Cutting board maintenance. Tips for caring for wooden cutting boards Treating your cutting board with olive oil
What cutting boards do you use? I have tried everything possible. There were glass and plastic and rubber, there were combined, bamboo and wood. And here's what I'll tell you - only on a wooden board is it more pleasant and most convenient to cook. Firstly, wood is a natural product, which is generally healthy, cutting products on a natural surface. Secondly, I like the feeling of cutting on a tree, there is some springy feedback.
If you use boards of different sizes, then they can perfectly act as a serving dish - how delicious it is to drink wine and eat cheese from the board on which you just cut it.
Now more and more often you can see serving on boards in restaurants and cafes: steaks, hamburgers, fish. At home, this adds warmth and comfort, no plastic, and even more so glass, cannot be compared with them.
When I bought my first wooden board, I saw on the instructions the line "saturate with natural oil before use." Of course, it was clear that impregnation would help extend the life of the board, but I still didn’t figure out what kind of oil I needed, where to get it. Do not rub the board with butter or margarine.
Pretty soon my board fell into disrepair. No, it didn't fall apart, it didn't crack. She began to scare me. The part on which the board usually stood during drying began to blacken. Of course this was due to dampness in the part of the board where the moisture collected. The very surface of the board was in various stains from beets, carrots and other coloring products. Yes, they washed over time, but not completely. At some moments it seemed to me that the board was saturated with the smell of one product (for example, onions) and I didn’t feel like cutting another on it (even after washing), I had to ventilate the board.
So I gave up on that board, bought a new one, and started looking for oil. It turned out that there are special mineral oils for cutting boards. They are completely odorless and have no expiration date. The first is important because the oil will not add flavors to sensitive products. Secondly, there is no danger that the oil inside the board will start to deteriorate (as it will be if you grease the board with sunflower or olive oil). 
Wipe the board with mineral oil and let it soak in, then remove the remaining oil with a dry, clean cloth.
The essence of impregnation is very simple: wood is a rather porous material. So in these pores we absorb oil, which creates a film and prevents moisture and odors from penetrating into the wood structure, decomposing there and causing harmful bacteria.
In doing so, you achieve three goals:
1. The appearance of the board always remains excellent - there are no stains, darkening and other things.
2. No harm to health.
3. Extends the service life of the board. A good wooden cutting board costs from 1000 rubles. Rubbing it with oil at least once every half a year (preferably more often), you can use it for two years and five years. This is more profitable than buying boards and throwing them away after half a year.
If you have any questions or comments, write them below. And yes, if you are interested in buying oil, it is always in stock.
All sorts of vegetables are cut on a wooden board, fish is cleaned, meat is butchered. Therefore, juice, different smells and pieces of food remain on the surface. If the hostess does not take care of the board or does it incorrectly, the product will not last long. To extend its lifespan, you need to know some tricks. We will tell about them.
Prevention is the key to longevity
If you are the owner of a cutting board made of natural wood, do not forget about preventive measures. With proper care of the product, the occurrence of cracks and mold is prevented. Therefore, the hostess has been using the cutting board for its intended purpose for many years.
What tools give good results? The best option is to use a special oil. It must meet two main criteria: safety for people and high efficiency. It is also important how the oil tolerates elevated temperatures. For example, sunflower oil spoils quickly. Therefore, a board impregnated with such a substance acquires an unpleasant odor after a few years. You can’t get rid of it, so you have to throw away the cutting board and get a new one. This is an additional cost. Advanced technology mineral oil is ideal for proper care of your cutting board. It has no smell and taste. Mineral oil is environmentally friendly. Therefore, harmful effects on health are excluded. Mineral oil has an affordable cost and excellent performance properties. After using it, the cutting board becomes more durable. The oil fills all the pores, therefore, the penetration of liquid and food particles into the wood structure is excluded.
Treating a board with mineral oil is a simple process that does not take much time. It consists of several stages:
First you need to make sure the board is clean. If there is contamination, the product is cleaned in advance of food debris;
enough mineral oil is applied to the paper towel;
the wooden surface is wiped with a paper towel. Mineral oil is evenly distributed over the board;
the product is not used during the day. If the cutting board is needed urgently, you need to wait at least a couple of hours. The oil must be absorbed into the wood;
after complete impregnation, the remaining oil is removed from the board. This is done with a paper towel.
In order for the cutting board to serve for a long time, this procedure must be repeated once a month. Then cracks will not appear on it even after several years of intensive use.
Another tool suitable for preventive care of the board is beeswax.
It is a waste product of bees that has been used for many years to care for wood. A special ointment is made from beeswax. Mineral oil is used as the second active ingredient. Together, these two components have a positive effect on the condition of the wooden cutting board.
