A simple wooden spoon. If you’re like me, you have about a dozen in your kitchen. Several of mine are from my grandmother Polly. I grabbed them out of the going-to-the-trash box when we were cleaning out her home. She lived to be almost 102. My favorite one has a big burn mark where it was left on the stove too long.

Wooden spoons are so much more than something to stir with. Every time I pick up one of Polly’s spoons, I think of her and how much she did not enjoy cooking. And I just smile. Polly would rather have been almost anywhere than in the kitchen.

Wooden spoons do more than stir a pot. They reveal through resistance the thickness of a stew or the smooth glide of finished gravy. Run a finger down the back to see whether a custard is nearly set or place the handle end in the oil to see if it’s hot enough to fry chicken.

You can learn a surprising amount from a simple wooden spoon.