Wooden Spoon

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian

My informant a twenty-two year old native of Massachusetts revealed that although thought to many to be a myth, it is usually a custom for the woman in Italian families to have a wooden spoon. This spoon is not just used for cooking but also for discipline. If children were misbehaving, especially in the kitchen, they risked getting hit with the spoon. The spoon pictured below is the spoon from her grandmother, whom she referred to as “Nonnie”, placed upon a 3 foot counter; the spoons could usually vary in size from the normal size of a wooden spoon sold in stores to that size of larger.