Ointment based on wax and mineral oil has a multifaceted effect on the condition of the cutting board. This means:
increased moisture resistance - the ointment fills the pores and cracks. Therefore, natural wood is protected from the harmful effects of moisture;
creation of a protective film - bacteria and particles of dirt do not penetrate under the formed wax layer;
good tactile sensations - the surface of the board becomes perfectly smooth;
pleasant smell - after treatment with oil, the board acquires a unique aroma.
Disinfection is a must
Regular disinfection is essential. During such an event, pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms are eliminated. There are several ways to disinfect a cutting board. We will highlight the main options that housewives often use in practice. Required resources include:
Hot water in combination with detergent is an effective solution.
With it, dirt and bacteria are removed from the wooden surface. For best results, detergents containing surfactants are used. It can be liquid soap, which is used daily for washing dishes. Cleaning a cutting board is easy. It is necessary to place the wooden product in the sink and rinse it thoroughly with water and detergent. If the product is large, it is processed with a damp sponge. At the final stage, the surface is wiped;
Vinegar is a remedy that is available in every home. It contains an acid that eliminates all types of pathogenic bacteria.
Processing a cutting board with vinegar is best suited for people who are allergic to detergent. When it is carried out, no side effects appear. When performing disinfection, the wooden surface is wiped with vinegar. After that, the board dries up. The peculiarity of the vinegar treatment is that the active substance destroys mineral oil. Therefore, after disinfection, additional impregnation of wood with oil is recommended;
Hydrogen peroxide is another remedy that all housewives have.
It is used everywhere. First, the board is wiped with a paper towel to remove dirt. The tissue is then saturated with hydrogen peroxide. It cleans the surface of the board. Thus, a complete disinfection is performed.
In difficult cases, when a wooden product has come into contact with rotten products, a bath cleaner is used. It contains aggressive components that must be handled with care. Therefore, before starting the processing of the cutting board, you need to wear gloves and prevent the substance from getting into your eyes. Additionally, you need to think about ventilation. Then pungent odors are quickly removed from the kitchen.
How to use the cleaner? To do this, the substance dissolves in water. Then the board is cleaned of food debris. The prepared solution is poured onto the surface. After a few minutes, the cutting board is washed under running water. Another effective method is the use of lemon. Juice is squeezed out of it directly onto a wooden surface. After a while, the board is wiped or washed, and then dried.
Cutting board maintenance
In order for your wooden board to serve for many years, we want to tell you about important rules. Every housewife should know about them, since the service life of the product depends on it. If all the rules are followed, money is saved, because the need for frequent purchase of the product is eliminated.
Caring for a cutting board made of bamboo and other types of wood lies in following these rules:
clean the product after each use - such a process cannot be postponed until tomorrow. While the board is dirty, bacteria and moisture penetrate the structure of the material. They have a negative effect on wood. Therefore, the period of operation of the cutting board is significantly reduced; after wet processing, do not place the cutting board in a dryer designed for dishes. Lay the product on a flat surface. When it is tilted, the wood warps and bends in one direction;
do not wash the wooden product in the dishwasher. This process must be done manually. Natural material is sensitive to water. With prolonged contact with moisture, wood loses its original properties. It gradually collapses and loses its attractive appearance; Don't leave your cutting board in the sink with other utensils. The product must be washed immediately, as soon as the meat was cut or the fish was cleaned. When in water, the wood begins to deteriorate and deform.
But what if, after years of working on your favorite cutting board, there are cuts from a knife?
Two options are possible here. The first is the acquisition of a new product. The second is a recovery procedure. To eliminate deep cuts, you need to take sandpaper and sand the surface. After that, it is necessary to wash the cutting board with detergent and soak it with mineral oil. After performing such processes, the product will acquire a lost appearance.
Valuable advice from experts
Sausage, bread, hard cheese are cut daily on the cutting board, and meat and fish are also cut. Therefore, such an item needs special care. It consists not only in mineral oil treatment and disinfection. Finally, we want to give some useful tips that simplify the process of caring for a wooden product. In order for the board to serve for a long time and retain an attractive appearance, listen to the recommendations of experts:
to eliminate the smell of garlic and onions, use coarse salt or soda. Apply one of the components to the surface and leave for five minutes. After that, rinse the cutting board and dry it;
never leave a wooden product near a heat source (open fire, heating radiators). High temperatures have a detrimental effect on natural material. This is manifested by the fact that the wood is deformed;
cut food over the surface of the entire board. Then the wear of the product will be uniform; buy two cutting boards and use them differently. Cut vegetables and fruits on one surface. Use the second product for cutting raw meat. Thus, the risks of food contamination with pathogenic bacteria are eliminated;
Always keep your cutting board dry. Moisture systematically destroys wood;
never soak the item to remove berry juice stains. There is another solution for this purpose. Sprinkle generously with salt and then rub with lemon. The spots should be gone.
