Granville's skilled craftsmen make one-piece hardwood bowls the time-honored way with lathes that were designed and built in Granville, Vermont during the Civil War period and which were originally powered by water from the White River. About 150 years ago hardwood bowls were a practical item in Vermont pantries holding grease, milk, or butter, or used for chopping, making bread dough or stirring butter. Nowadays we treasure them mostly as salad bowls, chopping bowls, and time-honored serving bowls. With proper care Granville bowls can last for generations.
Wood products used in the kitchen need to receive proper care and cleaning. A new bowl needs an immediate application of food grade mineral oil or wood cream treatment or the wood surface will dry out and may crack open the wood grain. We like to say, "..once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, and thereafter." (See 56. WC) Please do not use vegetable oils as a wood treatment since they contain ingredients that may tend to create a culture for bacteria to grow. They also tend to become gummy.
To clean a maple bowl wet a cloth in warm, sudsy water and rub the bowl. Rinse quickly and immediately dry the surface with a clean tea towel or paper towel. Before a bowl leaves the factory, it is hand-sanded, dipped and boiled in linseed oil, dried slowly and buffed to bring out the lustre. From there, it is up to you to allow it to live out its life through many generations. Perhaps they should be called Heritage bowls.
