Crosby & Taylor Bird Measuring Spoons with Pewter Display Post

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Those who subscribe to my newsletter knew that this product review was coming! Now I can finally reveal the stunning pewter measuring spoons sent for me to review to Crosby & Taylor, the company that makes the measuring products on Paula Deen’s cooking shows!

Crosby & Taylor were generous and sweet enough to send me my very own set of Bird Measuring Spoons with Pewter Display Post! I feel like I won the foodie lottery! Can you tell I am excited?!

The spoons are absolutely gorgeous. Each one has an adorable bird standing on a branch. Notice how the pewter captures the sunlight and shines?

The display post is fascinating. Like a tree, on top you will find an adorable nest with three eggs at the top. It reminds me of the eagles nests I would see way at the top of giant trees when I lived out west.

Now yes, they are pretty, but how do they hold up in my kitchen? Here I am using it to measure lime juice for Nadia G.’s Bachelor Pad Thai. I love having a design within the actual bowl of the spoon, so cute!

Making Yummy Yogurt Dill Loaf

On the back you have branches and leaves etched into the spoon. Stunning. Seriously, this has my aesthetic written all over it.

I love that these are so solid and flat on the back that when I make the sauce for my Beef, Black Beans & Rice dinner they can lie flat as I squeeze the mustard out of its bottle. Really comes in handy when measuring honey too!

Apparently my stand arrived a bit bent but I actually like it this way, reminds me of a real tree

At first I was not sure I was going to like having the spoons on a post. I did have to make room for them but now I love having them out and so close to me as I am cooking and baking. So easy to just grab. It is great that I can use them one at a time because they are not attached to one another. I prefer to hand wash them so this way I only need to wash the one I used and then let it hang dry on the post.

It looks like they are going to fall off I know but because of their weight, that has only happened to me once so far and I am an absolute klutz!

I bought a similar pewter-style of spoons last year and do love how they look but I soon discovered that the handles of the spoons are very, very weak. Trying to scoop peanut butter out of a jar easily started to bend the handle and I have been wary of using them ever since. I can easily start to bend them with my weak hands and they make a strange squealing sound when I do. Yikes!

The Crosby & Taylor Bird Measuring Spoons on the other hand are holy moly strong! No way in a million years I could bend them in any way. These are built to last, well, like their site says… for generations. I also like that they have the measurements along the handle. I was not always confident when using the other set how much I was scooping out because it has no measurement text on it at all.

The Crosby & Taylor Bird Measuring Spoons were twice as expensive but absolutely worth it for the foodie who wants to invest in measuring spoons that will last lifetimes. These are heirloom measuring spoons that bring a smile to my face each time I walk into my kitchen, sitting there chirping at me to bake something! At $79 U.S. they are an investment but they are also made in the U.S. by American artisans. They are lead-free, food safe and will last a long, long time.

I am honoured to have these beautiful spoons in my kitchen and you will see them in my foodie photos regularly from now on. I honestly see nothing wrong with them whatsoever and the people who make them are just about the sweetest couple around. I am thrilled to share their product with you as well as their story. I give this product five out of five wooden spoons. 

For those interested in buying the spoons online and receiving 25% off use the coupon code suzie25. Offer is good until March 31, 2012. 

A short history of Crosby & Taylor and our connection to Paula Deen

I met Jim in 1981 in the Department of Romance Languages. We were both graduate teaching fellows. Jim also had a business making adjustable wooden lamps – which he sold at crafts fairs. I started doing fairs for him and met a young couple who were pewter smiths – but were not so interested in working in pewter any more.

We became really good friends and I got more and more intrigued with being a pewter smith. They ended up selling me their equipment and giving me some fundamental training.

I was off and running! Soon Jim sold his woodworking business and joined me. Now, 25 years later, we are going strong! Since neither of us had any formal training as metal smiths, we find that our products are rarely confused with any others – they have a look all their own.

We are the original makers of pewter measuring spoons and cups and these are the two products that we are primarily known for.

About 7 years ago, people started calling to tell us they had seen our spoons being used on a food network show. We didn’t really understand until a bit later we found that our fish spoons had been copied by an import company. We were devastated but also, in a small way – flattered- that someone had even noticed us!

We immediately got a cease and desist and then hired a marketing company to figure out who the food network chef was that had been using our knock-offs.

Our marketing company determined it was Paula Deen – so they contacted Paula Deen Enterprises. They were immediately interested in us and asked for samples to use on their shows. But when it came to tape the first show, the cups were nowhere to be found. Paula finally admitted to having taken them home since she had thought they were beautiful!

I am proud to say that I have personally met Paula and her husband, Michael – who told me that they are so thankful for all of the spoons and cups we have sent them – and that Paula keeps her cups right by “her choppin’ board”.

A few years ago Jim and I had the opportunity to be guests on her show and were given seats of honor – right up by her kitchen counter. There was no script. Paula ad-libbed the whole show. She was warm and funny and gracious – not one bit of a diva in her.

Paula Deen is a self-made woman who is kind and generous. We are proud to have our products associated with her name.