Olive Wood

Mediterranean olive wood, hand-carved and finished with olive oil. It's among the hardest woods that make it into a kitchen — dense enough to grind spices against, closed-grained enough to resist odors and stains. The dark figuring is what people buy it for, and no two pieces carry the same pattern.

All of it wants the same care: hand wash, dry right away, never soak, and a little food-safe mineral oil every few months.