Is Yew wood too poisonous for a chopping board?

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I went for a look around Peter Hall's new shop in Windermere (http://peter-hall-shop.co.uk/) which has some beautiful stuff but I questioned this very timber choice for a bread/choppingboard they were selling. I was confidently informed that it was fine because the finish was robust.

I pass no comment on the validity of the claim but some obviously feel that it is fine to sell such items.

Jon
 
phil.p":d2srvxvp said:
I did read somewhere that if you ate 3 1/2 oz. of yew sawdust it would make you very ill. :)
It could be more than enough to kill most horses. The ingestion of green leaves needed is even less.

Never ceases to amaze me how ignorant of toxic plants such as yew and ragwort many of the shall we say 'weekend horse owners' are of risks.
Having just said that I see several fields near me with long term stock grazing where the owners don't bother to remove the ragwort, just hope all their stock has more intelligence.
I did bother to have a very heated attack on someone local just last year who was dumping his hedge trimmings including Yew into a local field for the animals to clean up. (Ex metropolis retiree)
 
AJB Temple":1wvcinpr said:
Pete - you know full well the point I am making. The established practice for chipping boards is to use wood from trees where the fruit is edible by humans. Even water kills if over consumed, but the point is that chopping boards are used to prepare food that can be consumed by anyone, and the cook will not necessarily know what allergies or sensitivities they have. There is simply no sense in using materials that are known to have significant toxicity.

Perhaps I should add that I used to own a restaurant and perhaps have a heightened awareness of food safety and the draconian rules surrounding it. which may make me paranoid ;-) There is a lot of research around into what constitutes food safe surfaces. Personally for domestic use I prefer end grain maple as it is kind to very sharp knife blades (the wood is not too hard), self healing, and reasonably durable. Canadian hard rock maple end grain is traditional. A lot of the Italian makers to the trade are using Acacia. I use these for meat and fish prep: http://www.butchersequipment.co.uk/pro- ... -40-x-10cm. Weighs a ton but very good!

I made a yew heart shaped fob for the wife's keys (Love Yew) it hasn't killed her yet!

I do understand where you are coming from with the health and safety point.

Pete
 
I think Olive wood is one of the nicest for chopping boards, you often see them for sale at craft shows.
 
I agree Olive wood is nice. But the best for high quality chopping boards is end grain and generally you cannot get Olive thick enough to make large boards. Great for cheese and such like.
 
Tetsuaiga":kizv3ly2 said:
Personally it wouldnt worry me. Its not like you're eating the wood, i often eat the berries but of course not the seed.
Very wise, the seed is the most toxic part of all.

Jim
 
Yes someone once told me that because someone chipped the seed when trying to eat one it caused them to enter a coma. It sounds pretty exaggerated to me but I still found it quite a scary by the story. The seed seperates very easily, the berry itself is very soft and goopy which means you dont need to use your teeth to eat it, like other seeded fruiits.

If i ever mention it to someone I make sure to mention how the seed is dangerous, even though it would probably actually just pass through you.
 
AJB Temple":2q77yzwl said:
Honestly chaps...Yew seeds are known to be seriously toxic and easting the berries risks seed ingestion. Even if you are careful, the child seeing you may not be aware that crunching the seed (which otherwise passes through the body harmlessly) can be fatal at the level of 3 seeds (for an adult). Why take an unnecessary risk?

All parts of the Yew contain toxins. It is quite obviously unsuitable as a chopping board. Get some nice walnut or maple!

That's something I hadn't really though of so a good point. I'll just have to make sure i'm secretive about it =P, there usually arn't kids about anyway so it hasn't come up yet.
 
Ive not thought about it before, but my village walk with the dog takes me past a few yew trees. Last weekend volunteers were sweeping leaves at the church and one lady was sweeping the path which was totally covered in yew berries. Of course all the berries were splitting open and I guess quite a few seeds are now left on the ground.

Im thinking I may best to avoid letting my dog walk over this area in case she gets any seeds stuck in her paws, which might then get chewed.

Grapes surprisingly, are poisonous to dogs, along with raisins.
 
Yew gave its name (taxus baccatta) to the field of toxicology due to its poisonous nature.

It's also (ironically) known by pagans, druids and later by christians as the tree of life.
Hence its use in grave yards. The tree regenerates by growing new shafts along side the original trunk so the plant may be hundreds of years old but the tree you're looking at may only actually years old.
This is why you often see what appear to be healthy trees with large cavities in the trunk.

It was this ability that led many to believe it the dead were reborn as part of the tree.

There is a yew tree some where i forget believed to pre date the bible.

None of this relevant to chopping boards though.

If you could get a couple of small sheilds or plaques out of them they are popular for mounting swords and medieval arrow heads etc.
 
Water-Mark":2pljcu1w said:
There is a yew tree some where i forget believed to pre date the bible.
I suspect you have in mind The Fortingall Yew, Perthshire. Its age is estimated at anywhere between 2000 and 5000 years old, but it is more likely to be nearer the lower estimate than the higher estimate. In the 1700s some estimates put its circumference at 56 feet (17 metres), but today the centre of the trunk is gone above ground level due to a mixture of souvenir hunters taking parts of it in the 1800s and the depredations of age. The remaining parts are still healthy although its appearance now resembles several smaller trees rather one large one.

This is it. Slainte.



 
"Their seeds will be included in a project to conserve the genetic diversity of yew trees around the world." Interesting.
Actually, all the Irish yews in the world are supposed to be clones of an original sport.
 
An old topic I know, but so is the wood. It sounds like I'd be more at risk turning an egg cup than the end user.

Feel free to comment please.
 
I've turned a fair amount of yew and found it a lovely wood to work with. I can assure you that there's nnnnnnnothinggg rong wiv ne :shock:

Seriously, it is a lovely wood to turn and like all woods, if it is very dry and causes dust then wear a dust mask. I have to admit, going back to the OP. If I make a chopping board I would use a more suitable wood. Beech comes to mind and make it end grain. That way the fibres don't get cut about.
 

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