About Scoops
At least that’s been my observation at craft shows where men have…
seemed to purchase them more often than women.
Perhaps it’s because a scoop is utilitarian but isn’t necessarily a “cooking” utensil (though many men cook, myself included). Perhaps these men are tired of using a tablespoon to measure out their morning coffee and would like to start their day by using a finely crafted wooden scoop for the job. It’s hard to say.
Nevertheless, it’s so. And with good reason because they ARE very useful for doling out coffee, tea, sugar, flour, rice, oatmeal or any other similarly loose product. Larger scoops could even be used for beans.
People sometimes ask how much they hold. “Is this one a tablespoon?” The truth is that the shape of these scoops doesn’t allow for terribly accurate measuring and overcoming the technical obstacles required to produce sets of accurate measuring scoops isn’t something that’s seemed necessary.
However, it is possible to know how many scoops of tea or coffee are needed for your pot by a few days of trial and error or by comparing what your scoop holds to a known quantity like a measuring spoon.
In my kitchen, scoops live in the flour, sugar and tea bins so they are handy when the need arises.
I credit Richard Raffan for the general design of my scoops. I’ve tried to modify them in numerous ways over the years to make them my own, but the best looking ones always remind me of his.
