My love affair with my hardwood cutting board

[Major Nikon]

I bought my cutting board about 25 years ago. I knew exactly what I wanted before I bought it. I had a previous secession of lesser cutting boards made of various materials before deciding that an end grain hardwood cutting board was what I wanted. It had to be around 18" square and 2" thick with short pedestal legs. I don't remember what I paid for it. I just remember it was expensive for me at the time. I have other cutting boards and while I may use them a lot, there is no love for them. They are more utilitarian. I have some plastic ones I use for meats, and I have a smaller bamboo one I use for cheese. I wash all of those in the sink or in the dishwasher.

There's nothing like the feel of a good cutting board. When properly maintained they feel very good against your hand. You can slide your hand across the surface easily. My knife hand feels like it's in better control. I slice things up very quickly, and so far I've managed to keep all my fingertips, so these things are important to me. However, a cutting board like this is not for the faint of heart. If you want them to be safe to use and last a long time, you have to have a cleaning and oiling ritual. Mine never goes in the sink. I never clean it with anything other than white vinegar and I never oil it with anything other than mineral oil. Sometimes I'm cleaning it 2-3 times per day and I oil it once per week.

My love for my cutting board is like my love for my cast iron skillet. If you take care of them they last forever. I like things like that.

[littlemissmartypants]

1. you had me at: my love affair...

Love, Peace and Shelter. lmsp

[cbayer]

2. I've never used vinegar for cleaning, but I probably should.

I do scrub it vigorously with lemon anytime I have to squeeze a lemon for other purposes.

My cast iron skillet is perfect and by far my favorite pan.

The utensils I care for most carefully are my knives. I waited far to long to buy good knives and I am in love with them.

[Major Nikon]

4. Vinegar is just a good idea

An end grain board like that is a sponge for bacteria. I just use straight white vinegar from a spray bottle and have for many years. It's cheap as hell and most bacteria can't live in an acidic environment. So the vinegar soaks into the wood fibers and makes them inhospitable for germs. Mineral oil also has an antibacterial effect for different reasons and it protects the wood from drying out and cracking. Other types of cutting boards don't have these problems.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

7. I use a dilute solution of chlorine bleach.

[Major Nikon]

8. That's another antibacterial. There are others like janitorial grade ammonia.

I use all of those things for antibacterials and cleaning in different situations. For me, my wood cutting board is somewhat sacred so I use the least invasive method on it. My dad had an end grain wood hardwood board that lasted him his whole life. He is the one who taught me basic knife skills. My dad beat the hell out of his cutting board. He did cut both raw and cooked meat on his. He used 10% ammonia to clean it. That was probably a good idea in his case. I once inquired about keeping it after he was gone. He told me the idea was ridiculous. He said one lifetime is enough for a cutting board and told me to go out and buy my own. So I did.

[MiddleFingerMom]

3. My love affair with my hard wood... wait!!! Is this The Lounge? Is this thing on?

[Major Nikon]

5. Somehow I knew the words hard, wood, and mineral oil would get your attention

[Mira]

6. I have to come "slumming" more often

this is a riot of laughs.

[Jazzgirl]

9. +1 on te maintenance.

I have several nice wood cutting boards and many plastic ones for meats but my hardwood boards are my fav. Only mineral oil, salt and vinegar touch them.

[Major Nikon]

10. I also use coarse salt for cleaning stubborn stuff

Flour that becomes wet and sticky is the biggest culprit.

[HeiressofBickworth]

11. My favorite kitchen piece

is the wooden tray that came with a lovely set of hand-blown glass inserts with wood cups. I bought them when I lived in Germany in the mid 60's. The glass didn't survive shipping, the wood cups were useless without the inserts, but for some reason I kept the wood tray. Over the years I found more and more reasons to use it. Everything from cutting bread, fruit or veggies (not meat) to using it as a breakfast tray. In the mornings, I make a bit of breakfast and a pot of tea. The tray is just the right size to balance on my knees as I watch the morning TV movie. I've looked for a replacement but have never found anything I like as well. I hope the tray out lives me because I'm not sure how I would live without it.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

12. I made my own cutting board about 40 years ago

I went to the local lumber yard, and asked if they had any pieces of scrap hardwood boards. They sold me a 20" x 10" board for a dollar. About half an hour's work with some sandpaper, and I had a nice board. It's still my favorite bread board. I wash it with hot water, and oil it once a month or so.

I have composite and plastic boards for meats, vegetables, chicken and onions. My chicken board is plastic, so I can I run it through the dishwasher after every use.