I was contacted by a friend of mine to make her several stirring paddles for apple butter making.  Below is a picture of a broken paddle she had.  I also have a picture of the end of the paddle.  

The actual making of the paddle will be no big deal.  My problem is choice of wood.
     The wood is very light in weight.
     The wood will be emersed in a very hot citrus mixture.
     The wood can not transfer any of its characteristics to the liquid.

What do y'all think about what wood I should use for this project?  Basswood, Poplar, others????
Thanks for your help

Fred - aka Pops Shop

Might be just me, Fred, but the pictures didn't show up.

 

As for the wood, I think a lot of wooden kitchen utensils are made from Beech. Not sure if it would be strong enough for stirring a big kettle of apple butter. Maybe Maple??

I'm like you Fred, I'm thinking Basswood. The one I have I very lite. 

 

Thanks guys for the ideas - will give each a try (if I can find Beech around here) - will let you know how it works.

 

Fred birch is also a good choice as it handles moisture level changes in spoons quite well.

 

a slightly heavier option would be Cherry. it's the wood of choice for glass blowers as it is great with the heat and moisture. The glass blowers actually store the molds in water during use.

John, thanks for the information.  Guys, it sounds like just about any light colored wood is going to work.  Agree?????

Any tight grained wood should do the trick

This one is made from poplar

https://www.lehmans.com/p-568-apple-butter-stirrer.aspx?show=all

Beech or maple sound great too

 

Cliff, you are a wonder, sir.  We just might has to make you the "Chief Searcher" of TPW.