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We want to admit something: getting a shiny new thing is much more fun than keeping it shiny and new. Unless of course, the thing is wood that just needs some regular rubbing.
Since we sell hardwood boards for your kitchen, and the oil & wax products to rub them with, we figured we’d set the record straight on how to take care of Wooded boards. Of course, this advice will likely apply to other (real) wood boards and kitchenware, but your mileage may vary!
This is the fun part; especially on a hardy end grain board, sitting on feet, with your favorite sharp knife. Of course, you’ll want to have kept your board clean and conditioned, so let’s talk about that!
A good rinse-down with a gentle, soapy solvent is the best treatment for a board. For cleaning your boards, we recommend wiping off crumbs, then rinsing it with clean water. At that point, you can apply a soap or gentle soap-based cleaning solution and scrub gently (and as directed) until clean. Rinse any excess soap and then, using a clean towel, wipe your cutting board as dry as possible.
And we’re going to assume if you have the good taste enough to be reading Wooded blogs, you’d never even consider letting your board touch a dishwasher (the dark destroyer of cutting boards).
As we’ve waxed exhaustively about elsewhere in this blog, wood and moisture have a bit of a complicated relationship. They are designed to tango in nature, but not so much once the tree gets transformed into a slab for chopping your broccoli.
As such, the first step is to avoid direct contact with liquid for more than a few minutes. Our earlier quick rinse is not a problem, but a forgetful overnight say on a wet countertop will certainly not be!
And if your board has a bare bottom (no feet), we recommend leaving it standing tall on an edge when stored. This exposes both the large top and bottom surfaces to air, which will keep things stable and your board more flat. Feet will give you breathing room so you can store your boards flat or upright in a dry place.
Wait, weren’t we just trying to keep the wood dry? Yes we were, but remember the complicated relationship. Hardwood cutting boards should stay hydrated. And the best hydration is an oil finish. For a cutting surface with the best texture (in our opinion), the classic food-safe oil and wax combination is the way to go.
This combination involves oil which penetrates below the surface and moisturizes the grain by lightly saturating with oil, which satiates the wood’s desire for moisture and repels water and other liquids that cause instability and decay. It also makes the wood appear more saturated in color (more contrast) and vibrant. Next, a nice wax should be applied to form a smooth filmy finish that further creates a barrier, preventing oil from surfacing and liquid from penetrating into the wood. Some waxes even add a little bit of a shine! Since this is a surface that contacts your food, picking food-safe oils and waxes that don’t easily go rancid is important.
We recommend Jack Wax; our simple family of cutting board treatments. Jack Wax is largely based on beeswax, and our favorite blend of complementary oils (more about that here[link]). Specifically, for new or otherwise fresh block you want to keep hydrated with a quick rub, check out Jack Wax Rapid Rub.
If you wood hasn’t been touched in a long time and is getting a little dry… don’t fret. That first rub just needs to be a little more intense. We recommend a fresh coat of a viscous oil first, allowing that to soak / cure overnight, and then applying a hard wax to restore the luster of a worn cutting board. Different woodworkers (and cutting board users) have varying preferences, but with experience and testing, we landed on our favorite oil & wax solutions for each step in our Jack Wax Jack Pack.
As a final note on worn cutting boards, if you board is suffering from serious knife marks, a bad “wobble”, cracking joints or other issues, those should be resolved first before any oil and wax treatments. More on that topic to come!
