertop. Another solution is to use a magnetic storage shelf or two on your refrigerator for keeping your cooking supplements within easy reach while saving your drawer and cabinet space for other less important items. For instructions on making your own wooden magnetic storage shelf please read the article: How to make a MagnaRack.

Lazy Susan - A lazy susan is an easy thing to make and is a very useful kitchen accessory.  The ball-bearing hardware can be purchased from any woodworker's supply catalog in several sizes. Lazy susans, or turntables, can be used on the countertop, dining room tabletop, or in a cabinet. These can be used to make items easy to reach. They can be several layers high or they can have bowls or compartments added.

Napkin Holder - A simple thing to keep paper napkins accessible is a napkin holder. This wooden kitchen accessory is easy to make. It is just three pieces of wood. Two pieces are about the size of a folded paper napkin but rounded over at the top. These two are attached to a base or bottom piece that is about 1.75 to 2 inches wide and the same length as the width of the two upright pieces. It's easy to see in the picture provided here.

Knife Block - A knife block requires a little more woodworking skill but it makes a good and safe place to keep your large sharp kitchen knives. Keeping your knives out of the utensil drawer or basket will help avoid accidental cuts while reaching for a different utensil.