Best way to clean and maintain wooden chopping board.

Hi all.

Have recently bought another end grain chopping board and was wondering what's the best way to clean it and maintain it. I regularly oil my other boards with food grade mineral oil, but I read a lot about using white vinegar to clean and then beeswax to finish.

Has anyone got any methods of the above that they'd like to share??

PS: White vinegar doesn't seem that easy to get hold of....is it the same thing as distilled barley malt vinegar (clear) because that's about the only thing i can find that comes anywhere close??

I believed the current best science says that the absolutely best way is to keep two separate bottles one with vinegar the other with hydrogen peroxide and spray them on together, it's not as effective to combine them apparently:

http://www.cooksinfo.com/peroxide-vinegar-sterilization

and

http://www.rootsimple.com/2012/02/h...toxic-way-with-hydrogen-peroxide-and-vinegar/

I normally use light detergent and warm water. Occasionally use lemon juice and coarse salt.

I think there's such a thing as too clean, hence all the allergies and immune deficiencies popping up over the last couple decades. We all too often sterile so heavily that we kill the beneficial bacteria along with the harmful microbes IMO. But that's a whole other conversation.
End grain boards are naturally anti-microbial. As long as you wipe any particulate matter clear, and let them dry properly, you should be more than safe. End grain is especially safe as its self 'healing' and doesn't leave any spots for moisture to collect and aid in microbial growth. If I notice any strong odors, say after cutting garlic/onions, I use a little salt and lemon juice. Kills the odor, and the harmful microbes, but should leave some of the friendly ones behind.

chinacats said:

I normally use light detergent and warm water. Occasionally use lemon juice and coarse salt.

Click to expand...

Once again, I'm slow on the draw due to posting, and multi-tasking...

We sterilized all our boards in a very mild bleach solution. 2 tsp per gallon for 2 minutes, sprayed or soaked. Then rinsed and dryed. Distilled white vinegar is cheap and pretty common for cooking and cleaning. We go through a lot cleaning at home. My kids hate the smell. Unless I'm dealing with raw chicken in particular , and maybe raw meats, I don't use bleach, just soap and water, lemon and salt or a little vinegar. Rinse and dry. Mineral oil , sometime mixed with bees wax and or carnauba wax to season the board.

How do you guys use lemon and salt?

You just spray lemon juice and coarse salt on the board, and then you wipe it?

I'm trying to remove that onion odor and tast from my end grain cutting board. These days, everything that I cut on that board get an onion taste... The board is already loaded with mineral oil and wax, and cleaning it with hot water and soap didn't help...

Bef said:

How do you guys use lemon and salt?

You just spray lemon juice and coarse salt on the board, and then you wipe it?

I'm trying to remove that onion odor and tast from my end grain cutting board. These days, everything that I cut on that board get an onion taste... The board is already loaded with mineral oil and wax, and cleaning it with hot water and soap didn't help...

Click to expand...

Yep, just throw some salt on there and squeeze a lemon on top. The salt acts as both a scouring agent and a anti-microbial agent, and the lemon kills the odor and backs up the anti-microbial action, as well as leaving a nice after odor. Don't scrub too hard, and wipe off the excess with a damp cloth. If you rub the lemon rinds across the board after it leaves some of the natural oils from the lemon on there, which smells good(IMO), and is great for the wood. Definitely follow up with some board butter, as the salt will dry the surface of the board a bit.

My raw meat only Chinese butcher block is scrubbed with steel wool, hot water and dish soap and left to dry standing in the dish rack. The cheap end grain block I use for everything else get cleaned with the green scrubby, dish soap and warm water and wiped dry. I used to apply mineral oil to the end grain board but I think thats just too much pampering and a waste of time and decided to forego to see what happens.

Thanks for the comments folks. Much appreciated. Still finding it difficult to source white vinegar here in the UK though. May have to go with the weak bleach solution at this rate.

All you need to do is buy the cheapest vinegar you can find at a store, the stuff that comes in one gallon containers

it's the acetic acid that really matters

gic said:

All you need to do is buy the cheapest vinegar you can find at a store, the stuff that comes in one gallon containers

it's the acetic acid that really matters

Click to expand...

+1 the reason for using white vinegar is that it has the lowest pH of available vinegar. It also has no flavoring agent to contaminate your board. If unavailable, use any of the above mentioned methods.

Cheers

Or you can keep the nasties off your wood board and keep it clean with a damp towel, an occasional dose of coarse salt and one of the various board products.

Prize78 said:

Thanks for the comments folks. Much appreciated. Still finding it difficult to source white vinegar here in the UK though. May have to go with the weak bleach solution at this rate.

Click to expand...

There's really no need for that. Just wipe the board off after use with a damp cloth. If you're really concerned, use a barely soapy dish sponge, and wipe it immediately with a damp towel. Bleach is pretty toxic stuff. And will damage your board over time. As well as your insides...

See above...

all you need is dish soap and hot water, some cheap vodka if you're afraid of germs. make sure you put some mineral oil on the board after it has dried.

i got tired of the maintenance and switched to hi-soft synthetic board. soft and easy on knives and no maintenance involved.

I may try pouring some vodka over a board and then collecting it through a strainer. Maybe a new variation of Bloody Mary?

Mrmnms said:

I may try pouring some vodka over a board and then collecting it through a strainer. Maybe a new variation of Bloody Mary?

Click to expand...

I thought that was how a Vodka martini was made. But what's the strainer for?

catching fingertips/nails

Prize78 said:

... Still finding it difficult to source white vinegar here in the UK though. ....

Click to expand...

I was just reading an article somewhereorother online by an American living in France looking for white vinegar.

They couldn't find any in the food sections of markets but ended up finding that it was very common in the cleaning sections. Perhaps a similar situation on your side of the channel?

swarfrat said:

I was just reading an article somewhereorother online by an American living in France looking for white vinegar.

They couldn't find any in the food sections of markets but ended up finding that it was very common in the cleaning sections. Perhaps a similar situation on your side of the channel?

Click to expand...

Yes indeed. I have found some in a spray bottle in the cleaning aisle of a shop over here. Thanks very much.

mineral oil is best.

Reporting back with my no oiling experiment. Cracks have started to show in my cutting boards . I guess it's back to mineral oil for me.

In the UK there are numerous bacteriological cleaning sprays available in supermarkets. You can choose chemical or eco friendly - both are fine. Spray the board. Wipe with paper towel. Bin the towel. Use mix of mineral oil and beeswax, readily available cheap in tubs or tins for polishing furniture, say once a week takes 2 minutes max and your board will be fine.
No food poisoning, no cracks.