HANDCRAFTED WOODEN TOOLS
 Unlike any other material, wood retains the natural minerals and oils absorbed with years of cooking. Wood utensils have been used in Italian kitchens for centuries and is difficult or impossible to imitate or duplicate.
Now, Carlo Middione offers his signature line of handcrafted spoons and kitchen utensils that are crafted from reclaimed wine barrels made with American and French oak. Oak barrels -- used by California wineries -- are richly and deeply colored by the red and white wines housed during a delicate aging process.
Carlo has agreed to introduce these precious wooden materials to food and culinary enthusiasts looking to rekindle the ancient traditions developed in Southern Italy. Wooden spoons, servers, bats and stir handles are carved right out of aged oak barrels under Carlo’s guidance.
Of course, no two of the charming devices are alike. Each cooking tool is handcrafted and delicately balanced. Kitchen tools are available in a variety of sizes and styles.
The picca or meat bat, is a uniquely Italian culinary concept, perhaps descending from the cave man and originating in Italy with famous dishes like veal cutlet or scaloppini. Made from the sturdy barrel oak, the smooth side of the utensil is perfect to pound meats, or abalone, into cutlets. Great for piccata dishes. Home chefs like to use the picca for crushing herbs and spices, while the sides are suited to act as a kitchen hammer.
Carlo has carved a hole into the wooden bowl of his polenta spoon for thorough and effortless stirring of thick porridges and gruels originating in northern Italy.
The risotto spoon most popular with the young chefs at Vivande in San Francisco, is used to prepare classic Italian risotto dishes. Many chefs use the risotto spoon as their most common kitchen utensil with a wide variety of culinary uses.
Many Southern Italian kitchens are equipped with insalata servers, but few are stocked with the splendidly coloured and naturally oiled servers that Carlo has hand crafted out of red wine barrels. The insalata servers double as spatulas for turning piccata cutlets in the skillet and developing pan gravies.
All Sicilian chefs have at least one “big spoon” for those Big Night dishes and Carlo's cucchiarone makes “La Bella Figura” on the stove or barbeque in a big pot of anything! Because of its sheer size and sturdy structure, the cucchiarone could serve as an emergency walking cane or even a canoe paddle. Hang it on the kitchen wall and you have instant art.
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