Should I get a wood salad bowl? Does it make salad better?

[Anonymous]

Dumb question I know but a friend told me recently that wood salad bowls are better because they retain the taste of the salad better?
We have always just used a plastic or ceramic bowl but then I was looking on line and there certainly are tons of wood options.
I always thought they were just for aesthetics really but do they help with taste?

[Anonymous]

We got one as a wedding gift and still use it constantly 20+ years later.

That said, I don't see how it matters with taste. At all.

[Anonymous]

How would it affect the taste?
I have a huge wood salad bowl we got as a housewarming gift and I use it because it looks good and is convenient to toss the salad.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about making salad better, but I think they're kind of nice in a retro sort of way.

[Anonymous]

We have one but never use it. It looks nice, but doesn't change the taste. It also has to be hand washed which is why it lives in the cupboard.

[Anonymous]

I hate them.

[Anonymous]

I used one for 25 years and loved it but got tired of hand washing it every night so bought a melamine bowl to try and that is now my go to... I always use the wood for nicer dinners and company but it's melamine (aka plastic) on weeknights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate them.

And the creepy big wooden forks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate them.

And the creepy big wooden forks

LOL!!!

[Anonymous]

I love ours for tossing salad and it looks nice.

Op, plastic? Why?

[Anonymous]

I think they look nice but how could they make a salad taste better than a ceramic bowl? If anything, I’d think a wood bowl could absorb some of the oils and vinegars from prior salads so could interfere negarively with the taste (although even that I suspect doesnt happen).

To those of you who object to wood because you have to hand wash it, isnt any type of salad bowl too large to fit in your dishwasher? I always hand wash rhe salad bowl to leave room in the dishwasher for plates and glasses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they look nice but how could they make a salad taste better than a ceramic bowl? If anything, I’d think a wood bowl could absorb some of the oils and vinegars from prior salads so could interfere negarively with the taste (although even that I suspect doesnt happen).

It's called seasoning!

[Anonymous]

Way back when, you would rub a cut garlic clove on the inside of the wood.

https://www.thekitchn.com/quick-tip-rub-the-salad-bowl-w-136205

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-20-fo-6099-story.html

[Anonymous]

Commercially made wooden salad bowls are high in arsenic and sulphates.

Is it a little more work to identify a hardwood tree, have it hewn and crafted to your specifications?

Yes, but that way you can get exactly what you want. In any case, it has worked for my family. Good luck in your journey!

[Anonymous]

Mine cracked and broke in the dishwasher. I didn't know they aren't really dishwasher safe.

Too impractical. I don't want to handwash residual ranch or oily salad dressing from 6 wooden salad bowls every other day (we eat a lot of salads and we're a family of 6).

Ceramic it is.