I was given an awesome Boos end grain maple cutting board for Christmas. I've only had edge grain boards previously. I cleaned it and then oiled it. In the past when I've oiled boards they will absorb maybe one or two coats of oil and then will leave residual oil that I wipe off. This end grain board just absorbs the mineral oil like crazy though. It absorbed 3-4 coats and left no residual oil on the surface. Is that normal? Should I keep on oiling it until it stops absorbing it, or should I stop since it already took a few coats?
end grain cutting board care
- Thread starter crlums
- Start date
Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:
It will certainly take a lot more oil than an end grain. My end grain maple board kept absorbing all of the oil from weekly oiling for probably the first 3 months.
How much it absorbs probably depends on how well it was oiled by the manufacturer. The amounts you cite don’t seem out of line. Feel free to stop oiling and start using, though. If it starts feeling super dry, oil it again.
MrHiggins
Senior Member
Yeah, no worries. I made my own maple end grain board a few years ago and was astonished how much mineral oil it absorbed.
I still rarely cut onions or garlic on my wood boards and if I do I was and recoil immediately. Even with a well established oiling regime I find it ends up leaving a taste.
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2012
- Messages
- 1,989
- Reaction score
- 3,695
Is that with end-grain boards? I can imagine more lingering with edge grain than with end grain. I use a monstrously huge Boos end grain board (I wanted something for Chinese cooking that would never bounce at all, no matter how vigorously I chopped, and I might have gone overboard a bit, but I love it), and it never seems to retain any sort of taste/smell.
With my edge grain board I have found that board butter is much more effective at preventing lingering garlic onion/odor. It seems like the beeswax creates enough of a barrier to prevent absorption. I do end up needing to do a deep clean of my board 1-2 x per year though to eliminate odors though. I've considered not using garlic/onion on my nice boards, but I use onions so often that it feels wrong not to use the nice board.
Has anyone found odors to be more/less of a problem with end versus edge grain? Now that I have both I guess one will be designated the onion board
Has anyone found odors to be more/less of a problem with end versus edge grain? Now that I have both I guess one will be designated the onion board
I usually use mineral oil until it stops absorbing and then use beeswax, which seems to go some way towards sealing it. I have a reversible board, so I use one side for things like garlic and onion, as well as some aromatic herbs, which I find can be an issue. That said, whilst I can detect a hint of odor over time, I don't seem to have too much of an issue with flavour transfer. I'm using teak edge grain at the moment, but I have used the same mineral oil and beeswax regimen with end grain and other types of wood in the past with similar results.
In case you are interested, these are the products I am using.
In case you are interested, these are the products I am using.
Last edited:
My cutting board came completely lathered in oil, I think it depends on the maker and how much pre oiling they do for you. If its accepting it keep putting it on and wiping off the excess until it seems happy 
This boos board must not have gotten much oil from the manufacturer. It sucked up a good 6-8 oz of mineral oil over 3 days before it stopped absorbing it. I suppose it pretty thick so maybe that could contribute to how much oil it takes on? I finally got to use it for the first time tonight.
Attachments
What a beautiful board! Use it well
Honestly when it comes to wood there are so many factors that can play a role. Basically after it was made was it sitting at a retailer in a dry environment, for how long etc. Being wood it will react to its environment over time so now that she's in your hands just oil her up as needed
Do you use strait beeswax to finish or a blend of wax and oil? I've been doing by final coat with a home made boardbutter that is a mix of oil and beeswax. I think the wax wares off somewhat quickly though and have been thinking of upping the quantity of beeswax in my mix.
By the way...this is what I use and it is fantastic...I only use this, no other oils. And I do use it on my Gyuto handles as well.
https://knifewear.com/products/claphams-bees-wax?variant=21827716382768
https://knifewear.com/products/claphams-bees-wax?variant=21827716382768
Thanks! I've been doing oil, and then finishing with a home made board butter. I think I'm going to increase the proportion of wax in my mix though. It seems a little thinner than some commercial options like the one you linked to
My pleasure! This stuff is thick, think of like honey that has turned semi hard that you can't squeeze out of the bottle lol
Just the beeswax on it's own. I just use a lint free cloth and rub it in quite firmly. It doesn't really like to go into the wood after the wood has been loaded with mineral oil, so a bit of persistence is required. I usually leave a full 24 hours between applying the mineral oil and the beeswax, which can obviously be an issue for people using their board daily.
