Is Refined Linseed Oil good enough?
Cutting Board Finish
- Thread starter Bob Carreiro
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Use mineral oil. It's food safe and easy to re-apply.
Charley
Charley
I wouldn't, Linseed oil have a pervasive and long lasting odor. The odor may permeate the food stuffs you are working on.
An excellent treatment for wooden food preparation surfaces like cutting boards and butcher blocks is a mixture of mineral oil and either paraffin or beeswax. This is what is used on many commercial wood surfaces. It will last longer and be more protective than just mineral oil. It is also odor free. Mineral oil can be found in most supermarkets in the pharmacy section or in a true pharmacy. Paraffin is found in the canning section of the store or in a hardware store.
Heat the oil in a double boiler and shave in some wax. The exact proportions are not critical--a 5-6 parts of oil to one part of wax will work fine. Stir the mixture until all the wax is liquefied. Apply the mixture heavily and let it set 10-12 hours or overnight. Next day do it again and continue until the wood will no longer absorb the finish. Let it set for 10-12 hours and then lightly scrape off any excess. Then buff it with a rag.
Reapply whenever the wood begins to look dry.
Never put a wood board in the dishwasher and don't soak it in dishwater for long periods.
Thx guys. Am not a "finisher." Have used over-the-counter oils for cutting boards before, but ran out and saw some "Refined Linseed Oil" on the shelf & thought it could also be used for that. The thing is, I wanted to wrap up the project, and not have to run out to the store. I'll pick up some mineral oil tomorrow. Thx, yall!
I use a mineral oil and beeswax blend
I have to ask - why finish a cutting board at all? It's just going to get cut all up anyways - if it'll be used for its intended purpose. What is the purpose of finishing a cutting board?
OK... Il bite...
1) let's say for example... I cut up a raw whole chicken on my finished cutting board (whatever finish you choose). How am I to clean the cutting board after I'm done? You know meat can harbor some pretty nasty bacteria.
2) Now let's say it's a unfinished cutting board and I cut up a raw whole chicken on. How would I clean the cutting board? I would clean it with soap and hot water, then stick in the dish washer like I would any other kitchenware.
3) Before your mind explodes, saying this guy has fallen and bumped his head. Yes I have made several cutting boards over the years as gifts and albeit they are all cut up from normal use - not one has cracked, split or fallen apart by cleaning with hot soapy water and a dishwasher cycle as I described above. I used TB III to glue them together and am happy with the results.
I use a similar mix (different ratio- about 50:50, same ingredients) and just do mine when they noticeably dry out. Might be once a year or so. We handwash ours with hot soapy water.
I am with Jeff, though, in thinking it isn't really necessary. Ours went for several years before I ever put anything on them to start with.
Go
I just stepped into the kitchen to check out the cutting boards I made for my wife.
This one here is 1" thick oak. That I made for her oh it has to be at least 7 years ago now. It's never once had a finish on it. This one is her favorite and she uses it a few times a week. The red stain could be cow blood but I think its most likely tomato juice from when she canned tomatoes recently. She washes it the same as a dinner plate (hot soapy water then a cycle in the dish washer) if she ever wants to clean the red stain off of it she already knows my answer... soak it in bleach, the rinse in hot water and give it a cycle in the dish washer. She's done that several times over the years.
These two here are 1/4 thick bamboo, made from scrap flooring my son put down 3 years ago. Again never seen a finish and cleaned with hot soapy water and a cycle in the dishwasher.
See all the knife and meat cleaver cuts? Do they look like a piece of furniture? No... they are cutting boards designed to be cut on.
If you want something pretty by all means finish it, then hang it on the wall as art never to see a knife cut into its face. But if you want it to be used like it was made to (to be cut on) - dont finish it, expect it to look like crap after a few uses and you won't be disappointed.
That's my take on finishes for cutting boards anways.
This one here is 1" thick oak. That I made for her oh it has to be at least 7 years ago now. It's never once had a finish on it. This one is her favorite and she uses it a few times a week. The red stain could be cow blood but I think its most likely tomato juice from when she canned tomatoes recently. She washes it the same as a dinner plate (hot soapy water then a cycle in the dish washer) if she ever wants to clean the red stain off of it she already knows my answer... soak it in bleach, the rinse in hot water and give it a cycle in the dish washer. She's done that several times over the years.
These two here are 1/4 thick bamboo, made from scrap flooring my son put down 3 years ago. Again never seen a finish and cleaned with hot soapy water and a cycle in the dishwasher.
See all the knife and meat cleaver cuts? Do they look like a piece of furniture? No... they are cutting boards designed to be cut on.
If you want something pretty by all means finish it, then hang it on the wall as art never to see a knife cut into its face. But if you want it to be used like it was made to (to be cut on) - dont finish it, expect it to look like crap after a few uses and you won't be disappointed.
That's my take on finishes for cutting boards anways.
Last edited:
Wait, hot soapy water THEN the dishwasher? Our dishes only get one or the other. 
Wife has a pet peeve about clean dishes.Wait, hot soapy water THEN the dishwasher? Our dishes only get one or the other.
In my opinion, if you are going to put any piece of wood in the dishwasher, you may as well put it in the wood stove. Hot + high humidity, followed by more hot + dry, most any wood will naturally weather pretty quickly under these conditions (weather, meaning turn grey and crack). Having said that, if you're happy with the look and longevity of the pieces you put in the dishwasher, then I am too.
Howard's, I think, is just a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax. It's available at Home Depot. It's not much of a "finish" if you compare it to a hardening oil finish, shellac, or lacquer, but you don't really want a film on the surface since you are going to cut through it as has been noted. The mineral oil and wax, however, do penetrate the wood and serve to stave off the aforementioned weathering, although, not for long if you put the piece in the dishwasher.
Howard's, I think, is just a mixture of mineral oil and beeswax. It's available at Home Depot. It's not much of a "finish" if you compare it to a hardening oil finish, shellac, or lacquer, but you don't really want a film on the surface since you are going to cut through it as has been noted. The mineral oil and wax, however, do penetrate the wood and serve to stave off the aforementioned weathering, although, not for long if you put the piece in the dishwasher.
Either finished or unfinished? Your choice. If you're happy with it...float your boat.
About food safety on cutting boards of miscellaneous compositions...
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...dling/cutting-boards-and-food-safety/ct_index
Wood is actually the safest with proper cleaning and maintenance. :thumbs_up
About food safety on cutting boards of miscellaneous compositions...
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...dling/cutting-boards-and-food-safety/ct_index
Wood is actually the safest with proper cleaning and maintenance. :thumbs_up
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