Soup bowl

[Rich Stewart]

My wife was asking me the other day if it is ok to put boiling hot soup in any of the bowls I have made. She has her eye on one that was finished with BLO and turners polish. I have heard that any finish is ok with food after a couple months curing but I would want to be VERY sure before letting anybody eat out of one. Anybody have any experience with this?

Thanks.

[Bill Stevener]

Hi Rich,
I personally would not recommend putting any boiling liquid in any wooden object (for oral consumption). If need be, one may wish to limit there use to salads and dips etc.
Back when, the only utensils available, were of wood I guess that was the thing, but those folks didn't live very long ether .

Bill.>>>>>>>>

[Keith Burns]

Have to agree with Bill on this one.

[Rich Stewart]

Yeah, they used to make soup pots out of lead. And they say the world has gone crazy now. Must have been an absolute ZOO back then.

I'll tell her to stick to what she's using now.

[Ron Ainge]

If your wife wants a bowl to put hot soup in I would suggest you make one that she will like and then burnish it with some of the shaving you cut form the bowl. You will probably have to reburnish it after every use.

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Rich

The short answer is yes, she can put boiling hot soup in a wooden bowl. However, why would she want to do that? If boiling hot is just an expression for soup hot enough to eat slowly, you are still okay, although it is going to be hard on the finish. If boiling hot means that it is taken straight from a literal boil on the stove to the bowl, it is going to be really hard on the finish, but the bowl itself should survive.

Just about anything we put on the wood for a finish is going to be food safe once it is completely cured. However, bowls intended for use are going to have their finishes abraded through that use all the faster than the ones that just sit and look pretty. When we keep a bowl for food use, it rarely gets a finish at all, since it is going to wear off anyway. It develops a patina though, through that use, and that does not wear off unless you sand it or cut it or stick it in the dishwasher.

Bill

[Rich Stewart]

Thanks for your responses everybody. Maybe I will make her a little soup bowl out of some Alaskan birch i have and she can use it sometimes. I'll just not finish it at all. I wonder if there is any kind of wood that is toxic.

[John Nicholas]

I;m reading Raffin's book on Bowl Turning.

He maintains that bowls for use with food should have no finish. Just use them and wash it hot soapy water. Let the patina grow.

Says some of his first bowls are still in daily use after 20 + years.

John