Caring for your Custom Cutting Board

Print "Caring Instructions"

1. Use only "butcher block oil" or mineral oil on your cutting board. Other oils (vegetable, olive, etc.) will turn rancid. It is best to apply the oil slightly warm and with a soft cloth in the direction on the grain. Warming the oil allows it to penetrate deeper into the wood. “Season” your board by applying mineral or butcher block oil and letting it soak into the wood for 15-30 minutes. Apply 4-6 coats before using the board.

2. Oil your Custom Cutting Board when it looks dry, sometimes as frequently as once a week. If you allow your board to become dry it may begin to crack.

3. You can scrub and wash your cutting board with soap and water but don’t immerse it completely in water and don’t put it in the dishwasher.

4. Spraying a mist of vinegar on your cutting board is a good way to sanitize it. (The Heinz company claims that spraying a straight five percent solution of vinegar -- the strength you buy in the supermarket -- eliminates 99% of bacteria.) Using bleach on a wood cutting board is not effective because the organic composition of wood neutralizes the disinfectant quality of bleach.

5. Moisture collecting beneath the board will eventually promote the growth of mold and thereby ruin your board. Unless the board has feet (as do all Custom Cutting Boards) keep one end propped up when not in use for maximum air ventilation.