Wooden Trays

Wooden trays have been one of the very useful kitchen accessories. They are not only used for carrying and serving various food items but also to keep many smaller articles organized at one place. Traditional wooden trays usually have a flat surface with raised edges to stop things from sliding off. In spite of the availability of trays in varied materials like metal, steel, plastic etc., wooden trays are most sought after perhaps due to their beautiful appearance.

Features of Wood Trays

“ Wooden trays” are available in various attractive designs and shapes. Most of the times they are hand made, carved or hand painted which reflect the unique craftsmanship in their making. Wood trays, in fact, enhance the beauty of any dining presentation. They add grace and beauty to kitchenware. However, they can not be used in oven or microwave ovens, nor in dishwasher but most of them are food safe and can be wiped clean with damp cloth. Not only as kitchen ware, they are even popular as gifts. Some of intrinsically carved and painted wooden trays are so attractive that they are used to decorate the walls of home. This makes them suitable even for corporate gifts.

Material, Texture and Finishes of Wooden Trays

The wood trays are available in different shapes- rectangular, round, oval etc. The contemporary trays come in non traditional shapes also like triangular, octagonal and even in irregular shapes. Different types of wood are used to make them. Some of the popular woods include ash, beech, birch, oak, spruce, pine, sheesham among others. Most of the trays are given various wood finishes to make them smooth. They are often finished with lacquer, shellac, food safe mineral oil, vegetable oil finishes etc.

Different Types of Wooden Trays

Wooden Serving Tray: Serving trays are the most common and popular trays ever. They come in almost all shapes one can imagine. Most of the time, they have cutout handles for ease of transport. Some of them are flatware and others have deeper interiors surrounded with raised edges. They are used in homes, offices and restaurants for serving foods, drinks and other edibles. They also come in sets of 3 to 10 and even more pieces of different sizes. Some of the trays are accompanied with matching wooden bowls to serve the guests in style.

Wooden Trays for Ottomans: Ottomans are multi functional furniture. They do not have arms or a backrest and can, therefore, be substituted for other furniture types easily. They can be used as sofa, divans, seats, stools, storage furniture and tables. The innovative wooden trays for ottoman is a versatile piece of furniture which can be used as an extra seat or a footrest for relaxing. Its top can be flipped over and used as the tray for serving. When not used as tray, it can be used to store blankets, toys, magazines and other things in its roomy interior.

Wooden Cutlery Tray: The solid wood cutlery tray have many sections to keep the kitchen drawers organized and orderly. Kitchen accessories like forks and spoons can be kept nicely in them. Most of them have extra-large section for over-sized utensils such as chef's knives and serving pieces. These trays can also be used to store and organize other items such as cosmetics, toiletries, hair ornaments, tools, arts & crafts materials, and office supplies. These wood cutlery trays can even be stacked in deeper drawers to maximize drawer space.

Wooden Tray Tables: Trays have also gone contemporary and are now available for multipurpose usage. There are tray tables that are basically wooden coffee tables on which breakfast can be served right on bed. Some of them even come with removable serving trays. Then there are the oversized reversible serving trays that double as convenient wooden table and give a desk surface to place any thing on them.

Cheese Slicer Serving Tray: In this innovative model, a wire cheese slicer board is combined with a larger tray area to put more cheese, crackers, fruit etc. to serve with the cheese. Some of them are made of beechwood and have built-in recessed tray for serving food items. Some others have a round piece of marble in the center. It keeps the cheese cool so that it doesn't get oily-looking.