Homemade Board Cream Question

I recently got a new acacia end grain cutting board. I am conditioning it with mineral oil and also some homemade board cream. But I have a question about the board cream that I made today. It's still a bit fluid, if I pick up the jar and tilt it, it will run. I was under the impression that it should be more solid, like butter or mayonnaise. I used 2oz of beeswax, and 8oz of mineral oil, heated in a pint mason jar on a towel in a sauce pan half full of water. The wax melted into the oil, turning it yellow, then I removed the jar from the sauce pan and let it cool, stirring occasionally.

Is my board cream too thin if it runs when I tilt the jar? Should I reheat the jar and add another 1oz stick of beeswax to thicken it up before using it on my new cutting board?

Thanks for any help.

Cheers,
chuck_d


PS - Been lurking only a few days reading the patina photos thread. This is my first post and I hope it's in the correct forum, mods please move if incorrect, thanks.

I use food grade mineral oil, beeswax and carnuba. 50, 25, 25 ratio. Store in plastic and pop in microwave to heat and mix. 20 bucks worth of supply will likely last you a lifetime.

Chicagohawkie said:

I use food grade mineral oil, beeswax and carnuba. 50, 25, 25 ratio. Store in plastic and pop in microwave to heat and mix. 20 bucks worth of supply will likely last you a lifetime.

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What's the consistency of your board cream? I've never seen this stuff in person, so I'm not 100% sure what my target is.

It sounds like I should melt it down and add 7 x 1oz sticks of beeswax to get the same recipe you have 1:1 oil:wax. Unfortunately I only have 3 sticks left. I was using the recipe at the link below, which calls for a 4:1 ratio of oil:wax (I substituted mineral oil for the called for vegetable oil). I suppose I should melt it down and add all 3 left over sticks. I don't think my jar will over flow, but I can always just move it to a quart sized jar.

And yeah, spending money on name brand stuff didn't seem wise, when I could pick up a gallon of mineral oil and some beeswax sticks for just a touch more than 12 oz of name brand oil.

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-mak...sunflower-oil-projects-from-the-kitchn-214882

Thanks for the info.

mine is too thick. it is like a soft candle. i have to warm my jar in the sun first.

i think the consistency of cold vaseline is just about perfect. mine is just pure beewax and mineral oil from the pharmacy.

boomchakabowwow said:

mine is too thick. it is like a soft candle. i have to warm my jar in the sun first.

i think the consistency of cold vaseline is just about perfect. mine is just pure beewax and mineral oil from the pharmacy.

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Thanks for the info. Do you remember the ratio you used for oil to wax? Mine isn't quite as thick as vaseline, if I tilt the jar it will run. So maybe I should just slowly step up the ratio of wax, adding one bar at a time until I get what I want.

So I just went and played with the cream again with a pair of chopsticks. It's actually closer to the consistency that I want than I thought. So I'm going to add only half a stick of beeswax today and see what happens. If that is all I need that would be perfect. Leaving me 2.5 sticks from the package of 5 that I bought. Then I'd have exactly the same amount to make another batch if I ever needed it, or to make a batch for a friend.

I'll y'all know how it comes out. Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

Four to one is the ratio I've always heard. Don't know if it's by weight or volume.

I press the easy button and buy the finished product - got some from Martell last time he offered it and don't expect to run out anytime soon. Consistency is like creamy pnut butter.

Two years ago I did a little experimenting with different ratios. Uploaded some pictures here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxEKq9uJ-aX7MGZfcUZ6YllGNTA&usp=sharing

Ratios are in weight. Still can't decide which one I like best. More wax leaves a nicer finish on the surface but that wears off pretty soon.

A question: You who are using a solutions with lots of wax and having to warm it up first, how often do you apply it? I mean, doesn't all that wax get worn off rather quickly?

I mixed from about 2:1 and added oil until I was happy. Don't know the exact ratio. It's firm enough that it's like refrigerated butter...not creamy, but melts pretty easily from friction. Rubs into the grain well and doesn't need constant reapplication.

daveb said:

Four to one is the ratio I've always heard. Don't know if it's by weight or volume.

I press the easy button and buy the finished product - got some from Martell last time he offered it and don't expect to run out anytime soon. Consistency is like creamy pnut butter.

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Oh, it's not hard at all. You just use the marks on the mason jar to measure the oil, then drop in the beeswax. Place the jar on top of a towel inside of a sauce pan and fill the pot with water to about halfway up the jar. Turn the burner on high and when it starts to bubble turn the heat down to maintain a light simmer. Wait until the beeswax totally dissolves, about 20 minutes, then remove the jar from the sauce pan and place it on a hot plate on the counter. Check on it every 15-20 minutes and when it starts to cloud up, give it a stir with some wooden chopsticks. Then wait another 10-20 minutes and give it one final stir. Once the jar is at room temp you have your board cream. Here are a few photos from my process.

limpet said:

Two years ago I did a little experimenting with different ratios. Uploaded some pictures here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BxEKq9uJ-aX7MGZfcUZ6YllGNTA&usp=sharing

Ratios are in weight. Still can't decide which one I like best. More wax leaves a nicer finish on the surface but that wears off pretty soon.

