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I bought a vintage salad bowl set. The whole set is in mint condition... except for one bowl... I noticed after I got everything home, that it has some sticky residue inside of it.
It looks like some sugary, sticky melted candy maybe, and it's dried out and hardened on the inside of the bowl.
I tried wiping gently with some hot soapy water. Didn't work well.
How can I dissolve/clean the gunk from a wooden bowl without destroying the bowl?
I'd put some hot water in the bowl and let it soak for a few hours. Repeat if necessary. If the sticky stuff is sugar, the hot water should dissolve it. It's possible it will take several tries.
If it's not sugar, and doesn't dissolve, then try soaking the stuff in straight oil - food-grade mineral oil (sold for cutting boards) or vegetable oil. Scrape gently with a plastic or wooden utensil and see whether it comes off that way. I don't know whether GooGone or similar products are food-safe, but they are oil-based.
Another thing to try would be ice, as you'd do for candle drips.
If all else fails, and you feel like you've got nothing to lose, try some fine sandpaper and a light touch. You're trying to sand off just the goo, not sand the wood. No matter how careful you are, this might result in some discoloration. But if it's successful and the goo does come off, keeping all the bowls oiled will smooth out the color differences nicely.
I bought a vintage salad bowl set. The whole set is in mint condition... except for one bowl... I noticed after I got everything home, that it has some sticky residue inside of it.
It looks like some sugary, sticky melted candy maybe, and it's dried out and hardened on the inside of the bowl.
I tried wiping gently with some hot soapy water. Didn't work well.
How can I dissolve/clean the gunk from a wooden bowl without destroying the bowl?
That sticky substance is probably vegetable oil that has "dried".
I would not use goo gone on a wooden salad bowl, it's an oil based product with a very strong odor.
Find something scent free and non toxic. Alcohol might work. Food safe oils like mineral oil might break it down too.
You might also be able to use vegetable oil to break it down and then clean with alcohol and hot water.
I have used goo gone on numerous food items and it has never done damage or left a strong odor behind because you do not use a lot of it and you do not leave it on for an extended amount of time.
So have I, just not wooden ones. The wood is going to adsorb goo gone since it's oil based and once it's in the wood it's there to stay, how much depends on the species and what it was treated with previously.
For applications like that(wood, cloth etc) there is another product called goof off, that has much stronger chemical odor but it evaporates quickly and will not absorb into what you are cleaning. I didn't suggest it because it's not a food safe item, you may not be able to see or smell it but there will be a chemical residue.
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The wood is going to adsorb goo gone since it's oil based and once it's in the wood it's there to stay, how much depends on the species and what it was treated with previously. 