Don't forget our tips and rules. Then your cutting board made of natural wood will last a long time!
Wooden cutting board is an eco-friendly and convenient kitchen tool...
However, she has one drawback - she quickly takes on an “unpresentable” look: she gets dirty and scratches from knives remain on her surface.
Despite the widespread use of modern cutting boards made of silicone, glass and plastic in the kitchens, wooden boards are not going to lose ground, remaining as popular as they were several centuries ago.
Due to the porous structure of wood, a wooden board absorbs their juice after cutting food on it. The point is not only and not so much in the smell that the board is impregnated with after cutting meat or fish.
Microscopic particles of food remaining on the surface of the cutting board serve as an excellent breeding ground for germs and bacteria, which pose a real threat to human health. There are many known cases of food poisoning, the cause of which is poor cleaning of a wooden cutting board after its use.
Cleaning the cutting board
The most common way to clean a wooden cutting board is to wash it thoroughly with hot water and dishwashing detergent.
Attention! Do not submerge wooden cutting boards in water or soak them in water. This will encourage bacterial growth and the wood will crack when it dries.
It would seem that here you can do wrong? However, many people make the mistake of wiping a clean cutting board dry with a kitchen towel, transferring germs and bacteria from the cutting board to the board.
Quit this bad habit! After washing and rinsing the cutting board clean, leave it to dry in an upright position without wiping it with a dish sponge or kitchen towel.
If the board needs to be dry for a moment, wipe it off with a paper towel.
Wooden board disinfection
The most effective disinfection method is soaking a cutting board in a detergent containing chlorine. Do not overdo it with chlorine liquid! For 5 liters of water, 1 tablespoon of the product will be enough.
After 30 minutes, the board should be removed from the disinfectant solution, rinsed thoroughly and left to dry in an upright position.
You can prepare a safer solution for disinfection, using soda. Having dissolved 1 teaspoon of baking soda in 0.5 liters of hot water, we moisten the surface of the board with the resulting mixture. After 5-10 minutes, the board must be thoroughly washed and left to dry.
Can use hydrogen peroxide instead of baking soda, in this case, to prepare a washing solution for 0.5 liters of water, you will need 2 teaspoons of peroxide.
Perfectly disinfects, cleans and removes unpleasant odors from the surface of the cutting board regular lemon Or, rather, half of it. After wiping the board with half a lemon, leave it for 10 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and dry.
Similar table vinegar also has an antibacterial effect.
To disinfect, wipe down your cutting board after each use with white vinegar, which is effective against E. coli, salmonella, and staph.
Apply it with a paper towel. For ease of use, keep a spray bottle filled with vinegar in the kitchen.
A heavily scratched or cracked wooden cutting board should not be used again. The best thing to do with such a board is to get rid of it and buy a new one instead.
But if the damage to the surface layer of the board is insignificant, the board can still serve.
Lemon and salt. An easy and cheap way to clean a wooden cutting board
Keeping cutting boards clean is an integral part of maintaining kitchen hygiene, because the entire cooking process takes place on cutting boards. Therefore, if boards are used unhygienically, there is a high risk of spreading harmful bacteria, such as salmonella or E. coli. But not everything is so bad, because with regular cleaning, food contamination and the spread of harmful bacteria are easy to avoid.
baking soda and water. Another way is to How to get rid of bacteria on the kitchen board.
In order to get rid of dirt on a wooden cutting board, you can use such a simple, and most importantly, affordable tool for everyone, like baking soda. Dilute 1 tsp. soda in 0.5 l. hot water and spray the resulting mixture all over the board, leave for a while, then wash it thoroughly in the usual way. Instead of soda, you can also use hydrogen peroxide (the proportions for preparing the solution are similar to the first option).
Scouring powders are not the best option
Some housewives use various cleaning powders to clean wooden cutting boards. It is best to refrain from doing so.
Despite the fact that they effectively remove various odors and contaminants from almost any surface, it is highly recommended not to use such substances for cleaning kitchen utensils, especially wooden cutting boards - particles of the powder may remain on their surface and, with further use, end up in your food.
It is probably not worth saying that this poses a threat to the health of all members of your family.
Clean your wooden cutting board from time to time
Rub it lightly with fine sandpaper to keep the surface smooth, especially if there are food particles or roughness on the surface.
Restoring a cutting board. We will use sandpaper, salt, lemon and sunflower oil heated in a water bath.
