How do I care for wood cutting boards?

CPARKTX · February 2014

Since I finally invested in good knives I also purchased two wood cutting boards. How do I clean and care for wood cutting boards?

Botch · February 2014

I wipe mine off with the hot soapy dishcloth after doing dishes (yeah, I do dishes by hand), then once again with hot clean-water dishcloth. I do have a separate, nylon cutting board for raw meats/fish, although I cut cooked brisket, chicken etc on the wood one (too big for the nylon board).

I have a bottle of "butcher block" oil that I've yet to apply. Over the years my expensive butcher-block board has dished out so much I'm gonna have to take it to a mill and have them run it through their big belt sander to re-flatten it. I'll be sure to use the oil before attaching new self-adhesive feet and putting it back into work.

cazzy · February 2014

I have a 4 step process for my cutting boards:

Rinse off with hot water
Spray with a 5% bleach solution and scrub
Wash with dish soap and hot water
Dry immediately

Skiddymarker · February 2014

cazzy said:

I have a 4 step process for my cutting boards: Rinse off with hot water Spray with a 5% bleach solution and scrub Wash with dish soap and hot water Dry immediately

Yes, same as what I do. Also if the wooden board is glued using edge grain as the cutting surface (not butcher block style using end grain as the cutting surface) and it starts to cup, (bamboo is notorious for this) put the convex side up and the concave side down against the counter top. The convex side wood cells have more moisture and have expanded. Let them dry and the board will be flat again.

berndcrisp · February 2014

In addition to Cazzy's four steps, I rub mineral oil into it twice a month or so and lemon left overs when ever I have some. Most cutting board oils are 6-7$'s and are just mineral oil, that can be bought in any store for 1/4 the price. I use the mineral oil on all of my wooden kitchen stuff. Soap and the bleach solution dries out the wood.

fishlessman · February 2014

i oil my 4 foot wide boos block maybe twice a year, as for cleaning just a quick wipe with a damp sponge. the board absorbs the water and dries it pretty quick, if theres no water thers no growing bacteria... well thats my theory

my outdoor fish cleaning station is simply a board that gets hosed off, at camp its the same board for the last 8 years, its never seen soap or bleach.....i think we over clean things, we dont run a butcher shop at home were that board is wet or damp with meat all day long growing bacteria

dmarois · February 2014

i recently put a new dutch ovens somewhat hot lid on my butcher block table. The "pre-seasoning" seemed to leak out and stain my block. Any idea how to get this out or does it require sanding?

Lit · February 2014

I only use soap if I put raw meat on them. If its just veggies then I wipe with a cloth with hot water. Every time you use soap you need to let the board dry and oil it. My first boos board only lasted several months before it split and I had to get a new one because I wasn't letting it dry completely and I wasn't oiling it enough. After I wash mine I let them sit on the stove grates for a couple hours to get air to all sides of them. Wood board can be a pain in the butt. Also I have found a mineral oil mixture with some bees wax works much better than just mineral oil.

fishlessman · February 2014

this is the oil/wax i use, i warm it up in hot water before applying to the board and leave it on for a couple hours before wiping off any excess

fishlessman · February 2014

cant seem to paste links into the forum today

) hone depot has mineral oil/bees wax made by Howard

Eggcelsior · February 2014

fishlessman said:
i oil my 4 foot wide boos block maybe twice a year, as for cleaning just a quick wipe with a damp sponge. the board absorbs the water and dries it pretty quick, if theres no water thers no growing bacteria... well thats my theory my outdoor fish cleaning station is simply a board that gets hosed off, at camp its the same board for the last 8 years, its never seen soap or bleach.....i think we over clean things, we dont run a butcher shop at home were that board is wet or damp with meat all day long growing bacteria

I'm with this guy. I just wipe it off and towel off excess moisture. Like @lit says, I'll use some soap if anything raw gets on it. I use Boo's board conditioner which is beeswax/mineral oil.

NDG · February 2014

is clorox at 5% bleach when purchased? or do you have to dilute?

cazzy · February 2014

NDG said:

is clorox at 5% bleach when purchased? or do you have to dilute?

I use a teaspoon of clorox bleach and the rest water in a standard squirt bottle.

The normal measurement is 1 tablespoon for every gallon of water.

BBQBiezy · February 2014

When I was a kid I worked in a little grocery store that had a two foot thick butcher block. We never used any soap or chemicals on it. Might seem kinda gross to some but no one ever got sick. We had a scraper like the picture that we used multiple times per day. The old man who was the butcher had that block for over 50 years. It had parts that were concave by at least 2-3 inches.

Botch · February 2014

dmarois said:

i recently put a new dutch ovens somewhat hot lid on my butcher block table. The "pre-seasoning" seemed to leak out and stain my block. Any idea how to get this out or does it require sanding?

I would try cornstarch, just dust it on and let sit overnight.

I was originally gonna suggest kitty litter (fresh, please) as it works like gangbusters getting oil stains off a cement garage floor. However, I checked my bag for an ingredients list, it didn't have one but did talk about "odor neutralizers", so that's probably not something you want on a cutting board...

gpmichal · February 2014

I have a beautiful teakwood cutting board that that cost around $80.00. I use mineral oil on it when it starts feeling a little dry.

4Runner · February 2014

Vinegar...straight. I will rub with salt and leave on the board over night one a month. Recondition with butchers block oil after.

How do I care for wood cutting boards?

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