Seasoning an End Grain Cutting Board

[Bruce Haugen]

Walnut oil.... sesame oil.... even olive oil.

Never mineral oil, or derivatives... not suitable for food (heavy metals).

Cutting boards are made to be scratched... and when they are, they reflect many memories... and when that is too much, a few (or more) minutes with a good plane will reveal a surface for the next chapter of the story.

As regards cleaning... a thorough scrub with the closest kitchen oil (see above), or some good moonshine, and Bobs yer uncle.

-g-

You are aware that there’s such a thing as food grade mineral oil.  It’s sold in drug stores as a laxative.

[Smoothjazz077]

I'll chime in to offer a different perspective.  I typically soak my new end grain cutting boards in food grade tung oil until they stop accepting oil.  This can take a week or two, depending on the wood.  Let them dry for a week or so.  Then I  blend walnut oil and bees wax, usually about 4 or 5:1, melt the wax in the oil in the microwave, and apply.  Wipe off excess after 12 hours.  Done.  Subsequent treatments when the boards start looking dry are the walnut oil and beeswax.  

Why do I do it this way?  Couple of reasons.  First, the tung oil will soak into the end grain and eventually set up hard.  It does not evaporate and go away.  This prevents water entry.  Second, the tung oil, walnut oil and beeswax are all products from natural plant and bug sources.  No refined petroleum products.

If a non-woodworker asks me what I put on the boards, I tell them.  Their reaction is usually "That's too much trouble - what is an easy way for me to treat my board?".  Then I'll tell them to use mineral oil, which also works fine and makes them happy.

If I already applied 3 coats of mineral oil to my cutting board, could I still use your method of the tung oil?

[irishconger]

You are aware that there’s such a thing as food grade mineral oil.  It’s sold in drug stores as a laxative.

Yes Bruce... am aware.

As always with foodstuffs, there are limits for inclusions that are acceptable to (different) authorities, and these limits are rarely 0, and frankly, levels of 0(?) are hardly achievable, as modern farming uses (industrially produced) fertilisers / pesticides, neither of which are free of heavy metal traces.

The closest I get to 'perfect'(?) is helping the olive farmer with the harvest. I know that this farmer does not use either fertilisers or pesticides.

-g-

BTW... the laxative effect of a good fresh olive oil is not to be underestimated.....  ;-))

[Handplanesandmore]

Walnut oil.... sesame oil.... even olive oil.

Never mineral oil, or derivatives... not suitable for food (heavy metals).



-g-

Food Grade Mineral Oil for Cutting Boards, etc. is commonly used. 

Drug stores, Amazon and Home Depot carry such kind of oil which is food safe.

Simon

[Admiral]

The closest I get to 'perfect'(?) is helping the olive farmer with the harvest. I know that this farmer does not use either fertilisers or pesticides.

+1 . . . . . . reminds me of the olive oil scandal in Italy a while back, where the Piromalli family of the Calabrian mafia were adulterating olive oil and exporting it to the US.   

https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-...raud/55364

" According to investigators, the Piromalli were importing olive pomace oil, a product that’s extracted from already-pressed fruit pulp using chemical solvents, then labeling the low-quality, adulterated oil products as extra virgin olive oil and exporting it to the U.S. Those products were sold through retail chains in New York, Boston and Chicago, the IRPI revealed." (bold added by me)

They said the markup on adulterated olive oil was better than the profit margins of cocaine!  So, unfortunately, you never really know what you're getting unless you have a couple of olive trees and press the oil yourself. Something to be said for DIY, eh?

[2beast]

I have been using mineral oil for years with excellent results 

[BaileyNo5]

If I already applied 3 coats of mineral oil to my cutting board, could I still use your method of the tung oil?

Hi Smoothjazz077

You could.....but the fresh mineral oil would certainly slow down the penetration of the tung oil.  Maybe the best thing to do would be to use it for a while, and after the surface starts looking dry, try the tung oil method.

[AHill]

Food grade mineral oil is fine. You get it in the laxative section at a Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc. Walnut oil is fine. I’d never use sesame or olive oil or any other oil that can go rancid.

[Scoony]

I have been using a mix of walnut oil, mineral oil and bees wax. Warm it up to apply and I use a heat gun to help melt it into the grain.