A cutting board is a breeding ground for bacteria. What should I do?
Bacteria Infestation Test for Cutting Boards
Which cutting board to choose?
Key points:
- Different cutting boards should be used for different types of food. This way you can avoid food poisoning when cooking meat products and you do not have to constantly wash the same board when cooking.
- Hot water and dish soap are essential helpers for daily cleaning of cutting boards.
- Once a week, thoroughly disinfect all cutting boards.
Adviсe:
- Some food odors, such as garlic, onion, and fish, are hard to avoid. Dip a paper towel in pure lemon juice, or take a lemon wedge and rub the surface - cutting boards will smell of citrus freshness!
- Rub the board with coarse salt or baking soda to remove strong odors. Leave the substance on the board for 2 - 3 minutes, then wipe the treated surface. Rinse your cutting board and dry.
- Bacteria die without moisture. Store the board in a dry place away from food and any other contaminants. Store the board upright when not in use.
Prevention of food contamination
Who wants to go down with food poisoning? Follow these simple tips to avoid such problems:
- Buy hard acrylic or rubber boards as they are the most hygienic to use (which is what restaurants usually use).
- Wooden boards should be regularly disinfected and kept as clean as possible.
- It is convenient to have several boards for different types of food. You should have at least two of them: one for raw meat and fish, the other for vegetables, bread and any other food that can be eaten raw.
- Buy colored sets of cutting boards, or label the boards yourself, so it will be much easier to distinguish them by purpose.
- Throw away any cutting boards that have cracks, major scratches, or obvious signs of dirt. Like all kitchen utensils, cutting boards have an expiration date and it is important to get rid of them in time to maintain kitchen hygiene and cleanliness.
Processing cutting boards
Most wooden cutting boards are made from hardwoods such as teak, although bamboo cutting boards are also quite common. Any type of wood must be treated to prevent stains and prevent food odors and bacteria from remaining on the surface.
Use an oil that can be used multiple times, such as edible mineral oil. It is safe and will fill the pores of the wood well. Another name is liquid paraffin, edible vaseline oil.
Wipe the board with oil and let it soak into the wood. Wipe off excess oil with a clean, dry cloth. Repeat this process at least once a month.
Attention! Do not use vegetable oil on cutting boards. Such oil will go rancid and cause an unpleasant odor.
Apply after mineral oil beeswax, it will make the surface of the board waterproof, which will protect the wood from wear and tear and extend its service life. Microwave in a microwave-safe container 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) beeswax with 1 cup (240 ml) mineral oil for about 45 seconds. Apply warm wax to a cutting board.
Sourced from www.cleanipedia.com, ru.wikihow.com
Wooden kitchen cutting boards have many advantages over their plastic and ceramic counterparts.
Products do not slip on their surface, allowing you to cut them much more confidently and quickly.
In addition, dense wood, in addition to its environmental friendliness, is also famous for its durability, so wooden boards last much longer than their other counterparts.
But wooden cutting boards have their drawbacks. The main ones are the ability of wood to absorb odors and change in appearance for the worse. In order for the board to serve longer, it is necessary to properly care for it.
I hope now you know how to do it :o)....
Instructions: Treat a wooden cutting board with mineral oil.
Wooden cutting board is designed for chopping a variety of food: meat, fish, vegetables and more. Usually porous natural wood is used for the production of cutting boards. The most popular species are sugar maple, cherry, ash and black walnut. Unfortunately, these types of trees are very good at absorbing odors and bacteria that are on the surface of the products. If the processing of a wooden cutting board is carried out with the right substances: for example, oil, then the board will be perfectly protected from a variety of microbes and mold. Here is one of the cutting board care instructions:
1. Rinse the cutting board under running water if it has been used before. Wipe the surface of the cutting board with a kitchen towel and let it dry completely.
2. Wet a kitchen towel with white vinegar. Wipe the entire surface of the wooden cutting board with this towel. Vinegar gently and safely disinfects cutting board surfaces. After thorough wiping, allow the cutting board to dry completely.
3. You can use mineral oil, but only what is called food grade. Do not use mineral oil, which is sold in pharmacies. Before processing the board with oil, you need to heat it up. Pour 1 cup of the product and put it in the microwave. Heat the mineral oil in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.
4. Dampen the corner of a kitchen towel with mineral oil and wipe the surfaces of the cutting board.
5. Give the cutting board time to dry. Repeat the procedure for cleaning the board with oil again.
6. Continue repeating the procedure for coating the cutting board with mineral oil. Allow the board to dry between treatments. When the cutting board no longer absorbs the mineral oil, remove what is left with a dry kitchen towel.