Mum's 'revolting' wooden spoon discovery has her vowing to never use one again

An Australian mum who discovered just how much dirt is hiding in her wooden spoon has sworn to never use it again.

Whilst you may think that scrubbing the spoon with some washing-up liquid and a sponge, or popping it into the dishwasher for a cycle will effectively remove any germs from the utensil, you would be wrong, as this woman found out.

She took to Facebook to share a tip she learnt from celebrity Masterchef judge Matt Preston and the "revolting" results that came with it, reported News.com.au.

She asked Facebook users whether they regularly soak their wooden spoons in boiling water - and it turns out that many people don't.

Although she puts hers in the dishwasher after every use, she found out that this doesn't stop germs from being absorbed into the wooden spoon, nor does it remove it.

She explained that all you have to do to see how dirty your spoon really is, is soak it in a bowl of boiling water for around 20 minutes.

She shared a picture of the offending spoon with the caption: "Revolting really" - and it definitely was.

The water in the bowl was murky, dirty and just downright gross.

But what made it worse was the layer of oil that had risen to the surface.

A number of amateur chefs were shocked at the results, and said this is why they prefer to use silicone spatulas.

One said: "No wooden spoons or boards in my kitchen at all for this reason."

Another person suggested laying the wooden utensil out in the sun, as it apparently does "wonders for bacteria" - although we're not so sure if this is true.

But others weren't so sure as they pointed out that no one had ever been sick from using their wooden spoons.

One of which was a woman who claims to have used wooden spoons for decades, and couldn't see the issue with it.

The celebrity chef shared the tip to Delicious magazine a while back and it's still shocking people to this day.

He explained that whilst the wooden spoon looks clean on the outside, it's most probably harbouring some gunk inside.

Matt said the best way to find out if your spoon is actually clean, is by putting it in a bowl of boiling water.

He said: "Give it a sniff. Phew, stinky! And you were going to stir your custard with that."

Instead he suggests investing in a silicone spatula instead.

He added: "They’re hygienic, heat-resistant and flexible, so they are great for getting into the corner of a pan or getting every last skerrick out of a bowl."