Is Cherry Wood Good for a Salad Bowl?

Features

• Cherry trees yield edible fruit eaten raw or cooked. The fruit, used for culinary purposes such as wine, jelly and pies, is an important wildlife food source. Bird and animals eat the fruits as soon as they ripen. The trees grow quickly and foliage changes color in autumn. Branches resist breakage. Because cherry trees readily litter the ground with leaf debris and hard, round fruit pits, they are not desirable in urban traffic areas. Cherry trees grow 100 or more years and are harvested for commercial wood uses.

Uses

• American colonists used cherry wood for furniture. Its reddish, smooth texture appealed to woodworkers who could not afford mahogany, a favored furniture wood. Over time, cherry wood's workable features led to decorative uses such as household bowls, toys, instrument boxes and cabinetry. The fine grain and smooth texture make excellent veneer applied over cheaper woods. Woodworkers like cherry for turned objects such as fruit and salad bowls or vases. Cherry picture frames and novelties take advantage of the smooth, durable reddish wood.

Benefits

• Cherry wood is strong for its relative light weight, making it ideal for lathe work and cabinetry. When kiln-dried to remove moisture, it has low shrinkage. This is an important feature in bowls and other household items, because wood that shrinks tends to crack or twist as it dries and ages. The fine grain makes it resistant to moisture so that goblets or salad bowls will not absorb contents and carry the odors of previous foods. Cherry is durable and resistant to decay.

Appearance

• Freshly harvested cherry heartwood ranges from light pink to medium red shades. As the wood is exposed to air and ages, it naturally turns darker red. Some wood has small natural wood knots called pin knots, or darker smears of wood gum stains called gum spots. These are not defects and make attractive salad bowls for their unique design. Some salad bowls are carved from a cross-section of tree, leaving an irregular and decorative bark outer edge surrounding the heartwood bowl. Some cherry wood has a rippling or broad, wavy grain. Woodcrafters use unusual grain patterns to advantage, carving or turning bowls to show off this special wood.