My object is a utensil that I always use in the kitchen. No matter if I am cooking pasta or frying eggs, or mixing batter, or even flipping things over (like pancakes or grilled cheese sandwiches) - I always use the same utensil. I use it to saute onions and garlic. I use it to flip over asparagus when its grilling under the broiler. I use it to stir soups and sauces in the crock pot. I have maybe ten different cooking utensils that could be used - spatulas, flippers, spoons, ladles, salad tongs, grilling tongs, etc., but I always use the same one, my favorite. I wish I had a name for it, but I don't. I should name it "Lucille" like BB King named his guitar.
It is wooden. It has a smallish handle (just a bit thicker than a pencil) and it is about ten inches long. The small handle gives you added control over its movement. It feels really good in your hand. The spoon part on the end is about the same circumference as most wooden spoons, but its much thinner. It's rounded into an oval, more circular than egg shaped, and the spoon had enough depth that you can use it to scoop out liquids, as well as the more expected, solid foods. The finish is very smooth, and it never tastes like anything but the sauce that is stuck to the end of it.
Its extraordinary because its STRONG. It's thinner, and lighter, and better shaped, and even though its thin, it has some type of structural integrity that is a result of the type of wood used to make it. I appreciate the design details, and how they add utility to its intended purpose. I use this one spoon to cook, and I use it every meal. In fact, it never really makes it into the drawer with the rest of the utensils, because it is always drying on our dish rack - having been cleaned after being used in the previous meal. One time, last summer, I stuck it into a moving blender to try and dislodge some basil that was being made into pesto. The blender took a chunk out of the end of it. Not much, just a chip. I remember being bummed, because it was my favorite spoon, and I thought, at first, that it was ruined. But it still stirred, still scooped, stir felt great in my hand, and the chip didn't hurt its functionality. I had to fish the wood chip out of my pesto, but that was fun, because pesto is great to lick off one's hands. Man, I fucking love pesto.
I would recommend this spoon to all who love to cook -- if I were in the habit of recommending spoons to friends, which I am not. But anyone who appreciates quality in the simplest of things would love this spoon. Using my uber-utensil has spoiled me rotten. Now, I hate cheap wooden spoons. Spoons that are more like sticks, that don't scoop anything well, that taste like raw wood, that don't feel good in your hand. My parents use these cheap spoons, and they each have a ton of them.
I think that is how I am different than my parents. My spoon is an excellent spoon, and I have just one of them. I think I will call my spoon, "Lucille 2" to honor BB King and the funniest TV sitcom ever, Arrested Development.