I inherited this pull-out wooden cutting board when we purchased our condo but have not used it frequently due to its damage. I don't think the previous owners really cared for it, and it definitely needs a good sanding and sealing, but since I've started a new bread-baking habit, it was time to at least get to cleaning and caring for it.
What You Need:
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup water (room temperature)
1/2 lemon
Sea Salt (about 2 tablespoons)
Mineral Oil or board oil (I prefer Blackcreek Mercantile Cutting Board Oil)
A good kitchen towel that you don't mind getting dirty.
Instructions:
1. Using one half of your kitchen towel, wipe down the cutting board with a solution of 2 tablespoons vinegar to 1 cup water. Try to get all those little stains off!
2. Cut your lemon in half, and dip it into the sea salt. Use the lemon as a scrubber and scrub all around the board, getting into the cut grooves.
3. Wipe down the board with water, and pat dry.
4. Dip the other half of the kitchen towel into the mineral/board oil, and massage into the wood. Buff with a dry part of the towel when finished.
5. There you have it! Your naturally clean and deodorized cutting board!
(Images: Andie Powers)
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Very helpful!
In step 4, I think you mean dip the "other half of the kitchen towel .... " (not the oil) into the oil.
I am just bothered by that French press pot that doesn't look like it's been used. My God people, make coffee! What is wrong with you?!
Thanks for the tips, I haven't used my wood cutting board in a while because its getting worn out!
"I am just bothered by that French press pot that doesn't look like it's been used. My God people, make coffee! What is wrong with you?!"
It just looks clean to me, not sure why this upsets you so much.
Great post! I have have a wooden board that needs cleaning. Is this something I should be doing weekly or monthly (or daily!)?
These things are so helpful, and yet, seem kinda gross. I sanded mine within an inch of it's life when I bought the house. Now I treat it like my other wooden cutting board - clean after every use with a cut lemon when I have one, or just a dot of dish soap and a good scrub. Then oil about once a month.
Such a smart & simple way! I was actually always wondering how to do it best. Thanks for this.
I have two pull-out cutting boards in my tiny galley kitchen and I've always been afraid to use them for the same reasons. This is very helpful! I believe I'll be taking advantage of this extra space very soon!
I use lemon juice and dish soap after I cut anything strong smelling such as onion.
Great tip, I'll try it tonight!
A good washing/rinsing with dish soap, hot water and a scrubby is my preferred way of maintaining a cutting board. I want it to be good and clean and have found that I use it so often it doesn't need oiling. It's almost 20 years old.
Lemons, baking soda and vinegar clean all kinds of things. I wish I had a pull out cutting board, good thing I am re-doing the kitchen soon...
I almost spit out my beverage--sadly, not coffee, or this would be a much more clever comment--when I read EDMUNDD's comment. Funny!
Grat tips, btw.
*Great. <sigh>
Instead of using a towel to spread the oil, just use your hands. It's much more efficient than soaking up the oil in the towel instead of spreading around the board!
I would worry about built-up gunk under the countertop that the board slides under. When I was a child the pull-out cutting board in our kitchen was gummy and smelled so strong it flavored foods you put on it. It wasn't that it was never cleaned (though I don't remember anyone treaing it with oil) but that it would get wiped down and then slid back into its dank cave. I've never used a slide-out cutting board since, in any of my omes, because they freak me out.
My mom used to drive me nuts with her cutting board. She would cut up all kinds of things on the same side, sometimes giving raisin bread an onion flavour. Ick. I have a lot of small boards to use for various purposes, one is just for onions and garlic, another for fruit, etc. Much simpler and easier to clean a small one instead of the big one every time. One is used only for meat and gets extra special cleaning. The other thing to do is have a hierarchy of use when cutting mixed ingredients, so you start with things that won't leave a strong presence or need cleaning before the next item, that way you can get the most out of the board instead of having to clean it so much when making a meal. Meat goes last, then you give it a good clean and disinfect.
This is very helpful, but I still think leaving it out in the sun for several hours is the best thing for it...and then a little oil to keep the wood from drying too much and splitting.
I try to give my board a sunbathe (along with my pillows) every week or 2.
Hey guys! Dish soap is okay, but will eventually dry out the fibers in your wood, and they may crack.
And @EDMUNDD: don't you clean your french press? I should hope so.
My slide-out cutting board is old as the hills, but I have a fondness for it because it reminds me of one in the kitchen of the family home when I was a kid (the stuff you can get nostalgiac for when older, LOL!) ... The only thing I use it for, though, is cutting loaves of bread, so I just wipe off the crumbs regularly, and that's it. This has got me wondering if I should be doing more to it, though... Hmmm....
So you know - the "clean your cutting board naturally" link from the front page, that usually brings you inside this post, is instead linking to a post on Apartment Therapy about how to hire a contractor.
I want that jar of corks.
More of a question that I have than a comment; would it be okay to use vegetable oil in place of mineral or board oil (that's all I have without having to go out and purchase one of the others)?
Vegetable oil is fine in a pinch but can go rancid over time; mineral oil is available very inexpensively at CVS and probably any other drug store. They sell it as a treatment for constipation.