What kind of oil for wood cutting board??

Nature Boy

Howdy!
Just purchased a nice big wood cutting board after reading Tim's post about bringing stuff to the fest to carve on (thanks Tim, I might have been using my pocket knife, and carving the brisket on the sidewalk).[p]I know this wood needs to be treated with some kind of oil, but I am not sure what is best. Any suggestions for prepping this baby??[p]Thanks!
NB

Dr. Chicken

Nature Boy,
I've got 3 of them expensive maple cutting boards. All of the manufacturers recommend pure Mineral Oil. Nothing else! Remember, mineral oil, not mineral spirits![p]Dr. Chicken

Mary

Dr. Chicken,
Be sure you get FDA approved food grade mineral oil. There's lots of people who question the safety of mineral oil ingestion. Alternatives are lemon oil or olive oil, both put a lovely sheen on and you can be sure of their safety.[p]Mary

Nature Boy

Mary,
...and I have olive oil, but no mineral oil. For fear of using the cliché, my cranium doesn't have to work very hard to make the decision to go with olive oil.
Thanks y'all.
NB

Tim M

Nature Boy,[p]Never knew you were suppose to add mineral oil to a cutting board. I have a nice one and its gotta be 15 years old. It has one split in the wood now and it drip through it -- maybe oiling would have prevented it but I sure go my moneys worth out of it -- and its still doing service (you can see it in all my posts on my website). I will be curious to see the oiled board Saturday at <FONT SIZE="4"><FONT COLOR="BLACK">Eggfest2000</FONT></FONT>.[p]
Tim

Mike Oelrich

Mary,[p] Do you ever have problems with the vegetable oils (esp. olive) getting a rancid flavor after a while? My immediate thought would be that this shouldn't be a problem with a block used (and therefore, washed) frequently, but might be with something used infrequently (as, sadly, my pizza peel is lately). I've always used the "block oil" found in kitchen stores, but a less threatening alternative is definitely tempting. I'm also using one of the new "anti-bacterial" plastic cutting boards occasionally. Wonder if it really works like they say . . .[p]MikeO

RLA

MikeO,
Unfortunately, it has been tested and shown that the plastic boards do allow a more favorable environment for bacterial growth than hardwood boards. That is why it is recommended, that if you have a plastic board, to put it into the dishwasher and have the hot water kill the bacteria.
Bob

Brant

Nature Boy,[p]Hey, NB, whatever kind of oil you use, be sure to coat both sides and all edges equally, or the board will be more prone to warping and/or cracking. Also, I've always heard that you are supposed to reapply a very light coat of oil to it about once every month. And, vegetable oils will likely turn rancid, as MikeO said. If that happens, you can clean it off and use mineral oil instead, probably after sanding it down a little. Finally, despite health considerations, running a wooden butcher's block through your electric dishwasher is the quickest way to ruin it.[p]Is this one of those super duper end-grain block, or a contemporary face-grain cutting board? One day, I'm going to make me an end-grain maple butcher's block, for nostalgic reasons (health-wise, I don't really feel comfortable using wood because of all of the bacteria warnings, but I do respect wood!).[p]Brant

Unknown

Brant,
Thanks for the tips. This is not a fancy board by any means. A pretty hardwood face/grain type of thing. Looks like ash possibly. Has a good size to it, and a little trough for collecting juices. Definitely not a "lifer". Got it at Wal Mart for 16 bucks.[p]I'll get some mineral oil next time I am out.[p]Who knows, maybe this thing will crack in two pieces at the eggfest, and I won't have to worry about the oil.[p]Preeeciate the tips.
NB

Unknown

Mature Boy,
Hey...I like that! A Mature Nature Boy.

Nature Boy

mature bdavidson,
I knew I would do that one of these days![p]Brisket has been on 3 hours. Already smells heavenly.[p]Time keeps on tickin tickin tickin, into the eggfest.
Tick tock tick do do do-do[p]Semi-Mature Nature Kid.

Dr. Chicken

Nature Boy,
Don't worry 'bout it Chris! All of us kin tell youse are wound-up tighter than a fiddle string! The ones on the West Coast will be able ta hear youse celebrating tomorrow night and Saturday! You be a man enjoyin' his work!!! :^)[p]
Have fun!! Ya all hear?[p]Dr. Chicken[p]p.s.: I bet Tim is as strung out as you is! He just doing a better job o' holdin' it back!!!! :^)

JimW

MikeO,
I read an article somewhere that stated that the plastic cutting boards actually weren't as clean as the wooden ones. Go figure.
JimW

Nature Boy

JimW,
The new George Carlin CD has a nice bit on germs. Pretty hilarious. Scary thing is, he is probably right! Basically he says we are so hung up about germs, that we live way too clean. When germs do come along, we can't handle them and get sick. Listen to it if you want a laugh (and can handle his language).[p]IMO if you keep stuff clean, practice safe meat storage and cook to the proper temp, the chances you will get sick are very small. And if you do get sick, it probably wasn't the cutting board![p]Tight as a violin string.
NB

Mary

Nature Boy,
You are correct, they actually did laboratory tests and found fewer bacteria on unwashed wood cutting boards than on the plastic ones. Seems the wood has antibacterial compounds in it (like a lot of herbs do). Olive oil tends go rancid much slower than most oils. To tell the truth, I don't oil my boards at all, and they aren't really all that bad off for it. I oiled my butcherblock cabinet top with lemon oil (smells great) and used the butcher block oil for the rest of the cabinet. I figure the cutting boards and peels are workhorses and don't need coddling. They get oiled by use from the foods that are on them. I do oil my pretty olive wood spoons with olive oil (of course!) and they don't smell rancid - even the ones that rarely get any use and therefore washing.[p]Mary

RhumAndJerk

Nature Boy,
Olive Oil is what I use.[p]Have Fun At Eggfest. I am sorry that I will miss it.[p]Happy Egging,
RhumAndJerk

MAC

Mary,
I have a spray bottle with 10% bleach that I spray on counters and cutting boards. Let those germs live through that.[p]MAC