A question: You who are using a solutions with lots of wax and having to warm it up first, how often do you apply it? I mean, doesn't all that wax get worn off rather quickly?

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That's awesome! Thanks for sharing the results of your testing. I bookmarked that link as it is a great little reference. I've wondered if different beeswax have different amounts of water in them, and thus the ratios would not be the same for everyone depending upon their source for wax... and if that difference in water content is even significant enough to matter.

Oh yes, adding half a stick was perfect. I should have taken a better photo of it when it was runny for comparison, but now it's just perfect. It sticks to my chopsticks, but it is smooth like a very thick aioli, like mayo slightly thickened. This is what I wanted.

Thanks again for everyone's replies & assistance. Here's the end result. I used exactly half the beeswax that I bought, so I've got enough to make another batch of board cream if/when I need it. I certainly have a ton of mineral oil left over having bought a gallon jug. It's amazing how much oil a new wood board will absorb over the course of a couple days, and yet I have barely made a dent in my supply.

Cheers,
chuck_d



So just to recap, my final recipe is 8oz of mineral oil, and 2.5oz of beeswax. The mineral oil is measured in fluid oz. The beeswax sticks were sold as 1oz per stick, and I weighed them, each stick was just over 25 grams, which is less than a ounce by weight. Judging by the markings on my jar, it appears that the beeswax stick is indeed about 1 fluid ounce. Just remember, if you're going to use your mason jar to measure the mineral oil, to pour it in before you add the beeswax, in case the sticks you have aren't actually fl. oz. This equates to about 23.8%, for a comparison to the test results in limpet's link.

Looking good! And you're probably right that the mixture becomes a little bit different depending on the particular beeswax being used. Myself, I bought 1 kilogram of granulates, so I think it will last for the rest of my life. :laugh:

limpet said:

Looking good! And you're probably right that the mixture becomes a little bit different depending on the particular beeswax being used. Myself, I bought 1 kilogram of granulates, so I think it will last for the rest of my life. :laugh:

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Haha, no doubt. After waxing my board today and seeing just how little is needed, this is going to last a very long time. I may just make the second batch to give to someone else.

I'm curious how you're going to fill those squeeze bottles. Are you going to transfer while the cream is still warm and liquid, then let it cool in the squeeze bottles? Spooning my cream into another container would be such a pain in the... man that sentence sounds way dirtier than I intended.

Well, I waxed my board today and I am quite pleased. I used a couple of plastic pan scrapers. I scooped out a little of the cream, and then applied it to a small section of the board and would scrape it up. I kept doing this scraping in the direction of the long side. Once I had covered the entire board edge to edge, corner to corner, I took the second scraper and removed the excess. Then I repeated that whole process once more. After that I took a microfiber cloth and put the excess that I had scraped off onto it and buffed the board, making sure to get the rounded off edges and the sides of the board.

I didn't wax the bottom of the board, just the top & sides. Is this an issue? Should I go back and wax the bottom? The rubber feet on the board aren't very tall, so it may offer a little extra protection from puddles should they collect under the board, but I don't expect that to be a problem. The bottom has been well oiled.

My premade stuff looks a touch thicker than yours, which looks about like my container Obenauf's HDLP. Mine came in a deli container; I've seen some commercial stuff that comes in squeeze bottles. I've got to imagine those are on the thinner side of board waxes.

I wax or oil my board on every surface whenever I do it, but mine doesn't have feet on it. Even if it did, I would still do all sides since I don't see a reason not to.

chuck_d said:

1. I'm curious how you're going to fill those squeeze bottles. Are you going to transfer while the cream is still warm and liquid, then let it cool in the squeeze bottles? Spooning my cream into another container would be such a pain in the... man that sentence sounds way dirtier than I intended.

2. I didn't wax the bottom of the board, just the top & sides. Is this an issue? Should I go back and wax the bottom? The rubber feet on the board aren't very tall, so it may offer a little extra protection from puddles should they collect under the board, but I don't expect that to be a problem. The bottom has been well oiled.

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1. I bought those bottles before I realized a cream would be better and easier to apply. I wouldn't have more than 5% beeswax if it should go into a bottle. Right now I have cream in different jars and I transfered it when it was warm and fluid. This was when I was experimenting. When I find a favorite solution, maybe I do as you're doing and heat the jar itself.

2. I don't think you need to wax the bottom of the board if it, as you said, has been well oiled.

Why would anyone use beeswax at all? I've only used oil because I didn't want wax in my food.

Beeswax is primarily various esters (large component in fats and oils) and some fatty acids.
I'd imagine because you can apply a cream as a more robust layer than less dense liquid oils, it holds for longer (requires less frequent reoiling/reapplication) and helps even greater with not letting too much water get into the wood grains

That board looks great!